March 1, 2016

Dear Parents:

We are thrilled to offer a new Spanish Immersion Kindergarten program in our Falls Churchcenter for the 2016-2017 school year. Entering our eighth year as a preschool, CommuniKids will implement its groundbreaking ECSL curriculum in our full-day Kindergarten programs. Our program will immerse children in Spanish while preparing them for their elementary education. Our Kindergarten objectives and outcomes are aligned with those of Virginia Public Schools and all activities will be developmentally appropriate, which will allow for children to grow and learn at their own pace. CommuniKids Spanish Immersion Kindergarten program will be the first and only one of its kind in Falls Church!

ECSL (pronounced “excel”) is an acronym for Early Childhood Second Language, a groundbreaking early childhood educational approach that prepares children for their K-12 education while promoting fluency in a second language through engaging, developmentally-appropriate activities. ECSL provides children with extended periods of instruction in a second language while giving them opportunities to develop their cognitive, linguistic, motor, and social-emotional skills. In other words, ECSL students master Kindergarten skills while developing second language fluency.

In addition to the domains mentioned above, our Kindergarten program will also provide a strong foundation in Language Arts (Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening skills), Math, Science, Social Studies, Music, Art, and Physical Education. ECSL is an interdisciplinary program where all subjects are introduced through engaging themes. Themes for 2016-2017 school year include the following:

~Discovering Properties of Water~Understanding Nature

~Developing our Imagination~The USA

~Communities Around the World~The Five Senses

As we prepare our children for their elementary years, we recognize that Kindergarten is still part of their early childhood education. Therefore, our program will hit all of our curriculum objectives through developmentally appropriate play, discovery, investigation, and other hands-on activities. We strive to instill a life-long love of learning in our children and hope you’ll join us for an amazing first Kindergarten year!

Sincerely,

Jeannine Piacenza and RaúlEchevarríaWendy Aguilar

Co-foundersRegional Director

KINDERGARTEN OVERVIEW

Curriculum Outline

Language Arts:

Our full-day Kindergarten Program (9:00 – 3:00) will include one hour of English language arts in the morning; the rest of the day will be entirely in Spanish. Please note that English Language Arts will be incorporated only in the full day program.

Components of the Language Arts Program: Kindergarten students will be immersed in written and oral language throughout the day.

Spoken Language outcomes:

Speaking Skills: English

Students will be able to:

  • Listen and speak in informal conversations with peers and adults
  • Use complete sentences
  • Use words that describe numbers, people, places, things, actions
  • Identify and produce rhyming words
  • Use vocabulary from other content areas
  • Learn and produce sounds of letters, distinguishing between vowels and consonants
  • Begin to ask how and why questions and about words not understood

Speaking Skills: Spanish

Students will be able to:

  • Use gestures, actions, body language, and/or words to communicate needs and express ideas
  • Express oneself to have needs met
  • Begin to use single words and two-word phrases in Spanish, eventually developing use of full sentences in Spanish
  • Learn and produce sounds of letters, distinguishing between vowels and consonants
  • Name classmates, teachers, and classroom objects in Spanish
  • Participate in oral production of poems, rhymes, chants, songs, etc.
  • Understand that there are multiple languages in the world and that people speak different languages

Listening Skills: English

Students will be able to:

  • Listen to a variety of stories, poems, non-fiction, rhymes, and songs
  • Understand verbal directions, routines, and transitions in the classroom
  • Recognize that there are different accents among speakers of the same language, and different vocabulary for the same item/concept
  • Follow one-step and two-step directions

Listening Skills: Spanish

Students will be able to:

  • Listen to a variety of stories, poems, non-fiction, rhymes, and songs
  • Understand verbal directions, routines, and transitions in the classroom
  • Recognize that there are different accents among speakers of the same language, and different vocabulary for the same item/concept
  • Follow one-step and two-step directions
  • At their own pace, children will understand spoken Spanish vocabulary, including, but not limited to, classroom instructions, colors, numbers, the alphabet, shapes, animals, days of the week, months of the year, weather, clothing, food, etc.

Written Language outcomes:

Reading Skills: English

Students will be able to:

  • Develop vocabulary by listening to a variety of texts read aloud, including stories, poems, rhymes, chants, songs, etc.
  • Hold print materials in correct position
  • Use pictures and/or previous experiences to make predictions
  • Make connections to their own experience when listening to or reading texts
  • Respond to visual information showing understanding through play, gestures, and facial expressions
  • Distinguish between print and pictures
  • Understand that symbols represent sounds, letters, words, and meaning
  • Recognize upper and lower-case letters
  • Recognize numbers
  • Understand vowels and consonants
  • Begin to recognize sight words at student’s own pace

Reading Skills: Spanish

Students will be able to:

  • Develop vocabulary by listening to a variety of texts read aloud, including stories, poems, rhymes, chants, songs, etc.
  • Hold print materials in correct position
  • Use pictures and/or previous experiences to make predictions
  • Make connections to their own experience when listening to or reading texts
  • Respond to visual information showing understanding through play, gestures, and facial expressions
  • Distinguish between print and pictures
  • Understand that symbols represent sounds, letters, words, and meaning
  • Recognize upper and lower-case letters
  • Recognize numbers
  • Understand vowels and consonants
  • Begin to recognize sight words at student’s own pace

Writing Skills: English

Students will be able to:

  • Experiment with writing using different materials and media
  • Print name independently
  • Differentiate between upper and lower-case letters, and numbers
  • Write to communicate ideas and express oneself
  • Participate in shared writing activities

Writing Skills: Spanish

Students will be able to:

  • Experiment with writing using different materials and media
  • Print name independently
  • Differentiate between upper and lower-case letters, and numbers
  • Write to communicate ideas and express oneself
  • Participate in shared writing activities

Mathematics:

Our Math program incorporates numeracy, shapes and geometry, patterns and functions, measurement, and data

Numeracy:

Students will be able to:

  • Count to 100 in Spanish and English by ones, fives, and tens
  • Compare numbers to 50, using objects in sets, more, less, same
  • Use ordinal numbers to 10
  • Write numerals up to 50
  • Understand concept of addition and subtraction
  • Add and subtract single-digit numbers

Shapes and Geometry:

Students will be able to:

  • Classify, name, and sort shapes: squares, circles, ovals, triangles, rectangles,
  • Classify, name, and sort three-dimensional objects such as cubes, spheres, pyramids
  • Understand and use directional concepts such as inside, outside, under, above, over, next to, behind, in front of, up, down, right, left, etc.

Patterns and Functions:

Students will be able to:

  • Classify and sort objects by attributes
  • Identify patterns found in everyday objections and situations
  • Classify and order objects by two attributes
  • Recognize, describe, and extend patterns

Measurement:

Students will be able to:

  • Recognize coins and determine the value of several coins
  • Tell time
  • Use a calendar to sequence events: school days, days of the week, seasons, etc.
  • Identify measurement instruments
  • Estimate, measure, and record in nonstandard units
  • Compare and order weight in nonstandard units
  • Describe and compare measureable attributes

Data:

Students will be able to:

  • Gather data by counting and tallying
  • Pose questions that can be answered by data
  • Use bar graphs and pictographs
  • Use Venn diagrams to represent data

Science

In our science program, special emphasis is placed on wonder, discovery, questioning, and using the senses.

Students will be able to:

  • Observe carefully in order to gather data
  • Use a variety of instruments and tools to measure data accurately
  • Use scientific vocabulary to explain observations and experiences
  • Identify or generate a question or problem to be explored
  • Plan and carry out systematic investigations
  • Make and test predictions
  • Interpret and evaluate data gathered in order to draw conclusions
  • Consider scientific models and applications of these models

Sample topics to be taught include:

  • Investigate and understand the five senses
  • The properties of water
  • Investigate magnetism
  • Origin and production of shadows
  • How materials can be reused, recycled, repurposed, and conserved
  • Simple patterns in nature

We are celebrating our TENTH anniversary with a special offer for preschool families!

Get 10% off your PRESCHOOL tuition by referring a friend!

CommuniKids was launched in September 2005 with 20 toddlers learning Spanish in Raúl’s classes! We now have four centers offering preschool in Spanish, French, and Mandarin; enrichment classes in Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Arabic; Summer Camp in all four languages; and a growing new after school program for school-aged children!

We still have space available in some our preschool classes and invite our current preschool parents to refer a friend or family member. We will offer 10% off your current year tuition if your referral enrolls in preschool for the 2015-2016 academic year.* Interested families can contact Karen O’Connor-Floman, Director of Admissions and Outreach, at . Make sure they mention your name!

We thank all of our past and current parents for helping us make our schools unique and successful. We couldn’t have done it without your confidence in us as educators, and your commitment to excellence in early childhood education and language immersion education.

*New family must enroll by December 31, 2015. Some classes/age groups are full. There must be a space available in order for discount to be appliedSocial Studies:

The social studies program will provide a broad foundation in history, geography, economics, world cultures, and civics. Topics of investigation include:

  • Patterns of human settlement
  • Study of people, communities, culture, and societies in the world
  • The past and its influence on the future
  • People who have shaped the formation of the United States
  • Interaction between people and the environment
  • Natural and economic resources and how people manage them
  • Basic structure of government in the United States

Music:

Music is a critical piece of any school curriculum, and an important component of our Kindergarten program. We incorporate music into our classrooms on a daily basis. Children will enjoy singing, movement and dance, playing various musical instruments, and exposure to all types of music. Students will develop a life-long understanding and appreciation of music. A special emphasis will be placed on

the rich, varied genres of music that have developed in the Spanish-speaking world, as well as other world music from across the globe.

Art:

There are numerous benefits to a rich art program in the early childhood years. Our art program encourages exploration and creativity by providing children with open-ended materials from which to choose as they explore color, form, texture, etc. Art not only promotes creativity in children, but also helps develop fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, decision making skills, spatial relationships, visual learning, and language development. Using a Process Method, which emphasizes the process of producing art over the finished product, children will explore and express themselves

through a variety of materials including paint, crayons, pencils, markers, clay, “found materials,” yarn and string, beads, buttons, various types of paper, glue, scissors, etc.

Physical Education:

Physical development of gross motor skills is an important part of our Kindergarten curriculum. Young children need to learn and practice various skills as their bodies and minds grow. Through the participation in various sports, games, and creative movement, our program allows children to practice the following:

  • Running, jumping, leaping, sliding, skipping
  • Move in a variety of pathways: straight, curved, zig zag, circle, etc.
  • Throw a ball, catch a ball with two hands, and drop and catch a bounced ball
  • Balance on one foot, and keeping balance while transferring weight to the other foot
  • Kick both stationary and moving balls
  • Imitate the movements of a variety of animals

Kindergarten

Sample Daily Activity Schedule*

7:00 to 8:30Optional early morning extended day (must register in advance)

8:30 to 9:00 Arrival and free play in classroom centers

9:00 to 9:45English Language Arts with focus on thematic unit

9:45 to 10:15Circle Time (Spanish): calendar, thematic unit

10:15 to 10:30Snack

10:30 to 11:30Centers, integrated thematic activities

11:30 to 12:15Outdoor play; arrival of K Enrichment children

12:15 to 12:45Lunch

12:45 to 2:00Integrated thematic activities, centers

2:00 to 2:45Specials: Phys Ed/Art/Music

2:45 to 3:00Closing circle

3:00 to 6:00Optional afternoon extended day

3:00 to 3:30: Circle and snack

3:30 to 4:30: Outdoor play

4:30 to 6:00: Free play in centers (dramatic play, art, blocks, sand/water, reading and writing, etc.

*This is meant to be a sample only. Schedule and activities are subject to change to accommodate the needs of our students..