Adrienne Rance
Adrienne Rance
Adrian Castillo
Jonne Wilson
Beth Yeshurun promotes learning through integrated and hands-on experiences that are interdisciplinary, multi-sensory, and responsive to student choice. In this way, we enable each child to connect new learning to both prior learning and personal experience. Kindergarten also plans various thematic units, which are hands-on learning projects that promote collaborative work, connections at home, and the importance of presenting to a group. These units of study incorporate reading, writing, math, science, social studies, art, and music. A few of our thematic units include seasons, Jewish holidays, butterflies, and fairy tales.
This cross curricular program is used explicitly at BYDS. Students learn core math concepts, building upon them each year.
Some of the main concepts in Kindergarten are numbers to 30, shapes, comparing numbers, measurement, simple addition and subtraction facts, time, and money.
Students work in their math workbooks learning and discussing new math concepts, and then in their math journals to do high-level thinking activities related to the new concepts.
Students also rotate around their differentiated math centers, working in small groups to review concepts or enrich students who are ready to move forward.
We work to correct letter formation, punctuation, sight words, phonics skills, and sentence structure. By the end of Kindergarten, they should be writing 3-5 sentences independently.
BYDS uses a multisensory handwriting program, which progresses at a developmentally appropriate rate from Kindergarten to first grade and continues into second grade. Our fundamental writing skills include pencil posture, letter, word, and sentence skills.
We work in differentiated literacy centers to independently practice writing, phonics, sight words, and fine-motor skills. During this time, teachers are working in small, guided-reading groups. Each group is working on different reading and phonics skills at their own level.
We introduce and review foundation skills for reading including beginning, middle, and end sounds, rhymes, syllables, and vowels. We build on these skills throughout the year and students have the opportunity to practice and apply them throughout the day (i.e. literacy centers, guided-reading groups).
Student begin to learn what rules and laws are and why we have them. One of the most important lessons they begin to learn in Kindergarten and continue throughout BYDS is how to be a good citizen. We encourage this also through our Mensch of the Month award.
Global studies starts with “home” learning about our own community. We work to create a list of different places in our community and determine why they are important. We also discuss community helpers, why people work, and how we can help our community.
Studies move into learning all of the important symbols of Texas and America. In the fall we learn about elections and how voting works and our past presidents. In the spring we learn about Martin Luther King Jr. and equality. As proud Texans, we work on projects leading up to and a big celebration for Go Texan Day.
Kindergartners learn the sequence our national holidays: Thanksgiving, Presidents’ Day, Columbus Day, MLK Jr. Day, Groundhog Day etc. As a Jewish school, we also get to explore the customs and traditions associated with the holidays in our Jewish community.
We begin with Migdal Or. The program prepares our students for a lifetime of Hebrew Learning.
We focus on teaching the stories and the values of the weekly “Parasha” Torah portion through skills-based activities and storytelling.
Kindergarteners participate in the weekly Shabbat program and they take home the Shabbat box during their kindergarten year.
The highlight for our Kindergarten students is their participation in the Consecration Service typically held during Sukkot. Each child receives his or her own miniature Torah, representing the beginning of official Jewish learning.
Foss is a research-based science curriculum, designed to engage students in active learning.
Every week the students learn through hands-on experiments, engineering projects, group discussions, and reading and writing activities.
We focus on three major domains: physical, earth, and life science and study Sound and Light, Air and Weather, Insects and Plants.
We focus on building content knowledge, vocabulary, early reading skills, as well as teaching ethics relating to religious freedom, compassion, empathy, and kindness. Teachers also utilize Studies Weekly as a resource to teach about history, government, geography, and cultures.
Students will experiment with art elements as they practice drawing skills and art techniques and develop an understanding of different art styles through an introduction to art history.
Using age-appropriate instruments and songs, students learn the beginning concepts of beat and rhythm development and instruments of the orchestra. Students sing in a group and in performances for our Thanksgiving, Grandfriends, Chanukah, Spring Showcase, and Consecration programs.
We teach the stories and values of the weekly “Parasha” through skills-based activities. The highlight for our Kindergarten students is their participation in the Consecration Service. Each child receives a miniature Torah, representing the beginning of official Jewish learning.
We learn basic vocabulary through songs. We focus on the numbers 1-10, basic colors, body parts, family members, proper and colloquial introductions and greetings, days of the week, and seasons.
Through monthly thematic units from basketball to Jump Rope for Heart, we focus on age and skill-appropriate lessons four days a week for 30 minutes a day with a health class once a week.
