Kindergarten

Bloomfield Hills Schools kindergarten classrooms are child-centered, active learning environments.

Students flourish when they are supported, engaged, empowered, and challenged. Teachers communicate regularly with families, individualizing the learning experience to meet each student’s needs. Our teachers inspire a passion for learning, the pride of accomplishment, and the joy of discovery. This special blend of intellectually stimulating learning and personal attention creates an ideal school experience.

Looking for Developmental Kindergarten? Learn how developmental kindergarten might be the right fit for your child.

Developmental Kindergarten

What to Expect in Kindergarten

English Language Arts

The kindergarten curriculum creates excitement about literacy. Reading to kindergarteners, and encouraging them to tell stories for someone to write down, teaches that print carries meaning and represents language. Carefully selected narratives help children discover the wealth of information and entertainment available to readers. Pre-reading activities, including learning letter names and sounds, recognizing common sight words and practicing beginning comprehension strategies builds a firm foundation for future literacy. Writing experiences are also an important part of the curriculum. Children learn to form upper and lower case letters and proper print format (left to right, top to bottom). They draw pictures and begin to write, sharing their stories and ideas with others. They later move into writing how-to books and persuasive writing.

Mathematics

The BHS mathematics curriculum is guided by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This comprehensive curriculum is designed to help your child achieve the mathematical proficiency levels that will provide the foundation for further math courses. Though hands-on, engaging activities, students will become familiar with the following concepts in kindergarten:

Numbers 1 to 100
Understand addition as putting together and adding to
Understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from
Describe and compare measurable attributes
Classify objects and count the number in each category
Identify and describe shapes
Analyze, compare, create and compose shapes

In the classroom, students and teachers will build a community in which they work together to communicate mathematically, by using a common language to solve problems, incorporating mathematical reasoning.

Science

Children figure out scientific concepts by investigating natural phenomena in a manner that encourages them to observe, reflect, explore, ask questions, and formulate in areas that are familiar to them. Topics include earth science (weather and the seasons, ecosystems); physical science (the physical properties of matter, how matter changes, energy, objects in motion); and life science (the five senses, life cycles of animals, heredity). Students are taught to use measurement tools and to illustrate data by constructing simple charts and graphs utilizing science and engineering practices.

Social Studies

The kindergarten social studies curriculum is designed to help children gain an increased awareness of themselves and the world through the lens of “Myself and Others.” Students will learn the foundation of what it means to be a historian by chronicling their own time (past, present, and future) and a geographer by utilizing maps to develop a geographic awareness of their world (home, school, and other relevant locations). As a preliminary foundation for the later study of government, children discuss appropriate rules for personal conduct. As community members, they participate in group activities and decision making. Kindergarten subjects are rarely taught in specified time blocks, but rather commingled so all learning is relevant and meaningful to students’ lives.

Enriching Opportunities

Several “specials” or “encore” classes are offered throughout the week. Art and music classes are scheduled each week. The arts help us understand our own lives and identify with the lives of others. The arts are a driver of innovative thinking needed to solve our world’s most pressing problems. Physical and health education instruction addresses the benefits of fitness and good nutrition; activities encourage fair play and good sportsmanship. Each of these “special” classes complement the kindergarten curriculum.

Media and digital literacy in kindergarten includes learning about the appropriate use of technology and the ethics surrounding such use.

Start the Enrollment Process for Kindergarten

STEP 1: Gather These Documents

Documents Required for Student Enrollment

This list is intended to help you through the enrollment process. In every case, originals are required. Where appropriate, copies will be made and originals returned.

Child's Original/Certified Birth Certificate. If your child was not born in the United States, a valid passport is acceptable.
Proof of vision and hearing screening, completed after age 3; submit statement from examining official. Michigan Law requires a vision and hearing screening for kindergarten entrance. Screening done in preschool by a health department technician or at a doctor’s office fulfills this requirement. Oakland County Health Division offers free vision and hearing screening for county residents. Call (248) 424-7070 for an appointment. Your child's pediatrician may have screened your child at a well visit, so that office is a great place to start.
Parent/Guardian Identification (valid driver's license or picture identification card with district address).
Official Immunization Record (use Immunization Checklist or submit copy of official record).
Certified Copy of Appointment of Guardianship (if applicable).

Verification of Residency

One of the following documents is required to prove residency

Recent Property Tax Statement
Current Lease/Rental Agreement
Closing Statement from a recently executed home purchase

AND

Any three of the following documents (with district mailing address) are required to prove residency. Mail should be no more than 60 days old and should be from three different sources. We do not accept cell phone bills, voter's registration, junk mail, or mail from Bloomfield Hills Schools.

Employer / Tax Statements
Credit Card or Bank Statements
Car or Health Insurance
Gas, electric, water or cable bills
Government Agency

* Students who were previously enrolled but have not actively attended a Bloomfield Hills School within the last six months are considered "new" students.

NON-DISTRICT RESIDENT TUITION INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 2: Attend the Information Event typically held in February

If your child will be five-years-old by September 1, 2023, it's time to start preparing for Kindergarten and Developmental Kindergarten. This session is an excellent opportunity for adults to learn about Kindergarten in Bloomfield Hills Schools.

Staff from our Learning Services team and our four elementary schools will review all of the Kindergarten basics - including what makes Kindergarten in Bloomfield Hills Schools a wonderful experience for your child. Learn the difference between Kindergarten and Developmental Kindergarten and which option will be right for your future Kindergarten student.

STEP 3: Online Enrollment Form

For students entering kindergarten and developmental kindergarten in the Fall 2023, the online enrollment is open now.
This form will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.
Complete this form using a computer (a smartphone or tablet is not recommended).
Please read the instructions carefully on the introduction page.
If you have questions or are unclear while completing this form, please send an email to studentservices@bloomfield.org.
If you'd like to select Developmental Kindergarten for your child, once you complete the Online Pre-enrollment, send an email to StudentServices@bloomfield.org and let us know your request.

Welcome to Bloomfield Hills Schools!

Attend Kindergarten Orientation typically held in May

Kindergarten orientation will take place in May at each of our elementary schools. Families who are considering developmental kindergarten for their child should attend the orientation at their assigned neighborhood school, where you’ll learn about both classrooms. This is a time for parents to introduce their future kindergarten or developmental kindergarten student to their school. Parents will receive information about the school day and are welcomed into the broader elementary school community.