THE KINDERGARTEN CLASS!

Hello! My name is Meaghan Hanson, I am so excited to be the kindergarten teacher at St. Frances Cabrini School with my full-time assistant Verona Lunsford. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and I am the oldest of 3 girls. I attended Catholic schools from Kindergarten through my Masters and have been teaching Kindergarten for 9 years. I attended St. Martin’s University (where I met and married my best friend) and then got my Masters from the University of Portland. In my spare time, I love to read, be outside (especially at the beach), and spend time with my friends and family.

Child Development

Spiritual

The kindergarten child has a natural sense of wonder and awe.

• Experiences God through parents and guardians from whom they experience God’s love

• Prayer (formal and spontaneous) comes naturally; enjoys ritual and ceremony

• Interprets Bible stories literally

Social/Emotional

The kindergarten child typically gets along well with others.

• Plays best with friends in pairs rather than in larger groups

• Begins to understand rules, the concepts of winning/losing and working together

• Affirmation of their abilities and dignity as persons vital to their development

Physical

Changes occur rapidly in the growth and development of a kindergarten child.

• They vary greatly in height and weight and coordination is not yet fully developed

• Fine motor skills such as printing, coloring and cutting continue to develop and can be challenging

• Large motor skills such as clapping, hopping and skipping are developing

• Short attention span and increased motor activity make staying on task difficult

Classroom Highlights

• Field trip to the Pumpkin Patch in October

• Christmas around the world and participation in the all-school Christmas program in December

• 100th Day of Kindergarten Celebration

• Spring field trip to Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

Service Activities

We are all God’s caretakers, and the kindergarten class becomes active participants in our school/parish community through our primary grade service activity – sharing our time and talents. In the fall, the Kindergarten class made applesauce to share with seniors in our community. We also collect food during November and December and participate in school-wide service projects.

Curriculum

Religion: Through songs, stories, class prayer services, and interaction with their peers, the kindergarten child learns the gospel values of community, faith, hope, courage, love, reconciliation, service, and justice.

Language Arts:
• Includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• Letter recognition, letter-sound association, letter formation, and basic sight words are taught through stories, playing games, singing, interactive notebooks, making books, and journal writing.

Mathematics:
• Patterning, naming shapes, counting to 120, number recognition, adding and subtracting numbers through 10, ordering of numbers, and calendar concepts
• Math concepts are taught through a variety of activities such as math games, graphing, whole group instruction, math centers, interactive notebooks, and stories.

Social Studies:
• Develop an awareness, cooperation, and appreciation of themselves and others as members of a community
• Understand that all groups need rules and standards
• Learn to express feelings appropriately
• Learn about traffic, fire, and personal safety

Science:
• Explore elements of the scientific process (observe, predict, gather data)
• Life cycles of plants, animals, and insects

Enrichment:  Students attend weekly enrichment classes for library, music, PE, and Art.

Celebrated Teacher

My name is Cindy Cornwell and I have been teaching in the Archdiocese of Seattle since 1980. Taught at Holy Rosary for 10 years. 4 in 5th grade and 6 in kindergarten. I started teaching at St. Frances Cabrini in 1990 and both of my daughters are graduates of St. Frances Cabrini. I earned my degree from WSU. My postgraduate work was completed at PLU and UPS. I taught Kindergarten for 30 years. Loved teaching religion and my favorite subjects to teach are math and science. Though I really enjoyed teaching all subjects. Lots of favorite activities— making applesauce during Apple Math, Pumpkin Carving Day, making Friendship Salad for Thanksgiving Feast, Advent Calendar and advent activities, Family Math Night during Catholic Schools Week, Lenten activities, butterfly observation, and May Day Baskets.
Happy Retirement Mrs. Cornwell 1990 to 2020.

Enjoy watching Mrs. Cornwell’s Retirement video here: