ONLINE CALENDAR

Curriculum

Kindergarten

Kindergarten curriculum addresses the needs of the whole child. District 204 curriculum is designed to address social development (roles and responsibilities with regard to others), emotional development (perception of self), physical development (both large motor and fine motor), and intellectual development (individual cognitive growth). We strive to integrate curriculum in all areas, as well as individualize the curriculum to address the needs of all students.

Language Arts

Language Arts curriculum includes speaking and listening, discriminating letter forms, mastery of letter names, reading readiness, book sense, prediction, comprehension, phonemic awareness, decoding strategies, basic sight words, sequencing, cause and effect, application of letter sounds to writing, and drawing conclusions. At Patterson, our Language Arts curriculum is based on a "letter of the week" theme. A variety of language activities are provided to teach and reinforce a specific letter and its corresponding sound.

Math

Our mathematics series, Everyday Math, was developed at the University of Chicago. This series integrates active learning through games, manipulatives, and hands-on activities-as well as traditional "paper and pencil" activities. An important component of The Everyday Math series is the "home links" program. At the end of the week, a home link activity sheet is attached to our weekly newsletter.

Handwriting

District 204 handwriting instruction utilizes the D'Nealian form of handwriting. A copy of D'Nealian alphabet can be downloaded from the Patterson website.
 

Science & Social Studies

Science units seen throughout the year in kindergarten include water exploration, seeds to plants, ecology, magnets, and space. Social Studies curriculum includes units on self-awareness, school, the family, safety, holidays, and introductory map reading. Both science and social studies are often integrated with both language arts and math lessons.

Specials

Kindergarten students receive a 25 minute class each week in Art, Music, and Physical Education. Additionally, kindergarten students are provided weekly opportunities to utilize the LMC and computer labs at Patterson.