Kindergarten

The Kindergarten program is specifically designed to provide a warm, safe, enriching, and educational environment that is conducive to the developmental needs of the children. The classroom space is open, bright, and charming. The children are actively involved in lessons that foster character development, diversity awareness, community service, as well as the use of green principles. Throughout the year students explore themes of family, friendship, and community. Although every year brings milestones in development, Kindergarten is a very special year for children. It is a preparatory year, from which children emerge ready to accept the adventures and challenges of formal grade school. Our program offers a solid curriculum in English language arts, math, science, and social studies that is engaging and stimulating. Learning is facilitated through games, hands-on activities, developmentally appropriate materials, and projects. As in all grades, the curriculum is differentiated to meet the needs of each student at their level of readiness. Students work independently, one-on-one with the teacher, and in both small and large groups. Students also enjoy an enriching co-curricular program, including woodshop, art, Spanish, physical education, library, equestrian, and music. Kindergarten students are provided a nutritious lunch daily in the OVS Dining Hall. Throughout the year, they explore the Ojai environment with field trips, community service projects and culminate their experience with a spring hiking trip to Rose Valley Falls. 

Language Development 

In Kindergarten, students learn literacy skills to support their development of reading and writing. A foundational part of the program is one-on-one individualized instruction with the teacher. This meets the needs of each child and builds upon their prior knowledge. Using the phonetic approach, students learn to decode texts and write words. Students also learn common sight words, rhyming, and story elements. 

Math Development 

Singapore Math, our primary curriculum, introduces students to number value, number symbols, geometric shapes, patterns, single-digit addition and subtraction, and place value. These math concepts will serve as a foundation as students learn measurement, time, money, and fractions. 

Social Studies and Science 

The Kindergarten year is filled with many thematic science units that include: The Five Senses, Mae Jemison and Space, The Rain Forest, The Ocean, Bears, Life Cycle of a Pumpkin, and The Four Seasons. These units are integrated into other core subjects like language arts and math as well as taught in a designated science class period. The social studies curriculum focuses on communities, including our local Ojai, Chumash and school community, as well as the United States.