New full day kindergarten program at Indian Mills Elementary School

By Katrina Grant

This year, kindergarten students at Indian Mills Elementary School in Shamong are able to take part in a new program. KinderClub is a new full-day kindergarten enrichment program.

Normal kindergarten runs from 8:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m., but with KinderClub, children, for an additional cost, are able to attend until 3 p.m. The program costs $380 a month.

The school has been trying to implement this program for a few years. Last year, kindergarten teacher Theresa Gibbons observed a school in Mansfield that had a similar program and learned a lot that could be used in Indian Mills School’s program.

“The program is designed to complement the district’s current half-day kindergarten program with enrichment activities,” Gibbons said. “The program offers enrolled children a foundation in hands-on, creative and fun learning, as well as social opportunities during inside and outside playtime.”

In KinderClub, children are taught using weekly teams and learn lessons specifically made for them. They get to do special classes, like gym, music, art or Spanish. They also have lunch and a 30-minute recess.

“This is a great opportunity for the children academically and socially,” Gibbons said. “It’s great that we are offering it.

The class sizes for KinderClub are slightly smaller than regular kindergarten classes. KinderClub has about 13 students, as regular kindergarten has around 21 or 22.

“KinderClub is a program that will provide the opportunity for kindergarten students to have a full-day experience,” Gibbons said in an email. “It is a completely unique program, however it is strongly correlated with the kindergarten class curriculum and program goals. Therefore, students will have more practice with concepts, exposure to more teaching methods and the opportunity to learn some new things. In addition to reinforcing the concepts taught in the regular kindergarten classroom, KinderClub offers opportunities to explore a variety of other topics through weekly themes and stories.”

“I worked with Mrs. Moore over the summer for this program,” Gibbons said. “I’m so excited about this and want it to succeed. I’m going to do everything to make it successful and have parents continue to show interest in it.”