Children and the Curriculum: The Kindergarten Program

Socio-emotional Development

Recognize and feel satisfied that their participation and contribution to classroom activities is valuable

• demonstrate interest and enthusiasm for classroom activities
• try new activities willingly
• begin to follow rules
• show an appreciation of rules by reminding others about them
• generate rules where needed
• offer constructive suggestions to other children and adults
• willingly participate in routine activities
• accept some responsibility for the care of the classroom environment (e.g., feed pets, water plants, wash paintbrushes)

• value themselves
• value their attributes and capacities, and accept their limitations
• be contented when alone
• begin to make and maintain friendships
• feel comfortable enough to collaborate with others in problem-solving situations
• begin to negotiate and compromise in order to resolve conflict
• be receptive to constructive suggestions
• become competent at self-help skills (e.g., hang up clothes, find paint shirts)
• develop a sense of humour

• choose to participate in individual or group activities
• join and leave groups with ease as leader or follower as the situation demands
• plan and carry out an activity with someone else
• initiate and control their activities
• work independently
• remain absorbed in self-initiated activities with sustained attention until closure

• help others in various ways
• encourage others
• begin to see someone else's point of view
• listen to what someone else says and respond in a way that shows understanding
• begin to show appreciation of others
• willingly share materials and time
• begin to learn to give and receive affection
• begin to learn to empathize with those in stressful circumstances (e.g., death of loved ones, divorce of parents)
• respect the property of others
• understand the value of good manners

• begin to recognize and respect individual differences (e.g., gender, culture, race, religion, age, varying abilities, disabilities, chronic illnesses)
• identify and accept themselves as members of a particular family, culture, religion, gender, etc.
• begin to be aware of stereotypes (e.g., specific cultures, male/female roles)

• be able to take calculated risks
• deal with success in a positive way
• view failure as a growing experience
• be able to admit mistakes
• set realistic goals
• evaluate their performance
• make and act on appropriate decisions
• take initiative for experiences

• express their feelings in a constructive way
• accept their feelings
• explore their feelings and what caused them
• solve problems in conflict situations

• begin to understand the need to protect our environment
• begin to practice careful use of natural resources, and preservation and improvement of our environment
• realize that they can make a positive contribution to our world

• create a variety of roles and portray characters using the costumes and props provided
• assume and dramatize a variety of roles by reflecting observations of real-life situations
• use props realistically
• improvise props
• apply skills in real-life situations

Physical Development

Participate in activities designed to develop an appreciation and enjoyment of human movement

• experience various locomotor body movements with and without music (e.g.,skip, slither, crawl, spin, roll, walk)
• experience various non-locomotor movements with and without music (e.g., stretch, twist, push, pull, sway, kneel, curl, reach)
• experience movements relating to speed (e.g., crawl slowly, hop quickly)
• experience movements relating to force (e.g., tiptoe, plod)
• experience movements relating to space (e.g., reach high, squat low, stretch your arms out wide)
• develop ability to use bodies expressively
• be able to work independently, with a partner and in various group sizes
• explore movement using various types of equipment (e.g., scooters, hoops, climbing apparatus)
• develop an awareness of the capabilities of different body parts
• feel good about their growing physical competence

• learn to accept their own body images
• appreciate the need for physical fitness
• feel capable of becoming physically fit
• participate in a variety of aerobic and other physical activities

• explore new sensations
• focus attention through touching, smelling, tasting, seeing, hearing
• develop the ability to discriminate between textures, smells, tastes, sights, sounds
• develop the ability to describe different qualities among smells, tastes, textures, sounds
• develop the ability to record observations regarding touch, smell, taste, sound, sight (e.g., tallying, drawing)

• learn and practice safety procedures
• begin to identify and know functions of main body parts
• develop healthy personal habits
• be aware of the value of rest and relaxation
• become familiar with the roles of various professionals in the health field
• be aware of the value of healthy eating
• experience numerous healthy foods from a variety of food groups
• begin to recognize the difference between curable and incurable diseases/disabilities
• learn how to help and respect people with diseases and disabilities
• understand that death is a natural part of the cycle of life

• increase speed (e.g., run fast)
• improve reaction time (e.g., stop at the sound of a clap, run at the sound of a bell)
• improve agility (e.g., dodge a ball)
• improve large muscle coordination (e.g., skip, gallop)
• improve small muscle coordination (e.g., hold one, two, three ... fingers up during fingerplays, string beads, grasp hand tools appropriately)
• use muscles for self-help skills (e.g., zip jacket, tie shoes)
• develop eye-hand coordination (e.g., throw a ball at a target, catch a bean bag, assemble a puzzle, cut with scissors)
• develop eye-foot coordination (e.g., kick a ball)
• develop awareness of body in space (e.g., find a space on the floor where you cannot reach anyone else)
• begin to be aware of laterality, (e.g., twirl other hand, raise other foot)
• develop directionality (e.g., move forwards, backwards, sideways, and over, under, through, inside, outside and around objects)
• change direction with ease
• develop kinaesthesis (e.g., with your eyes closed touch your knees)
• demonstrate good posture
• improve balance (e.g., hop on one foot, walk on low balance beam, walk with bean bag on head)
• begin sequencing (e.g., clap four times, then jump)

Intellectual Development

Develop a positive attitude toward learning

• be successful in a variety of learning activities
• take calculated risks
• create, invent and discover
• learn from mistakes
• accept constructive criticism
• plan, expand and persist with activities
• adjust to and accept change
• accept new challenges

• become familiar with the roles people play in society (e.g., firefighters, police officers, nurses)
• learn to identify and use a variety of items that are commonly found in their surroundings
• begin to become technologically literate (e.g., use computers, audiocassette player-recorders, headphones)
• compare various objects and materials (e.g., smooth/rough)
• describe the characteristics of objects (e.g., colour, size, texture, shape)
• demonstrate one-to-one correspondence when counting
• recognize the purposes of counting
• begin to estimate
• be aware of the location of objects, people, etc. (e.g., over, under, inside, outside)
• begin to understand the basic concept of measurement

• solve problems (e.g., "How many blocks are needed to make this wall the same as the other one?")
• create meaning from experiences
• recognize and repeat patterns (e.g., bead patterns, block patterns, speech patterns)
• explain similarities and differences among objects (e.g., fragrance, texture, sound)
• sort, classify and reclassify objects and pictures according to common characteristics (e.g., shape, colour, size)
• serialize objects (e.g., shortest to tallest, empty to full)
• collect, organize and interpret data according to their own criteria (e.g., "Six students like vanilla ice cream the best and ten like strawberry so we should make strawberry.")
• make connections (e.g., "The block tower fell because the blocks were not lined up evenly.", "The blue paint turned green because I added yellow paint to it.")
• make predictions
• ask questions
• recognize that change is sometimes necessary (e.g., new technology, necessary change in routine)

• initiate requests for stories, games and other learning activities
• plan work ahead of time and express their plans in simple terms
• help plan classroom themes

• recall recent experiences
• dramatize recent experiences
• ask questions about recent experiences
• request more materials for the purpose of further learning
• request guidance in further learning

• follow simple directions
• respond appropriately to questions
• make relevant comments and ask relevant questions during conversations and discussions
• show an interest in listening to a variety of literature
• show respect for others who are speaking

• communicate ideas, feelings and emotions
• ask for information
• tell stories about pictures
• listen to a story, poem or song and explain what happened
• explain how a problem was solved
• engage in discussions
• increase vocabulary

• be curious about arrangement of materials and objects in various activity centres
• observe, explore and investigate new materials in the environment
• make pertinent comments or ask questions about films, tapes, etc.

• choose learning tasks
• assess their own achievement at task choice and completion
• participate in creative problem-solving activities
• use a variety of resources to help express themselves

• understand that thoughts and ideas can be expressed in written as well as spoken language
• develop an awareness that various cultures, lifestyles and experiences are portrayed in literature
• begin to recognize some written signs and names of classmates
• create increasingly representational art work
• move from scribbling to using some letters and numbers
• print their given names in recognizable form
• begin to use writing instruments for a purpose (e.g., making signs or shopping lists using drawing, scribbling, fluency, random letters, early sound-letter representations, temporary spelling or standard spelling)
• become familiar with the parts of and proper use of books

• become aware of patterns of sound in the natural and constructed environment (e.g., clip-clop, splish-splash, ping-pong)
• recite fingerplays, poems and songs
• echo repetitive parts of cumulative stories
• move to the rhythm of music (e.g., clap, snap, step)
• use rhythm instruments
• create new fingerplays, poems and songs

• choose materials deliberately to carry out an idea or to solve a problem (e.g., create with blocks, play dough; use balance scale)
• role play with other children using a variety of materials (e.g., puppets)