First Grade Scope and Sequence

Grade 1 Curriculum Guide Social Studies * Holidays, traditions, and customs * Our American Heritage * Different cultures at different times * Family, school, neighborhood, community * Farm and zoo * Neighborhood helpers * Jobs and careers * Social skills and responsibilities * Basic geography terms * Making and reading a simple neighborhood map Science * Grouping and classification * Living and nonliving things * Animals * Pets * Farm animals * Zoo and circus animals * Woodland animals * Common birds * Plant and animal habitats * Seeds, bulbs, plants, flowers * Weather and seasons * Day and night * Solids, liquids, gases * Air and water * Magnets * Fire and temperature * Sun, moon, stars, planets * Simple machines * Beginning experimentation * Scientific method and scientific inquiry Language Arts * Reading - Phonetic analysis - Structural analysis - Establishing sight vocabulary * Reading informally: names, labels, signs * Simple pantomimes and dramatic play * Creating stories and poems * Telling favorite stories * Organizing ideas and impressions * Enunciation and pronunciation * Presenting information orally, in sequence and with clarity * Book reports and critiques * Discussion skills: taking part in group discussion * Beginning dictionary skills: alphabetizing * Beginning spelling * Beginning grammar: nouns, verbs, adjectives * Introduction to punctuation and capitalization * Manuscript handwriting * Handling books * Using table of contents * Development of a class newspaper Health and Safety * Personal hygiene * Dental health * Good eating habits * Exercise and rest * Diseases * Common cold * Dressing for weather and activity * Safety rules to and from school Mathematics * Counting and writing to 100 * Counting by 2's to 40 * Simple number patterns * Beginning ordinal numbers * Using 10 as a basic unit * Simple properties of zero * Simple properties of sets * Beginning addition and subtraction facts * Number-line use * Place value and numeration * Concepts of quantity and size * Concepts of equality and inequality * Concepts of ordinal and cardinal numbers * Using 1/2 and 1/4 appropriately * Estimation * Geometric patterns and figures * Basic customary and metric measurement * Recognizing time: clock and calendar * Value of penny, nickel, dime, quarter * Solving simple word problems * Basic probability and chance * Basic chart and graph concepts

Kindergarten Scope and Sequence

Kindergarten Curriculum Guide

Social Studies * Meanings of holidays, traditions, and customs * Understanding and appreciating other cultures * Individual's role in family, home, school, and community * Relationship of the individual to the group * Work and jobs * Safety rules and symbols * Basic human needs * Self-respect and self-awareness * Awareness of others * Location of home and school * Diagram of home and school Science * Observation of everyday, familiar things * Common animals and plants * Interrelationships of animals and plants * Classification of living things * Farm animals * Care of pets * Like and unlike plants * Indoor plants * The sun: our principal source of energy * Weather and seasons * Temperature * Light * Colors * Senses * Earth, moon, stars, planets * Simple measurement * Beginning experimentation Language Arts * Phonics * Choral reading * Listening to literature, music, poetry * Nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fables * Social listening * Constructing visual images while listening * Oral communication skills * Role play * Following and giving directions * Paraphrasing and summarizing * Organizing ideas * Experience stories * Relating events and experiences using complete sentences * Listening for correct speech habits and word usage * Beginning writing process * Manuscript handwriting Health and Safety * Personal hygiene * Good eating habits * Good grooming * Care of teeth * Major body parts * Physical fitness * Safety to and from school Mathematics * Simple counting to 20 * One-to-one relationship * Concepts of more, less than, same * Sequence of events * Correspondence of quantities * Ordinal-cardinal relationship * Number-numeral relationship * Recognition of basic sets * Meaning of addition and subtraction * Introduction to number line * Estimation * Elementary geometry (shapes) * Calendar and clock * Denominations of money * Basic problem-solving strategies * Basic chart and graph concepts

PreSchool Scope and Sequence

Preschool Curriculum Guide Size * Understands big and little. * Understands long and short. * Matches shapes or objects based on size. Colors and Shapes * Recognizes and names primary colors. * Recognizes circles. * Recognizes rectangles. * Matches shapes or objects based on shape. * Copies shapes. Numbers * Counts orally through 10. * Counts objects in one-to-one correspondence. * Understands empty and full. * Understands more and less. Reading Readiness * Remembers objects from a given picture. * Knows what a letter is. * Has been read to frequently. * Has been read to daily. * Looks at books and magazines. * Recognizes some nursery rhymes. * Identifies parts of the body. * Identifies objects that have a functional use. * Knows common farm and zoo animals. * Pronounces own first name. * Pronounces own last name. * Expresses self verbally. * Identifies other children by name * Tells the meaning of simple words. * Repeats a sentence of 6-8 words. * Completes incomplete sentence with proper word. * Has own books. * Understands that print carries a message. * Pretends to read. * Uses left-to-right progression. * Answers questions about a short story. * Tells the meaning of words heard in story. * Looks at pictures and tells a story. * Identifies own first name in manuscript. * Prints own first name. Position and Direction * Understands up and down. * Understands in and out. * Understands front and back. * Understands over (on) and under. * Understands top, bottom, middle. * Understands beside and next to. * Understands hot and cold. * Understands fast and slow. Time * Understands day and night. * Knows age and birthday. Listening and Sequencing * Follows simple directions. * Listens to a short story. * Listens carefully. * Recognizes common sounds. * Repeats a sequence of sounds. * Repeats a sequence of orally given numbers. * Retells simple stories in sequence. Motor Skills * Is able to run. * Is able to walk a straight line. * Is able to jump. * Is able to hop. * Is able to alternate feet walking down stairs. * Is able to march. * Is able to stand on one foot for 5-10 seconds. * Is able to walk backwards for five feet. * Is able to throw a ball. * Pastes objects. * Claps hands. * Matches simple objects. * Touches fingers. * Able to button a garment. * Builds with blocks. * Completes simple puzzles (5 pieces or less). * Draws and colors beyond * a simple scribble. * Able to zip a zipper. * Controls pencil and crayon well. * Cuts simple shapes. * Handles scissors well. * Able to copy simple shapes. Social-Emotional Development * Can be away from parents or primary care givers for 2-3 hours without being upset. * Takes care of toilet needs independently. * Feels good about self. * Is not afraid to go to school. * Cares for own belongings. * Knows full name. * Dresses self. * Knows how to use handkerchief or tissue. * Knows own sex. * Brushes teeth. * Crosses residential street safely. * Asks to go to school. * Knows parents' names. * Knows home address. * Knows home phone number. * Enters into casual conversation. * Carries a plate of food. * Maintains self-control. * Gets along well with other children. * Plays with other children. * Recognizes authority. * Shares with others. * Talks easily. * Likes teachers. * Meets visitors without shyness. * Puts away toys. * Able to stay on task. * Able to work independently. * Helps family with chores.

Elachee Nature Center

I took the girls to the local nature center yesterday. It has been a while since we have engaged in any particular educational activity, so I decided to pack them up and get them outside now that the weather is mild again. Much to my surprise, our nature center has a honey bee hive.

--- Not just ANY honey bee hive! ---

Their honey bees live in a glass hive! We got to stand there and watch all the bees going about their bee business inside the hive. It was so awesome to see how they were all working around each other and doing their own job.

We also got to see and touch a few snakes and turtles. The girls, of course, loved touching the snakes. I made a mental note to remember that Monday - early afternoon - is feeding and cleaning time for the animals. Hopefully we will be able to spend more time hanging out with the animals there.

Tide Pool Discoveries

Oh my gosh, we had such a blast at the beach last week when we were on vacation. We went out on Thursday morning during low tide and discovered dozens of tide pools to be explored.

We found:
    
     2 hermit crabs
     3 sand snails that we managed to dig up out of the sand
     1 sand crab that wasn't too disturbed by our insistence that he stick around
     1 live shrimp
     2 dead jellyfish
     more than a few minnow fish

We spent a great deal of time playing with the tiniest hermit crab. He gladly graced us with his ticklesh little claws as he crawled all over our hands (as long as we kept our hands under the water). He was quite adorable. He would have easily fit on the end of a pencil eraser.

I would love to live near the ocean so we could explore the tide pools on a more regular basis. I think it would be a cool project to do a daily log of one of those pools. We could measure the tide pool's width and depth, then keep a log and drawings of what types of critters we find in the pool each day. That would be such an awesome science project. (And art... and math... and hmmm... what else could I work into that one?)

Vacation Education

We are spending this week in South Carolina on Hilton Head Island. This is the first time I have been here. I've been very pleased with the area. The beaches, the pace, and the general atmosphere is great for taking time away from regular life.

While here, we've had the opportunity to do many things that have been good for fun and education.

On Sunday we visited Coastal Discovery Museum. There were many things to be done at the museum. The best part, of course, was that the admission to the museum was 100% FREE. I love FREE stuff that provides entertainment AND education.

We played dress up and pretended we were colonial kids.

We looked at a really large skeleton of a sea turtle. Seriously, we could have used that turtles shell to build ourselves a really awesome cave.

We walked through the butterfly pavilion and saw "flying flowers" and the caterpillars that make them. (Translation: We saw monarch caterpillars and swallowtail caterpillars, along with a handful of butterflies.)

We walked out on two different boardwalks that stretched out over the salt marsh. This, by far, was my favorite part of our visit. I thoroughly enjoyed walking out over the marsh. It was low tide when we made our visit, so the water was way down. We were blessed by visions of thousands of fiddler crabs as they went about the business of life. It was absolutely amazing. I really could have sat and watched those crabs for hours. Marisa was with me on this one. She would have gladly sat and watched the little crabs going about their business for quite a long time. Unfortunately, Kira and Daddy were way too impatient for that. They figured that twenty minutes of fiddler crab life was plenty enough for them.

When we were making our way back to the car, I came across an interesting creature. It appeared to be a caterpillar, but it was shaped like a scorpion. I couldn't see any type of stinger and whenever I touched it with a stick it would curl up like a grub worm.I did find some photos and learned that this was, in fact, a caterpillar. It's the caterpillar for a tussock moth. The one we saw was red/black fur and a red head with black antennae and tail.

Booth Western Art Museum

Yesterday we took the girls to the Booth Western Art Museum. I decided to make this visit because Kira has recently become enamored with pioneer life. As a way of expanding her exposure, we decided to go to the local Western Museum. Of course, it didn't hurt that the museum has a monthly FREE day that just happened to be yesterday.

We started with the American West Gallery where we saw sculptures and paintings and a real stage coach. We also visited the Cowboy Gallery that was filled to the brim with pictures and sculptures of horses. This was probably Kira's favorite art exhibit because she adores anything to do with horses. We moved on to the Heading West Gallery where we viewed paintings of the westward expansion and played with the "touchables" that are set out in the various galleries for the kids to play with.

Our final stop was the Sagebrush Ranch. The Ranch is an educational playground where the children can play and learn. There is a dress up section filled with western style clothes. There's a library section with about 50 different books to read, complete with comfortable bean bag chairs to lounge on and a loft bed to climb into for reading privacy. (We're definitely going to build a bed like that in the girls' bedroom so they can have separate beds in that tiny space.) The Ranch also has two different computer stations where the kids can play games.

The highlight of the ranch was the stage coach replica that bounced along with a TV screen that shows a wild west scene as you "ride" in the coach. Marisa was in that coach a few dozen times before we finally left the room. In fact, the girls would have gladly stayed another hour or two had the adults not demanded that dinner was much more necessary than spending yet another hour at The Ranch. This alone would be worth paying the normal admission price. I'm glad they have a FREE day, though. It's nice for families to be able to visit even if they don't have the money to pay. Trust me - when you have multiple adults and multiple children making a visit to the museum, that admission fee can add up really quickly.

I believe we will make every First Thursday of the Month our Booth Museum day. Even though we spent more than two hours in the museum, we still missed a few of the exhibits. We definitely have to go back to play at the Sagebrush Ranch, too.