Kindergarten

Our Curriculum

Pickwick Southside Kindergarten adheres to the rigorous academic curriculum determined by the State of Tennessee. Our top priorities are “ownership” of the alphabet (recognizing, writing, sounds and how they work together to form words, sentences and stories) and a strong number sense. It has been scientifically proven that mystery of these skills in kindergarten predicts future success in school and life!

Experiences

We strongly believe Kindergarten should be fun. We begin each year chasing the gingerbread man around the school to introduce the students to our building and staff. We enjoy stories about fabulous characters. We learn about science through non-fiction reading. We learn poems and songs. We learn how to read by weaving our phonemic awareness and phonics skills together. We use hands on manipulatives to teach math skills and build number sense. We take field trips to museums, farms, and the Memphis Zoo. We invite people into the classroom to share special interests and skills. We use smart boards, computer and tablets as well as flash cards, puppets, and chalkboards. We have workstations and play centers.

Expectations

Our small class sizes are ideal for building meaningful teacher/student relationships, a key to student success. We work in small groups, pairs, and whole group instruction. We take time to set goals and celebrate our successes.

Parent Involvement

Parents and families are a big part of our success. We send a folder home daily with work and a behavior report. A monthly calendar shows skills we will learn and upcoming events. We have a new approach to homework that we call “Homework Questions”. We send parents questions to ask their child on a weekly basis. This allows for meaningful conversations about our goals, allows children to talk about their learning and brings school into the home. We have a “Back to School” open house, parent/teacher conferences, a fall Harvest Festival, and a parent appreciation lunch all designed to involve our families.

From the Teacher

By the end of the year our students are able to read decodable readers, discuss what they are learning and why it is important, add and subtract numbers from 0-10. But more importantly, they have had a chance to become part of the Pickwick Southside Family. They interact with students from all grade levels and have wonderful role models for their educational life.

“I love the honest, true way five year old’s view the world. I love that they keep me young. I love to tell stories from my day. I love teaching Kindergarten.”- Martha Crawford