What is Transitional Kindergarten?

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Transitional kindergarten class serves as a bridge between preschool and Kindergarten, functioning to provide students with time to develop fundamental skills needed for success in school in an age-and developmentally-appropriate setting.

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Who should enroll in TK?

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TK is designed for children who have missed the August 31st cutoff date for Kindergarten but who turn 5 years old by December 1st. The students will move on to Kindergarten after completing the TK school year. It is also for students who have completed the 4 year old class and are eligible for Kindergarten, but may benefit from another year to further develop certain skill sets.

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Is TK right for my child?

 

TK will be faster paced than a regular 4 year old program. Students in this program will receive a modified Kindergarten curriculum that is balanced with age appropriate activities.   TK therefore offers a more advanced language, reading, handwriting and social curriculum.  

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Does TK have a different curriculum?

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TK's curriculum has a culmination curriculum. It uses Thematic Units to align with the preschool set themes, and also uses the STEM approach for a hands on learning approach. TK also uses some areas of Learning Without Tears; a program developed by early childhood educators to teach handwriting by fully developing a child’s fine motor abilities. The creators then expanded their program to create Get Set For School,  a flexible, play-based curriculum that offers a full pre-writing program and materials that build critical skills like early math and literacy. It includes three programs designed to prepare children for school: Readiness & Writing, Language & Literacy, and Numbers & Math. Children who were taught with the Get Set for School curriculum consistently demonstrated mastery of key skills at the end of the Pre-K year. They also scored higher and showed more growth than a control group of students. The curriculum’s explicit, modeled instruction with hands-on, multisensory materials and active teaching strategies delivered improved results in Pre-K classrooms. The TK class also incorporates STEM based learning through the Highlight's curriculum and other STEM resources. STEM(Science/Technology/Engineering and Math) is a blended approach that encourages hands-on experience and gives students the chance to gain and apply relevant, “real-world” knowledge in the classroom.

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