Our Full Day Kindergarten

Classroom

Stefanie Palmer and Maria Cabal Garces

Early Learning Team

St. Joseph School

October 16th, 2014

Agenda• Class Activities

• Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) in practice

– The FDK Curriculum

– The FDK Team

– The Kindergarteners

– The Environment

– Our Flow of the Day

• An ECE’s perceptions

• The Teacher’s perceptions

• The Principal’s perceptions

• Q&A

Journal

RAN

Reading and Analyzing Nonfiction

The FDK Curriculum

“Play and academic work are not distinct categories for

young children, and learning and doing are also inextricably

linked for them.”(Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010)

Inquiry Based Learning

• What?

– Capitalizes on children’s natural curiosity

– Guided by the educators

“I wonder…”

• The inquiry process

– Initial engagement

– Exploration

– Investigation

– Communication

• “We wonder about Space!”

Inquiry Based Learning

Initial Engagement

Exploration

Exploration

Exploration

Exploration

Exploration

Exploration

Investigation & Communication

Learning Methods

Exploration

Guided Instruction

Explicit Instruction

• Free Play

• Child-initiated

• Educator observes, listens and questions

• Small groups

• Planned and guided by educators

• Play-based activities

• Large group

• Making learning explicit

Exploration

• Playing at the Drama Centre

Exploration

• Playing with Magnetic Letters

Planning Explorations

Guided Instruction

• Reading Groups

– Flexible groupings

– Maximum of 5 children

– Practice of reading behavior

Explicit Instruction

• Math Lesson

Program Expectations

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/kindergarten_english_june3.pdf

Areas of

LearningBig Ideas

Personal and

Social

Development

Children are connected to others and

contribute to their world.

Emotional

Development

Children have a strong sense of identity and

well-being.

Program Expectations

Areas of

LearningBig Ideas

Language Children are effective communicators.

Mathematics

Young children have a conceptual

understanding of mathematics and of

mathematical thinking and reasoning.

Science and

Technology

Children are curious and connect prior

knowledge to new contexts in order to

understand the world around them.

Program Expectations

Program Expectations

Areas of

LearningBig Ideas

The ArtsYoung children have an innate openness to

artistic activities.

Health and

Physical Activity

Children make healthy choices and develop

physical skills.

The FDK team“A collaborative and complementary partnership”

“The team determines the quality of the learning

program that the children will experience”. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010)

The FDK team“A collaborative and complementary partnership”

Video• “Getting ready to welcome full day kindergarten students”

The FDK team

• Teacher

– Long term planning and organization of the

program

– Student learning and effective instruction

– Formative assessment and evaluation

– Formal reporting and communication with

families

The FDK team

• Early Childhood Educator

– Focus on age-appropriate program planning

– Provide opportunities to contribute to

formative assessment and evaluation

– Implementation of the integrated extended

day

Our Story

The FDK team“A collaborative and complementary partnership”

Video• “Getting ready to welcome full day kindergarten students”

Discussion

The Kindergarteners

• Four- to five-year-olds

• Average of 26 children per classroom

– Ratio 1:13

– No cap for Kindergarten classes

• Most schools have split JK/SK classes

The Kindergarteners

Video“Some parents worried about kindergarten class sizes”

Discussion

The Environment

“Early-Learning-Kindergarten teams should ensure

that the learning environment is inclusive and that

it is one in which children feel comfortable and

safe, yet stimulated to learn and explore”.(Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010)

The Cubby Room

The Carpet

Toy storage

Reading Corner

The Drama Centre

The Painting Centre

The Science Centre

The Sensory Bin

The Writing Centre

Word Wall

Co-constructed Alphabet

Co-constructed Alphabet

Co-Constructed Attendance

Scheduling

• The seamless day Ideal

Our Flow of the Day

Visual Schedule

Teacher’s Perspective

• Advantages

– Play effective learning

– Differentiated learning in small groups

– Less time with paper and pencil

– Children learn through experience

– Children attend everyday

– The environment supports self-regulation

– Fantastic having an ECE

Teacher’s Perspective

• Challenges

– Large class sizes

– Small classrooms

– Teachers who do not understand play

based learning

– The relationship can be challenging if

personalities clash

– The team members’ roles are not clearly

defined

– Lack of time for planning as a team

ECE’s Perspective

• A great step to have play-based learning

within the school setting

• What I would have like to know that…

– FDK ≠ childcare or daycare

– The partnership with the teacher can be difficult

– Initial training was superficial

– DNA ratios do not apply

– This was going to be the most rewarding

experience of my life

Principal’s Perspective

• Advantages

– Children attend everyday

– More levelled playing field for learning

• Play-based learning

– Gaps get addressed early

– The children have not had any difficulties

transitioning into the full day program

Principal’s Perspective

• Challenges

– Ensuring that staff are implementing the

program appropriately

– Large class sizes

– Limited physical space

Let’s analyse our learning!

Thank you!