The Allen-Stevenson School | A Kindergarten Day

A Kindergarten Day

Below we've shared a really fun video, as well as a sample schedule so that you can get a small taste of what it is like to be a kindergarten boy at Allen-Stevenson. Click on the different daily activities to read more. The video gives you a chance to hear from teachers and a few boys about some of the different aspects of the curriculum that make our Kindergarten such a special place for boys to learn.

List of 9 items.

Arrival

At the start of every day, kindergarten boys enter the school, greeting the headmaster, then proceeding to their classrooms with an adult. Once there the boys shake hands and make eye contact with their teachers. They check themselves in on the Attendance Chart, hang up their backpacks and jackets in their cubbies, return any library books and hand in homework to the teacher. As the rest of their classmates arrive, they work quietly on their “Morning Work”, which consists of teacher-directed academic and social activities, swap out their book-a-day book, and read or catch up with friends.
Morning Meeting

During the morning meeting each classroom has a different way of coming together as a community, using fun activities to get to know each other better. Then, it’s on to the day of the week and the calendar. Boys take turns counting the days, going through the daily schedule, observing the weather and noting any birthdays…much of this involving math, vocabulary and sequential thinking.
Community Assembly

Some Fridays the Lower School gathers for a community assembly. Third graders collect their kindergarten buddies and walk them to the assembly, where everyone sits in a circle to sing and hear from a community member or enjoy an outside speaker.
Free Time

Following the Friday assembly the boys have open choice time to play with friends whether it is sharing a board game, blocks, K’nex, Zoobs, or coloring. The boys enjoy this creative playtime.
Academics

Homeroom is usually used for teaching the academic subjects – Math, Language Arts and Handwriting, Social Studies and Spanish. This time might also be used for handwriting lessons the Allen-Stevenson way – using the golf pencil and the boy diagram. The Feelings Curriculum is an important character-building piece in which the boys have the chance to better understand who they are and how others feel and think. Click here to view Lower School curriculum.
Snack Time

A healthy snack is eaten mid-morning while listening to a story.
Lunch

Sharing a meal together is important social time. We sit together as a class, with our teachers, enjoying a healthy lunch, conversation and laughter.
Art /Computer/Library/Music/ Science/Physical Education

There are usually two specials a day and these rotate depending on the day of the week and the class. The boys leave the classroom for these activities, learning to navigate the school, listen to directions and move as a group in an orderly fashion.
Dismissal and After School

At the end of the day, kindergartners gather their own belongings and are either picked up by an adult outside the classroom or they go to one of the fun after school Alligator Soup classes, and possibly Extended Day. Click here for information about class offerings.