Laura Smith - K5 AM / K4 & K5 All Day 10 years at Holy Family - 28 years teaching experience Room 101 Ext.205 smithl@archmil.org
K5 AM - 8:00 - 11:30 K5 All Day 8:00 - 3:15
Philosophy of Education
I believe that the primary goal of a Kindergarten program is to provide a safe, caring, and nurturing environment where each child can grow as an individual and feel successful. In order for children to understand themselves and the world around them, a variety of experiences that encourages them to observe, explore, pursue their interests, and express their creative ability need to be an integral part of the Kindergarten program. Methods of problem solving, discovery learning techniques, hands-on, and sensory learning activities allow children to become actively involved in the learning process.
Biography
I am Laura Smith, one of the Kindergarten teachers at Holy Family Parish School. I received my B.A. degree from Cardinal Stritch University and then spent the first ten years of my career teaching three year old children through third graders in private organizations and area public schools. Before coming to Holy Family in 1998, I taught the K4 program at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish School in St. Francis, Wisconsin for eight years. Here at Holy Family I have been an Intermediate Aide and have taught the K4 and K5 half day and all day programs on either a full-time or part-time basis. I enjoy working with young children and providing them with developmentally appropriate experiences that will effect their learning in a positive way.
Curriculum Summary
Religion
The primary focus of the "I Am Special" religion program is to help children develop positive self concepts through an awareness that God has made each of them very special. Two objectives of this program are to help develop positive attitudes about themselves, their families and friends by learning more about the many gifts that God has provided, and to increase their appreciation and celebration of God's love through Scripture, music, and prayer.
Reading/Language Arts
The reading program we are currently using is “Superkids” by Rowland Reading Foundation. It engages and motivates the children to learn how to read and write by having them identify with the Superkids characters through songs and stories. In addition to teaching the children the relationship between written and spoken language, the program incorporates the National Reading Panel’s five major areas of instruction critical to teaching children how to read. These are: phonemic awareness (letter sound manipulation- like rhyming, beginning, middle, ending sounds), phonics (the sound each letter represents), fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Games, movement, paper/pencil, and listening activities are incorporated.   Other reading related activities we do are make theme based class books, write thank you notes after field trips, and write a K5 Daily News report. Each child has a Writing Journal for continued practice using language arts skills taught.
Mathematics
In the Houghton Mifflin Math series we are using, the children are actively involved in various Math experiences such as patterning, shapes, sorting, graphing, number value and recognition, adding and subtracting, telling time, money, measurement, problem solving.
Social Studies and Science
The children experience social studies and science through hands-on activities and discovery learning in large group or small group situations. Some of the topics covered may include holidays, seasons, good health habits, transportation, fossils, oceans, tropical rain forest, desert and outer space. The children are also involved in recording results, observations, properties of matter, living and non-living distinctions, protecting our environment and social awareness of this issue, introduction to earth and space sciences. The Full Option Science Series (FOSS) at the K5 level specifically has units on wood, paper, and animals where the students are actively involved in each experiment.
Other Classroom News
A Kindergarten day is divided up into a balance of large group activities and Learning/Interest centers for individuals or small groups. The children are actively involved in developmentally appropriate experiences and challenges in the various curriculum areas. Parents are encouraged to help in the classroom and chaperone on field trips. Field trips are used to enhance and enrich classroom learning. Weekly newsletters are sent home so parents can be informed of past, present, and future happenings, and can encourage at home the continuation of concepts learned at school.   K5 attends weekly Music, Computer, Physical Education, Library, and Art classes in the mornings.   Each child brings to a classroom his/her unique abilities and talents. With parental support and God's help, we can help each child develop into a confident person with a positive self-image.