[0:03] Hi, I'm Stephanie Olstead. I'm one of [0:05] the kindergarten teachers here at Jordan [0:06] Elementary and I believe this is my 30th [0:09] year teaching. My favorite part about um [0:13] working with kindergarten students is [0:15] their wonder and excitement for school, [0:18] for learning, for making friends, and [0:22] just kind of discovering school, [0:24] discovering all the things about being [0:28] in a group and in a large group at [0:29] school. Um it's just a a year full of [0:33] excitement for them. And then it's [0:35] exciting for me to be able to watch them [0:38] from kindergarten all the way up till [0:40] when they graduate and then into [0:42] adulthood and being able to watch them [0:44] grow and change and and where they go in [0:46] life. The skills that we work on in [0:49] kindergarten throughout the year, we [0:51] work on letters. We work on numbers and [0:53] some of the most basic parts of those, [0:54] recognizing those letters and numbers [0:57] all the way up to learning our sounds [1:00] and then blending words and then [1:02] writing, reading words and then numbers. [1:06] We work on those basics, but then we [1:08] also do adding and subtracting shapes [1:10] and those kinds of things, writing [1:12] sentences. We also work on um learning [1:16] how to be a good friend. We learn on [1:18] learn coping skills, how to persevere [1:21] and problem solve and um just how to be [1:24] in a group and how to function at [1:26] school, how to um be independent. And [1:29] those are all big skills that we work on [1:31] a lot in kindergarten, which are [1:34] probably as important, especially in [1:36] kindergarten, to learn those as as [1:39] important as academics. Oftentimes as [1:42] kindergarten teachers, we get asked, [1:44] "What can we do to get our kid ready for [1:46] kindergarten?" Or maybe, "What should I [1:48] know before I send my kindergarten um [1:51] kid to school?" Probably the biggest [1:54] thing that we would like um parents [1:56] sending their kids to kindergarten to [1:58] know would be that we're here to help [2:00] you. We're here to partner with you. We [2:02] want to see your kids succeed and um we [2:06] want to work with you um at Jordan [2:08] Elementary to make that happen. [2:10] >> Hi, I'm Michael Royer. I'm one of the [2:11] kindergarten teachers here in Jordan and [2:13] I've been teaching in kindergarten here [2:14] for now 5 years. What I really love [2:17] about Jordan is that in kindergarten we [2:19] have opportunities for them to play. And [2:20] a lot of the time throughout the day is [2:22] we try to embed some of that play in the [2:24] day. Um every day they come in, we do a [2:27] morning playtime. there might be a [2:28] morning job or something like that where [2:30] they got to take down chairs and get [2:31] their locker ready and things like that. [2:32] Um, but you then usually will go into [2:34] some reading and we do some readalouds [2:36] and some uh reading activities that go [2:37] along with that where we're teaching [2:38] them their letters and their sounds and [2:40] things like that. Um, and then the [2:42] middle day we have our lunch and recess [2:43] which the kids absolutely love and is [2:45] always their favorite subject. They come [2:46] back usually we have our specialist [2:48] which is like our um fed, our art, our [2:51] media, our library, things like that [2:52] that they'll go to. Um, and then we end [2:54] our day kind of with our math, usually [2:56] more towards the end of the day. Um, and [2:58] then if we have time at the end of the [2:59] day, we'll do some more playtime. We do [3:01] a lot of things to prepare students for [3:03] the rest of elementary school and middle [3:04] school and beyond. Um, but other than [3:06] just obviously the academics in [3:08] kindergarten, we get their letter [3:09] sounds, their numbers, things like that. [3:11] We try to get them to read leaving [3:12] kindergarten. Um, but some of the most [3:14] important things that I think and we [3:15] think are really important about [3:16] kindergarten is that we get them ready [3:18] just how to be in a school. Some of them [3:20] have been to preschool and have had [3:22] those opportunities before they come [3:23] here. Um, but for so many of our kiddos, [3:25] this is their first experience in any [3:27] type of a school. So, just getting them [3:28] to, you know, be in a school, understand [3:31] what the rules and different things are [3:32] that we might do at here in Jordan. Um, [3:34] but then also getting them ready to join [3:36] in the community and then be ready for [3:38] next year going forward. [3:40] >> Hello, I'm Melissa Barnett, Jordan [3:42] Elementary School principal. When I [3:44] think about our kindergarteners and what [3:46] they experience here at school, um, in [3:48] Jordan and at Jordan Elementary School, [3:51] we value the social emotional aspect of [3:54] school. We know that if kids feel cared [3:57] for, loved, um, and that their social [4:00] emotional needs are met, they're going [4:02] to succeed academically. We have added a [4:05] KWIN class, which is kindergarten, what [4:07] I need. Um, we added that several years [4:10] ago to make sure that we were very [4:12] intentional and explicit in teaching [4:14] kindergarteners how to navigate through [4:17] school and throughout their life outside [4:20] of school um with regards to their [4:22] emotions and how they interact with [4:24] their friends, how they um handle things [4:27] with their emotions. For example, how do [4:29] you manage things when you don't get [4:31] what you want? We specifically teach [4:33] that here at Jordan Elementary School in [4:35] our KWIN program which is taught by our [4:38] school social worker. Um, and she's [4:40] doing things where giving them [4:43] experiences how to play um, [4:45] independently by yourself, how to play [4:47] with others and take turns and share, [4:50] how to understand that you're going to [4:52] lose at some games or lose in uh, [4:55] different um, experiences in school and [4:57] outside of school. And how do you manage [4:59] that? cuz those are life skills that are [5:01] going to happen. And I've heard over and [5:04] over again from our parents who have had [5:06] children go through Kwin that that has [5:09] been so helpful as moms and dads or [5:11] grandmas and grandpas when they're [5:13] supporting their kids at home to know [5:15] that they can piggyback off of those [5:17] conversations as far as yep, it's okay [5:20] to be angry, it's okay to be sad, it's [5:22] okay to be disappointed, but there's [5:24] ways to manage that in a very respectful [5:26] way. [5:28] I know that when families have the [5:30] decision to make as far as where to send [5:32] their kindergarten uh student to school, [5:34] it's a big deal in their home. Um the [5:37] start of the school um journey is a [5:40] really important decision to make. I [5:42] think parents when making that decision [5:44] to send their kids to Jordan um are [5:47] going to find that we have amazing [5:50] teachers and and support staff who care [5:52] about their child. Um, one of the things [5:55] that I think we do really well is how we [5:58] collaborate and talk with each other. [6:00] Um, we're a bigger school. We have over [6:02] 600 kids in our school. Yet, I think [6:05] what sets us apart compared to some of [6:07] our neighboring districts that are much [6:09] larger with larger class sizes is that [6:12] we have the ability to really [6:15] individualize programming for our [6:17] students. And that starts with our [6:19] staff. um meeting on individual kids as [6:22] far as what their needs are for [6:24] academics, what are their needs for [6:26] social emotional learning. Um we do that [6:29] really well. Um it it almost feels like [6:32] it's that um specialized um attention [6:36] and I think that's what makes Jordan [6:38] unique and separates us from other [6:40] surrounding districts.