Transitional
Kindergarten (TK) Program
Does your child have one of those birthdays that fall close to the cut-off dates for admission to kindergarten? Or do you think that your child just might benefit from one more year in school?
Russian Hill School has developed a special Transitional Kindergarten program that helps those children enter top-tier grammar school programs with ease and as leaders in their class. Our year-round schedule allows learning to continue, uninterrupted preventing summer regression.
The Curriculum
The TK curriculum is a thoughtfully designed and creative program that accompanies the general curriculum emphasizing academic skill development and leadership. Every year at RHS there is a unique and sophisticated overarching unit study subject matter that is researched thoroughly by the TK students. The unit study acts as a vehicle for tapping both individual and group abilities. These advanced unit studies are selected to pique the interest of the TK student. Related projects are introduced that address sophisticated skills. TK students have individual creative autonomy by virtue of their developing skill sets. The level of study is individualized for each student in order to maximize their reading, science, math, and art skills; as well as their ability to integrate these studies
A few examples of the programs in the TK curriculum include:
Pre-Math and Reading Readiness Games
At RHS we utilize a wide range of games and puzzles for our transitional kindergarteners such as Jr. Scrabble, beginning consonant bingo, rhyming bingo, mathematical manipulative games, and board games. Skills developed: reading, math facts, leadership, and cooperative learning skills.
Musical Plays
Plays are specifically selected for the developmental abilities of our 5-6 year old students: advanced themes, such as environmental conservation, are explored through dramatic and musical play seeking to bridge scientific and artistic learning modalities. Skills developed: public speaking and expression, creativity, and beginning scientific methodology.
Clay Animal Exploration and Story Development
This project is an individualized, teacher led activity for our oldest students. Skills developed: Observation, concentration, eye-hand coordination, fine motor development, three-dimensional representation, sculpting techniques and story telling.
Throughout the Transitional Kindergarten program, there is also a strong leadership component whereby our TK students are encouraged through specific teacher directed strategies to become more autonomous [for individual activity selection] and socially skilled. By leading through example and articulating solutions for social dilemmas among fellow students, they develop empathy and build self-esteem.
“Our time at RHS will forever be remembered as a period bursting with curiosity, joy, and incredible enthusiasm for learning. Every project is beautiful, and behind each is a marvelous scaffold of literacy, numeracy, and social skills. We watched our children and their friends each grow from awestruck learners who had to learn to share and try new activities to leaders who help others learn new skills and blossom. Our son benefitted from the transitional-k program and has surprised us with math and reading skills that we didn't even know he was getting at RHS simply because it was so seamlessly woven into the everyday work of the classroom.”
– Catherine, Mom of Sarah and Zach –
