Lower School
Primary Prep: Kindergarten
Ribét's Kindergarten program for children 4 years ten months and up is designed to promote and support the growth of the whole child. Academics are an important part of the program and are preparation for advancement to First Grade in the Elementary component of our Lower School. While children are ready at this age to embrace and pursue academics, they are also developing socially and emotionally. The academic, social, and emotional emphasis for each child in our care helps shape and direct our program.
The Kindergarten Curriculum
- Reading and writing are taught concurrently with a thorough immersion in books and print awareness. A heavy emphasis on phonics in the first semester results in proficient decoding [reading] and encoding [spelling] by most students. Such emphasis allows children to decode automatically, so that as they begin to read, they can concentrate on the "meaning" of what they read.
- Math skills are taught so that children have a sound grasp of basic facts and an automatic fluency with fundamental operations. A predominantly "hands on" program allows children to master mathematical concepts at the "concrete," "connecting," and "symbolic" levels.
- Social Studies and Geography are presented thematically and include sensory and language-rich activities, such as use of manipulatives, maps, globes, charts, building blocks, music, art and story-writing. Curricular objectives are designed to introduce and develop new ideas and skills, and to offer opportunities to experience improvement and build self-confidence.
- Children are encouraged to observe, experience and share as they work and play at Ribét. Daily interaction includes: large and small group activities, which build cooperation and problem solving; self-selected activities which stimulate cognitive growth, creativity, and independence; and outdoor activities, which develop small and large-motor skills.
- Children gain knowledge about the world around them through observation and first hand experience. Our Science curriculum affords many opportunities for each child to observe and experiment. Included are trips to the Glendale Planetarium and the Los Angeles Zoo. Visiting “Scientists” lead workshops on color, light, magnets, the human body, and more. Projects include hatching butterflies and chicks and maintaining an organic vegetable garden.
- Art is an important part of our daily experience. Children explore with a variety of media to develop fine motor skills and to build confidence in their creative endeavors.
- Music is used to build skill and confidence. Singing songs, listening to music, learning to play rhythm instruments, dancing, rhyming, and chanting are all tools used daily for pleasure and proficiency. Children participate in three performances during the year, each program building on increased confidence and mastery as the year progresses.
- French is taught several times each week. Our goal is to present French as a counterpoint to English in accent and vocabulary. Children will learn simple songs, phrases and vocabulary. Children will be exposed to the concept that the world is made up of many cultures which express themselves differently.
- Physical Education is taught to the children twice weekly by a specialist. Children are given practice in many of the gross motor objectives of Kindergarten and are exposed to the fundamentals of games such as soccer, kickball, etc. Outdoor activity is planned daily as part of the kindergarten curriculum to ensure social and physical development.