Hopwood Kindergarten Program

Kindergarten Overview
This program is for children 5 years of age as of September 15th of the enrollment year.

We offer full day or 1/2 day programs. Busing to / from Walton Farm Elementary and General Nash Elementary schools is available for our 1/2 day enrichment program.

The kindergarten program is licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education and follows the High/Scope curriculum implemented by the Hopwood School. Please refer to our curriculum overview for more information regarding High/Scope.

The High/Scope elementary curriculum has adopted many of the practices of the highly successful and effective High/Scope preschool curriculum. The elementary curriculum differs from the preschool curriculum in that it is designed to meet the needs of children in the context of expectations for the elementary grades. Therefore the Hopwood School’s kindergarten program is designed to help children meet the following objectives in preparation for their entry into public or private 1st grade:

Pursue interests and ideas as they…
• Make decisions about what to do and how to do it
• Define and solve problems
• Exercise self-discipline, identify personal goals, pursue and complete personally and selected tasks and projects
• Acquire a spirit of inquisitiveness and recognize the importance of establishing personal goals and values
• Develop interests that can be cultivated both during and after completion of the school experience

Live and work successfully with others as they…
• Join with other children and adults in cooperative learning efforts, planning group projects, and pursuing shared leadership experiences
• Comprehend the thoughts and feelings of others through spoken, written, artistic, and graphic representations
• Acquire an openness to the viewpoints, values, and behaviors of others

Exercise a wide range of intellectual and physical abilities as they…
• Speak, read, write, dramatize, and graphically represent their experiences, feelings, and ideas
• Apply both logical and mathematical reasoning in a variety of real-life situations
• Develop skills and abilities in mathematics, science, art, music, and movement and use computer and related technology as tools for expressing personal talents and energy

Focus on the natural progression of children’s intellectual development in the following areas…
• Language, logic, mathematics, and science
• Spatial, temporal, and physical-motor skill development
• The creative arts
• Social studies and social-emotional development