Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Does your child like to learn through play, in nature, or by speaking French? Canadian Rockies Public Schools (CRPS) offers all of these exciting options.
Kindergarten is an exciting milestone for both children and families. Kindergarten children arrive in our classrooms ready to explore and experiment with their surroundings and develop important social and cognitive skills that will help prepare them for their elementary years.
Designed with a child-centred approach, CRPS' kindergarten programs recognize that each child is unique and has their own learning pace and style. Teachers tailor their instruction to accommodate individual differences and support each child's development. They also place a strong emphasis on language and literacy development. Children are exposed to a rich language environment, where they engage in activities that promote speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. This foundation helps prepare them for later academic success.
Kindergarten students’ days are balanced with play, exploration, and focused learning time. Outdoor play-based learning serves as an important basis for our programming, encouraging students to interact with their natural surroundings to bolster curriculum-based learning.
Nature-Based Immersion
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." ~ William Butler Yeats
Guided by the principles of Waldorf education, Canadian Rockies Public Schools' (CRPS) Kindergarten to Grade 6 nature based immersion program, fondly known as Alpenglow School, is designed to match the natural stages of human development, allowing children to build a sense of wonder and thirst for knowledge. House out of Canmore Collegiate High School, the school has a structured and balanced curriculum, which is designed to educate “the whole child” nurturing their heart, head, and hands.
Through a multi-disciplinary approach focused on experiential learning, outdoor settings, and artistic expression, Alpenglow's learning experiences ensure students truly know and understand a concept as they have experienced it in many ways - physically, emotionally, and intellectually. The school is dedicated to developing students’ capacity for learning and processing, de-emphasizing testing and exams to measure the success of the students. Daily class observations, conversations with the children and parents, and reflection of the students’ academic, emotional and social development are used to assess the students’ growth and success.
French Immersion
CRPS offers French Immersion (FI) to students from kindergarten to Grade 9. For kindergarten, FI is available at Elizabeth Rummel School in Canmore, which currently offers three streams:
- Full-day French immersion
- Half-day French immersion
- Half-day French immersion, half-day English (full-day program)
The program provides students with the opportunity to become functionally bilingual while achieving success in all areas of the Alberta curriculum. Kindergarten students entering French Immersion will spend 90 to 95 percent of the day learning in French, fostering the development of a second way of understanding, thinking, and communicating by listening to their teacher in French. Since most students do not speak any French initially, teachers use a wide variety of facial expressions, gestures, pictures, songs, and storytelling activities to enhance their students' listening and observation skills. Students are also introduced to commonly used words and phrases, such as “Thank you” or “May I be excused?” Once students begin to achieve listening comprehension and the ability to respond in French, they are introduced to the printed word.
Outdoor Experiential Learning & Outdoor Pursuits
Outdoor experiential learning is a priority for CRPS. Research clearly shows that experiential learning opportunities help children make meaningful connections and deepen their understanding of curricular outcomes. Research also shows that spending time outdoors supports children's mental health. Often coordinated with the division's Outdoor Learning Centre, children in kindergarten engage in a wide range of curriculum-based outdoor learning activities, such as exploring the five senses, outdoor alphabet walks, and observing and finding patterns in nature. Through the generous support of the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation, kindergarten children also get to participate in outdoor pursuits such as skating and hiking.