Kindergarten at Bertschi
Kindergartners learn to read, write, and think mathematically while developing the social-emotional skills and habits of mind that make everything else possible. Every child is met at their own level and moved forward from there. Our students learn joyfully, exploring who they are, how to work with others, and how to ask great questions.
Kindergarten Math
Kindergarten math at Bertschi is hands-on, conceptual, and designed to build genuine mathematical thinking from the start. Students explore number identification and formation, place value, patterns, shapes, measurement, sorting, comparing quantities, and basic algebraic thinking, using manipulatives, base ten blocks, ten frames, counters, and games to make abstract concepts concrete and meaningful.
Throughout the year, kindergartners are encouraged to notice math in the world around them, share their thinking with peers, and approach multi-step problems with curiosity. "Number Talks" give students regular practice explaining their reasoning and listening to the strategies of classmates, building the mathematical vocabulary and flexible thinking that will carry them through every grade at Bertschi and beyond.
Kindergarten Literacy
Kindergarten literacy at Bertschi is scaffolded and paced to meet every child where they are. Students develop individualized reading and sight word skills at their own pace, informed by the Word-Wires reading curriculum. Book groups provide targeted instruction tailored to each student's specific needs, whether that means phonics practice, vocabulary development, letter knowledge, or comprehension skills. Read-alouds build listening comprehension, background knowledge, and vocabulary, and spark discussion around predicting, visualizing, inferring, and supporting opinions with evidence from the text.
In writing, students explore personal narrative, persuasive, and informational writing throughout the year. Letter and number formation instruction follows the Handwriting Without Tears program. Spelling, expressive writing, and making connections between literacy and real-life experiences are woven into daily practice. The goal is for students who leave kindergarten to see themselves as readers and writers.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM)
Kindergartners at Bertschi encounter STEAM thinking from the very beginnings. In science, students develop a sense of wonder and care for the natural world, studying pollinators, habitats, and biological processes while learning to observe, question, and investigate. In art, they begin building the dexterity, creative confidence, and imaginative risk-taking that deepens every year through Grade 5. In drama, every kindergartner performs a full production in Bertschi's drama lab, developing voice, presence, and the ability to inhabit a perspective other than their own. In Spanish, immersive instruction begins in kindergarten, with students absorbing the language through movement, repetition, and routine before they ever see it on a page. Across all of these experiences, specialist teachers collaborate with classroom teachers to connect what students are learning in one room to what they are discovering in another.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Social-emotional learning in kindergarten is not preparation for the real work. It is the real work. At Bertschi, kindergartners develop the self-awareness, self-management, and relationship skills that make academic learning possible. Students learn to identify and name their feelings, use "I" statements to advocate for themselves, and engage in conflict resolution with peers rather than relying on adults to solve problems for them. They build independence, practice respecting themselves and others, and develop an early sense of their role as community members and environmental stewards. Teachers are trained in strategies specific to the developmental needs of kindergartners, and a dedicated school counselor supports individual students, leads small groups, and works closely with families. Students leave kindergarten knowing how to be a thoughtful, resilient, and capable member of a community.
Learning in Action
At Bertschi, students connect learning to their families, communities, and the world around them. Scroll below to see a few kindergarten learning experiences.
Phonics and Early Reading: A Systematic Foundation
Reading instruction in kindergarten is explicit and systematic. Students develop phonemic awareness through the Word-Wires program, learning to attach sounds to symbols, blend phonemes, and apply decoding strategies to leveled books. High-frequency word recognition, letter identification, and phonics patterns are practiced in isolation and in connected text, building the fluency and automaticity that allow reading energy to shift from decoding to comprehension.
Building Real Number Sense
Kindergartners at Bertschi develop genuine mathematical understanding from the start. Using base ten blocks, ten frames, counters, and other manipulatives, students build concrete, visual models of numbers and equations, exploring place value and quantities to 100 and beyond. That hands-on work is paired with daily "Number Talks," structured conversations in which students share their thinking, explain their strategies, and listen to the approaches of peers. Together, these practices build mathematical vocabulary, conceptual understanding, and flexible reasoning.
Every Child, Known and Supported
Every kindergarten classroom at Bertschi has a lead teacher and a teaching associate who work together to ensure every child is known deeply, supported, and valued for who they are. Students engage in small group instruction allowing for all learners to experience appropriate challenge on a daily basis. Flexible grouping and differentiation is a cornerstone of Bertschi's teaching philosophy.
Learning to Be a Community Member
Social-emotional learning in kindergarten is woven into every part of the day, from morning meeting to conflict resolution on the playground. Kindergartners learn to identify and express their feelings, use "I" statements to advocate for themselves, listen to and acknowledge the feelings of peers, and engage in problem-solving and negotiation. They develop independence, respect for self and others, and an early awareness of their role as stewards of their environment.
Writing Across Genres from Day One
Kindergartners at Bertschi are writers from the start. Using the Handwriting Without Tears program for letter formation, students explore authentic writing purposes: personal narratives about their own lives, persuasive pieces arguing for something they believe, and informational writing that shares what they know. Spelling is scaffolded from invented phonetic spelling to conventional spelling of high-frequency words, always with the goal of keeping ideas moving forward. By the end of kindergarten, students have developed a sense of themselves as authors with something real to say.