SENIOR KINDERGARTEN & INTRO SENIOR KINDERGARTEN (GRANDE SECTION)

Aims & Objectives
Senior Kindergarten represents an essential transitional period during which the child begins the fundamental learning processes characteristic of the cycle. High priority is given to language activities and motor skills development.

When they enter Senior Kindergarten, the children have already spent one or two years at Toronto French School (in either Intro Junior Kindergarten, or Pre-Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten Sections), or come from a Francophone environment.

The students in Intro Senior Kindergarten, on the other hand, are new to Toronto French School. From September to December, an intensive language program provides them with a French language base and serves to establish the approaches and strategies that each individual child will need in order to succeed. From the second semester on, the program runs almost parallel to that of Senior Kindergarten.

Program

Living Together
In Senior Kindergarten, children begin to assert their independence and establish work habits. The socialization process is consolidated and children learn to co-operate, make friends and respect and listen to others. They learn to form relationships and accept and follow rules of behaviour critical to getting along with others and playing games. Each child becomes a responsible member of the class.

Physical Activities
Not only is a sense of spatial organization important in making the transition to Grade 1, but strong attention is also given to auditory perception, orientation and motor skills. Children also benefit from a 14-week ice-skating program (10 weeks in Mississauga) that allows them to continue what they have already learned in Junior Kindergarten.

Oral and Written Communication
In preparation for the reading and writing that will take place in Grade 1, activities are consistently geared to the development of oral expression (vocabulary and syntax). With support, children begin to express themselves in writing. Motor skill activities prepare them for cursive writing.

Artistic & Aesthetic Activities
Children are encouraged to develop creativity and learn to relate to material on both a sensory and emotional level. They begin to develop the techniques needed to bring about desired effects, and develop fine motor skills.

Musical Activities
Children are introduced to music theory through body movement and percussion instruments (Orff). At this level, the children also add more French songs to their repertoire.

Mathematical, Scientific and Technical Activities
Children work on simple experiments, recording and posting results according to the scientific method. Mathematical activities lead to a better understanding of the concepts of component and whole, as well as the meaning of particular symbols. Children are introduced to numeration and the concepts of measurement and time.