What Students Learn in TK

A very important part of TK is learning letters and letter sounds. For each letter of the alphabet, students learn how to recognize the letter, write the letter, identify pictures that begin with the letter, and how to make the letter sound. This is excellent preparation for reading in kindergarten. We also focus on reading comprehension in TK. Students participate in story time throughout the week, and they complete fun reading-comprehension activities during learning centers. In TK, we begin with listening to narrative texts and then we progress to listening to informational texts about plants, animals, planets and the ocean.

In TK, students learn about shapes, numbers, patterns, counting, addition and subtraction. They begin by learning how to recognize, draw and create shapes and then progress to patterns and sorting. Next, they learn how to count and write numbers. Finally, our TK students learn how to add and subtract using stories, objects and pictures.

Our TK students learn about Bible stories, religious holidays, the Holy Family, the Mass and more! They also learn their prayers such as Grace before meals, the Hail Mary, and the Guardian Angel Prayer. Later in the year, the students attend Mass with their seventh-grade buddies. This is a wonderful opportunity to continue to grow in the faith journey they began at home.

Our TK students learn about plants, animals, the ocean and the butterfly life cycle. We plant seeds in the spring and watch them grow into plants. We also bring in live caterpillars and watch them turn into butterflies! These are amazing experiences for our TK students. They also learn about community helpers. Our TK students enjoy learning about the people in our community who are there to help them.

One other important part of TK is developing fine-motor skills. This includes playing with playdough, tracing, drawing, coloring, writing and cutting with scissors. As we progress through the year, our students go from forming letters with playdough to writing individual letters, words and sentences by the end of the year.

A very important part of the TK curriculum is learning social-emotional skills. Our TK students learn how to share, take turns, and use polite words when playing with their friends or interacting with adults. Students learn the social skills that they will need to be successful at getting along with their peers.

Please label these items:

  • 1 backpack
  • 1 extra set school uniform, underwear and socks in backpack
  • 1 pair black or white Velcro shoes
  • 1 reusable water bottle
  • 1 three-pack underwear
  • 1 Wildkin Original Nap Mat with built-in blanket and pillow (found on Amazon, label with name)

Please DO NOT label these items:

  • 1 clear, plain standard-size pencil box (available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/fcgcLVH)
  • 2 six-pack Play-Doh packs
  • 3 packs Crayola jumbo crayons — 8-count (We go through these very quickly.)
  • 2 rolls paper towels
  • 1 pair of rounded-tip kids metal scissors
  • 1 four-pack black Expo dry-erase markers
  • 1 tissue box
  • 1 ream standard white card stock
  • 1 box Ziploc gallon-size bags
  • 2 cylinders Clorox wipes
  • 1 pair headphones — compatible with iPad
  • 1 plastic folder
  • 2 containers baby wipes
  • 1 pack Ticonderoga My First Tri-Write wood-cased pencils

Optional: 

  • Optional gift cards: Target, Amazon, Walmart, Walgreens, Dollar Store, Michaels (These help with expensive class projects like Mother’s Day/Father’s Day, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and photo developing.)
  • Thick- or thin-tip Expo markers (any color)
  • We are always accepting contributions to our class treasure chest! If you would like to contribute, we ask that the toy or trinket is medium to small in size and is age-appropriate. Thank you for your consideration!

Each student should bring one or more reams of 500 sheets or more of white copy paper for the school office labeled with his or her name.