Miss Kylie Hogan
Kindergarten 2
The word kindergarten literally means “children’s garden”, and in her class, Miss Hogan knows exactly what she is growing in her garden. She is growing independence,by providing a nurturing environment with just the right balance of freedom and structure to safely explore. She is growing curiosity,by providing endless resources that help the children “find things out”. She is growing relationshipsbetween the children characterized by kindness and mutual respect. She is growing a sense of community,as the children help each other complete larger projects.
Miss Hogan’s kindergarten is alive and vibrant with activity. She creates a comfortable and cozy environment in which kindergarteners thrive. The small class size allows Miss Hogan to engage the students in a stimulating exploration of early academics and also allows her to customize learning to suit individual cognitive styles. With such a small, well-behaved group, there is enough time to provide one-to-one attention to a child struggling with reading or basic math. Miss Hogan combines youthful enthusiasm with six years of teaching experience, and she is very effective in promoting self-motivated, competent learners on to first grade. A typical day in Miss Hogan’s kindergarten begins when the children arrive and choose a book to read or a puzzle to work on until class begins. The children gather around Miss Hogan for “Morning Circle”, a time when they review the calendar (the month, day of the week, date, year, season, weather, question of the day, and any special event planned for the day), read the morning message, keep track of how many days they’ve been in school and practice reciting the monthly poem. The children then write in their journals, and it’s on to religion and handwriting. After washing up for snack time, they enjoy morning recess. Mathematics follows, where the topics covered include position, comparison, classification, estimation, number recognition, patterns, place value, time, money, measurement, graphics, addition and subtraction. They learn about problem-solving, critical thinking and use hands-on manipulative. Language Arts are next, and after reading stories and writing about themes like family and friends, the children are ready for a well-earned lunch break. After lunch recess and rest time, academic work continues with phonics, science and social studies. The final “subject” of the day is Free Choice! Miss Hogan says “I love teaching kindergarten because the children are a lot of fun and so eager to learn. It’s such an incredible feeling when you hear them begin to read for the first time and know you had something to do with that.”
