Mary Simmons, Kindergarten Teacher

Kindergarten Room 101 is one of four full-day kindergarten classrooms at Horace Mann School (K-6).   We added an additional kindergarten class this year because we had such high numbers of incoming kindergartners!  Room 101 is led by me, Mary Simmons.  When speaking to me directly, please feel free to refer to me by my first name  (even though the children will refer to me as Mrs. Simmons.) 

Classroom Aides

The classroom aides for Room 101 are Linda Haefemeyer and Sarah Kempf.  Mrs. Haefemeyer works with the children in the morning and Ms. Kempf works with the children in the afternoon.  We all truly enjoy teaching kindergartners.  Linda, Sarah and I are all dedicated to providing every child with the best possible learning experiences!

Curriculum

This year the district is introducing Pals - Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening.  It's a program used to assess reading readiness in children.  In addition to Pals, I use a variety of different resources for teaching language and literacy.  In kindergarten we focus heavily on phonemic awareness and phonics during the first part of the year to help develop reading skills.  Children with a head start on reading also work to further develop their reading strategies, fluency and comprehension skills.

Kindergartners also learn much about writing.  Besides learning printing basics of correct letter formation and directionality:  top to bottom and left to right, kindergartners learn how to match words to their pictures.  We start the year with storytelling and labeling and work towards writing with complete sentences that begin with capital letters and end with correct punctuation.  By the end of kindergarten, your child will have completed units in procedural writing, narrative writing, informational writing, and writing a response to literature. 

Everyday Mathematics is the program used for math instruction.  Children learn about many different numerical and mathematical concepts.  Counting, patterning, sorting, measuring, estimating and graphing are some of the topics your child will learn about in kindergarten.  Children will also learn about the relationships between numbers and objects.  Through a variety of hands-on activities and engaging lessons, kindergartners will begin to understand that math is a part of our everyday lives.

Thematic Centers

I use fun and enriching small-group activities for the children during the period of our day called "thematic centers."  Many of the lessons used are based on a weekly theme.  Themes may be seasonal.  Some themes include traditional folk tales or fairy tales.  Other themes are centered on topics that are always popular with kindergartners, such as The Gingerbread Man or The Circus.  I use these themes to tie different subject areas together.  I design developmentally appropriate activities that meet the goals of Minnesota's Education Standards for kindergarten.

In the fall of the school year we focus on activities related to autumn and the harvest.  One example of a fall theme is apple week, which is filled with apple activities and the kindergartners visit the Pine Tree Apple Orchard.  Fall is also the time when children are first getting used to attending school and are learning how to find their way around the building.  During this challenging time we are also very focused on learning school rules, developing a welcoming classroom community and providing cooperative activities to help children enjoy coming to school. 

There is an abundance of activities related to snow and cold for winter.  For example, we compare two mitten stories - The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt and also another book of the same name by Jan Brett.  The children are asked to contrast these stories and also find the common elements.  We have discussions of polar bears, penguins and other animals that inhabit cold regions.  Children may complete projects related to temperature and reading a thermometer.  In February we have a grand celebration to mark the 100th day of kindergarten!

In spring we discuss seeds, plants and growing.  We talk about the life cycles of plants and animals and study the life cycle of the Painted Lady butterfly by raising them in the classroom.  April 22nd is Earth Day and, on or around the 22nd, we discuss the three Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  Later in the spring we discuss mother and baby animals - and talk about our own parents, tying in Mother's Day and Father's Day. 

Finally, near the end of the school year, we prepare for the completion of kindergarten and the move to first grade.  By this point the children will have come a long way since they first arrived at Horace Mann School.  The children will have started reading books and will be eager to read as much as possible!  Their writing will have improved a great deal.  The stories kindergartners write at the end of the school year are much more detailed and complete than they were in the fall. 

Kindergartners will have grown in so many ways by the final days of school.  I am so happy that I have the opportunity to show children how exciting learning can be!  I will do my best to ensure that your child gets a wonderful kindergarten experience.  I believe kindergarten should be a place where children learn naturally because they are in a stimulating environment where they feel safe to explore and satisfy their curiosity.

Contact Information

Feel free to stop by Room 101 to visit.  Call me at 651-293-8965 ext. 101 or e-mail me at mary.simmons@spps.org if you ever have any questions.  If you are a parent of a Mann kindergartner, thanks in advance for all of your support this year.  Working together, we can make this a great kindergarten year for your child!

-Mary Simmons

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