Kindergarten and Young Fives

Young Fives
Children enter kindergarten with a range of skills, both physical and cognitive. Often, children who turn five years of age after August will have a significantly different level of development than children approaching their sixth birthday. For this reason, Paramount Charter Academy offers a Young Fives program. The program is designed for students who have a summer or fall birth date and/or could use additional time to develop readiness skills.

The development of fine motor skills in preparation for kindergarten is an important part of Young Fives. In order to strengthen muscle development, students are provided with many opportunities to use pencils, crayons, and scissors. These eager young children are instructed and guided regularly as to their proper usage of these tools.

Young Fives or Kindergarten?
Enrollment in the Young Fives program is a decision made by parents with input from teachers and administrators through a customized screening process. During the screening process our experienced staff focuses on what is best for your child in the long run. It is better to give them another year to grow than for the child to become frustrated with his or her learning experience. The program, which was developed for children who turn 5 years old between June 1st, and December 1st, provides the foundation children need when they become ready to read. All students, including those in Young Fives, must be five years old on or before December 1st.

Kindergarten
The most significant academic work is done in the area of reading readiness. Children participate in many activities and lessons that prepare them for reading. Reading readiness is an essential part of the kindergarten experience and one that should be taken seriously by both student and parents. A significant aspect of reading readiness is learning sound/symbol associations. All letters are taught by the end of the second month of school. Students begin with a brief introduction of each letter and then move on to letter sounds and proper formation, using both the Open Court Reading Program and Letter People curricula. By the end of kindergarten, most students will be reading.

The development of fine motor skills in preparation for first grade is also an important part of kindergarten. Students have many opportunities to use pencils, crayons and scissors and are instructed and reminded regularly as to their proper usage. Our handwriting curriculum is used to reinforce proper formation of capital and lowercase letters, as well as numbers.