Our SK Program

The Building Blocks SK Program is taught by Mrs. Karen Sanger. Our student-teacher ratio is 12 to 1.

The Building Blocks SK program is an enhanced program that runs consecutively with the JK program. Students need to complete our JK program before taking the SK program.

We often have ECE students in our classroom, and they enhance your child’s day with fun new activities and ideas.

The SK year is a year of incredible social growth for children. We are highly aware of this and build each day around positive social development. We encourage the children to empower themselves with the skills they need in order to grow into caring, understanding individuals.

Our overall school curriculum is provided below.

Curriculum Overview

September-June

Phonics

Phonics lessons are taught on Monday & Tuesday, and cover the following areas throughout the school year. A spelling test is also held every Monday.

  • 20 double letter sounds
  • 5 short vowel sounds
  • 15 long vowel sounds
  • 72 tricky/sight words
  • Ongoing review of new sounds, with a tricky word review after every group of 12 words
  • Daily printing and letter formation
  • Dictation
  • Book bags are provide to transport work home each day

Literacy

  • One on one reading with a teacher
  • Independent reading
  • Group reading
  • A comprehensive Reading Lending Library is available for parents and children to use as a reading resource
  • Poetry units
  • Theme-related story every day
  • Use of word games
  • Social stories to enable children to understand their changing social development

Grammar

Grammar lessons are taught on a Wednesday and Thursday and cover the following areas throughout the school year:

  • Capital letters, lower case letters
  • Sentence formation
  • Alphabet order
  • Use of a dictionary
  • Use of a or an
  • Initial blends and final blends
  • Plurals
  • Past & future tense
  • Journaling
  • Sentence making and construction

Science

Science lessons are taught throughout the school year, and cover many varied areas:

  • Weather
  • Colour
  • Theme-related aspects, e.g. space, polar animals
  • The human body
  • Cola clock
  • Rainbows

Math

Math lessons are taught on Fridays and cover the following areas throughout the school year:

  • Counting 1 – 100
  • Number recognition
  • Number placement
  • Counting by 2s
  • Left and right placement
  • Telling the time
  • Addition
  • Subtraction
  • Money awareness
  • Measurement and the use of a ruler
  • Graphing

Music and Movement

  • Daily welcome songs and circle time
  • Theme-related songs and movement games
  • Movement breaks throughout our day, action CDs and songs
  • Various musical instruments used throughout the school year, e.g. shakers, drummers, bells
  • Gross motor games with equipment, such as tunnels, balance beam, bean bags, parachute
  • Super Brain Yoga done on a daily basis

Art

  • Daily art planned with SK abilities in mind
  • Art activities incorporate aspects of phonics and grammar that have been taught
  • Use various mediums to encourage artistic growth
  • Emphasis on creativity through artistic expression
  • Encourage language development and fine motor control through art
  • Various creative areas in the classrooms, such as painting, cutting, gluing, and collage

Play

  • We encourage social growth through play
  • Vast array of equipment and toys are rotated on a regular basis
  • Theme-related play areas are set up
  • We have a dramatic play area, floor toys, block play, etc.
  • SK children need play as they work very hard during their day