The first day of kindergarten at Fort Worth Academy is a day of excitement and great anticipation fostered by a strong sense of community, small classes, and teachers ready to nurture individual talents, interests and affinities. Our kindergarten program encourages students to explore, experiment and express themselves in a safe environment that encourages a comfortable stretch for our newest students.

For the next 174 school days, kindergarten at Fort Worth Academy is designed to spark the imagination and create a lifelong love of learning. Students master skills that will serve as the basis for expanding their knowledge through the eighth grade and beyond.

Kindergarten Highlights

Reading and Writing Workshop –
This literacy technique is designed to meet children at their individual instructional levels. It incorporates reading, listening, speaking and writing while promoting a love of reading and facilitating the students’ connections between written text and the world around them.

Everyday Mathematics –
Developed in the 1990’s and known originally as the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, this curriculum teaches concepts in meaningful contexts and provides extensive use of three dimensional, manipulative objects. Home activities requiring parental involvement are frequent.

Centers –
Time at centers is structured to enhance thematic units of instruction. Children engage in imaginative play, build with blocks, draw and paint, cut and paste – sometimes alone, frequently with a friend, and occasionally as part of a small group.

The Mystery Reader –
Cloaked in hushed secrecy until the very last second, a mystery reader appears once weekly to share a special picture book. (Could be the head of the school, could be a PE coach, but most of the time, the mystery reader is a real celebrity - a student’s mom, dad or grandparent!)

Enrichment Classes –
Spanish, Music and Drama, Art, and Library classes are all taught by subject area specialists.

Music and Movement –
M&M is an additional music enrichment class just for kindergarten students; this experience emphasizes the relationships among music, rhythm and active movement.

Physical Education –
Every day, students participate in age-appropriate competitive and cooperative games and activities that build strength, coordination, and self-confidence.

Hands-on Science Lab -
Science instruction takes place in a dedicated elementary science laboratory under the direction of an elementary science specialist. Students delight in active, and frequently messy (!), exploration and discovery activities.

Web Quests –
To build information literacy skills, students use laptop and desktop computers in cooperative groups to explore pre-selected websites; they collect and analyze data and then share findings with their peers.

SMART Boards –
Interactive white boards intrigue, engage and motivate students through stimulating lessons that combine visual, tactile and auditory input and output.

The Superkids Reading Program –

Our kindergartners love learning to read... The Superkids Reading Program, a "multimodal" phonetic-based series, integrates reading into the language arts components of listening, writing, spelling and speaking.   Share the joy as each child learns to decode words, write simple sentences, recognize sight words, comprehend stories and describe the Superkids' adventures throughout the year. 

Buddies -
 Every kindergarten student is paired with an eighth grade buddy; and at least once monthly our youngest and our oldest students gather for a joint activity. Without doubt, this is the most powerful mutual admiration society on campus.

Individual Attention –
 There is time for questions, time for counsel, time to tie a shoe, adjust a bow or marvel at a loose tooth, and, always…there is time for smiles!