ELA/Reading:
Students will learn the foundations of reading. Shields Scholars focuses on phonological awareness and synthetic phonics. We teach reading as black and white as possible, so students grasp the foundations easily and quickly. Reading is not difficult to learn, but it can be very easy to fall behind when not taught properly. 

By the end of the year, your learner will be able to read independently at a D level (1st quarter of 1st grade), so when they begin 1st grade, they're not only at the proper level, but a bit ahead of the curve. 

Math:
Your learner will understand how to add and subtract within 20, count to 100 independently, skip count by 2's, 5's, and 10's, understand 2D and 3D shapes and patterns, and basic measurements.

Science:
Students will learn about science relevant to the times of the year when applicable. We will also work on and learn about plants and animals, the 5 senses, weather, states of matter, and even throw in some Food Science classes with actual experiments!

Social Studies:
Social studies aren't usually a requirement for kindergarten, but we believe that it is super important as this age group is learning how to be part of society by making friends, how to treat people, recognizing differences amongst cultures, etc. We will learn about family dynamics, cultures, holidays around the world, caring for the environment, and even introducing simple geography and maps. 

Cassondra Shields (Ms. Cassie):

Cassondra has been an ESL (English as a second language) teacher for four years to the age groups 3-15. She graduated from the Honor's Program at The University of Nevada, Reno with a research thesis on adolescent conduct disorder attributes and how those attributes were statistically represented in adult incarceration and recidivism rates based on longitudinal study results. In order to conduct this type of research, Cassondra studied behavior, neurology, and psychology of children for several years as well as additional English and writing courses to write about this type of research. She has brought her expertise on child development and learning behaviors to Outschool as the curriculum developer for Shields Scholars. Cassondra is also a homeschool mom to her own children.

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Rheagan Bloomquist (Ms. Rheagan):

Rheagan earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University-San Antonio. She has a passion for helping people, and she believes every child can succeed when given the chance. She has experience working with elementary school children in her local independent school district. She also has prior experience teaching special needs kids. What Rheagan wants most is to make education exciting rather than scary; her goal is to help all children feel welcome, safe, and smart. She is excited to create a nurturing and fun learning environment for all children with Shield’s Scholars. 

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Homework Offered
We don't necessarily believe in assigning mandatory homework for this age group to turn in, however, worksheets and printables will be available as pdf attachments to each classroom post for each lesson to work on at home. This is optional.  

NearPod will also be available as student-paced lessons to work on outside of classes as well. 
0 - 1 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
No formal assessments will be conducted in this class; however, you do have the opportunity to schedule a 1:1 assessment for your child at your convenience to make sure they are on parr with US standards. 

You can schedule a 1:1 assessment for any subject with this link: 

https://outschool.com/classes/11-student-assessment-xxqyURdf?usid=eTXGXV4M&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link
Grades Offered

www.nearpod.com or the NearPod application on a tablet/phone will be used.
The link and code to the lesson content for each week will be updated in the classroom page. 

**You do NOT need to create a NearPod account to join the lesson, and this does not cost you anything.