Mrs. Chris has been working with children for sixteen years.  She is in her twelth year teaching at Burgett's Learning Center.  Mrs. Chris has a B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education with a Kindergarten Endorsement from Purdue University.  She also has a current Indiana State teaching license for her major and endorsement.

Her strengths as a teacher include developing and implementing hands-on activities for all subject areas.  She is also able to adapt activities to meet a variety of developmental needs.  Mrs. Chris also helps children to develop independence skills. 

A specialty of Mrs. Chris' is that she teaches hands-on, inquiry based science education.  She does a wonderful job with her science curriculum and the children find the information that she teaches fun and meaningful.

Spoken Language                                   Computation and Estimation

Phonics                                                   Place Value

Handwriting                                             Simple patterns

      Printed Letters                                   Number concepts 0-20

      Numbers                                            Count to 100 by ones, fives and tens

Writing                                                      Print and recognize numbers 1-100

      Sentences                                            Recognize number words 1-10

      Capitalization                                       Measurement

      Periods                                                Measure space

Vocabulary                                                Money - Recognize value

Reading and Reading Comprehension         Time - Hour, half-hour, AM-PM

      Sight readings                                      Geometry

      Contextual reading                                    Recognize complex and 3D shapes

      Phonetic reading                                  Simple graphs

                                                                 Introduce fractions         

Social Studies                                          Science/Health

Native Americans and Pilgrims                   Seasons

Historical Figures                                       Plants

      Christopher Columbus                         Insects and Animals     Seasons

      Martin Luther King, Jr.                        States of Matter

      George Washington                             The Human Body & Healthy Habits

      Abraham Lincoln

Citizenship

Learning about the 50 states

The World                                                 Fine and Large Motor Skills

      Maps                                                   Running

      Cultures                                                Hopping on One Foot

      Environment                                        Skipping

                                                           Jumping

Self Help                                             Balancing

Recognizing left and right                           Tie shoes

Responsible care of toys,                           Manipulating:

      personal things and materials                     Crayons

Knowledge of birth date, parents’ names,       Scissors

      address, phone number                            Pencils

Productive use of time                                    Puzzles

Safe play                                                    Patterning

Kindergarten Materials

For each kindergartener, we collect a one-time material fee.  This fee goes toward the series of 52 reading books, the phonics books, and the worksheets, pencils, crayons, erasers, glue and other supplies your child will need for kindergarten.  The reading books, phonics books and worksheets will be sent home with your child when completed.  Kindergarteners also utilize the Weekly Reader for content and reading practice.

Helpful Hints for Your Child’s Success

-Review letters and sounds at home.  Play a game hunting for objects around the house and yard that begin with a particular letter or sound.

-Trace letters on your child’s back or with your child in shaving cream, flour, finger paint, etc.

-Use play dough to form letters.

-Read to your child every day.  Point out/play games to find words and letters in your reading.

-Look for letters and words on signs, in newspapers, etc.

-Talk with your child every day.  Ask open-ended questions that require more than short answers.

-Sort objects around the house by color, shape, size, etc.

-Make patterns with objects.

-Count objects, such as cards, toys, forks, cereal, M&Ms, etc.

-Do simple addition and subtraction using counting objects.

Communications

Progress Reports:  Progress Reports will be sent home at the end of each semester.  Progress will be reported on a variety of skill areas, including Practical, Work Habits, Speaking, Social/Emotional, Reading, Math, Fine and Large Motor, and Listening.

Classroom Visitation/Conferences:  Parents are always welcome to visit the classroom, and teachers are available to speak informally at most times.  Formal conferences are held shortly after the end of the first semester.

Summer Readiness Activities

Many parents are interested in knowing what they can do to help their child get ready for kindergarten.  Keep in mind that children learn best when having fun.  It is most important that your child happily anticipate kindergarten.  The following may be helpful for your child in making the transition to kindergarten, but should not be considered mandatory: (a) learn full name, address and phone number, (b) learn to snap, button, zip and tie, (c) recognize and identify colors and numerals up to 10, basic shapes, and upper and lower case letters, (d) be able to print first name, and (e) make progress in the areas of Responsibilities, described above. 

It is very important that you read to your child, as this has been shown repeatedly to foster and advance learning.  Lastly, your child should be able to accept mistakes, as we all make them.

Other Information

Parties and Field Trips:  From time to time, the kindergarten will have special parties or activities where we request that parents help provide the treats.  Signs and sign-up sheets are posted prior to each such event.  In addition, during the school year, kindergarteners will take field trips on approximately a monthly basis.  Unless posted otherwise, there is no additional cost for these field trips.  Examples of the field trips we’ve taken are the Black Cultural Center, Border Bookstore, the Wild Bird Shop, shows at the Long Center put on by the Blue Apple Players, puppet and magic shows at the Tippecanoe County Public Library, and others.

Meal/Snacks:  Lunch and morning and afternoon snacks are provided in the classroom.  Breakfast is also provided for children who are here extra early.  Menus are posted in the classroom.

Library:  The West Lafayette Public Library comes bi-weekly with a large assortment of books.  Kindergarteners are able to peruse and select books to keep at school for the two week period.

Other Activities/Facilities:  Kindergartners at Burgett’s utilize many of the activity areas available here, including the swimming pool and computer lab.  All-day kindergarteners swim daily.

Attendance:  Regular attendance is highly encouraged, as the curriculum builds consecutively.

Discipline:  Any discipline policy must begin with clear rules consistently enforced.  First and foremost, we encourage children to follow the rules by recognizing positive behavior through praise, rewards and special privileges.  If negative behavior occurs, a warning will be given.  Further transgressions will be met with a proportional response such as a loss of a privilege, a time out, or communication about the transgression with the child’s parents.