Curriculum and Instruction

At KDay, our focus is on the whole child. We have selected academically rigorous, scientifically-proven curriculums developed by leaders in the fields of mathematics, literacy, and phonics which our teachers supplement with their own lessons and projects to ensure all children are being provided the support they need to meet their full potential.

In addition to planned academic learning, our teachers also love finding meaningful learning opportunities in the environment that surrounds us and developing hands-on, emergent curriculum based off these experiences. For example, this past fall a dying tree had to be removed from our grounds. The students were able to watch from a safe distance and teachers used this as a ‘jumping off point’ to teach about trees, their health, the heavy machinery used to remove them, and the operators of those machines and the tree climbers. Students read books and learned how to tell a tree’s age by their rings, relating it to their own lives. The students loved the unit and still regularly discuss the stump stool that sits on our playground.

Academic growth is only one focus at KDay. We also believe that socioemotional growth is of the utmost importance for growing children. We feel one of the best ways to develop age-appropriate socioemotional competencies is for children to simply play with their peers. The discussion, cooperation, compromise, and occasional disagreement that naturally occur while children are playing enables children to learn about their own emotions and those of their peers. They may make a mistake but teachers are always close by to help children develop language to negotiate and solve problems.

Assessment

How and why do we assess students?

We utilize Teaching Strategies Gold to assess student growth and plan informed curriculum. This assessment program allows teachers to track each child’s development on a continuum in every developmental domain in an effort to meet each child’s individual needs. Furthermore, Teaching Strategies Gold’s Creative Curriculum for Kindergarten is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Social Emotional Development and Approaches to Play and Learning, making it an excellent tool to ensure our students are getting all they need to thrive in Kindergarten and leaving prepared for first grade.

How are assessments shared with parents?

Teachers regularly update each child’s Teaching Strategies Gold profile and conduct three conferences each year to share these reports and discuss your child’s progress over the preceding three months. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic these meetings will be held via Zoom for the 2020-21 school year.

That said, you will hear from us much more frequently than that. We are honored to be trusted with your child’s schooling this year and view parents as our most valuable educational partners. We communicate frequently via email and phone about our observations and to make sure parents are aware of their child’s successes as well as any areas for growth that have been identified. Parents are also kept aware of what is going on in the school through newsletters and other email communication.