What your child learns in Kindergarten in Nova Scotia
Primary (Kindergarten) in Nova Scotia builds early learning through play in language and literacy, mathematics, science and social studies. Children count, spot patterns, compare objects, and explore living things, materials and their community.
Kindergarten subjects in the Nova Scotia Curriculum
Math
Big Ideas
- Number: Develop number sense.
- Patterns and Relations: Use patterns to describe the world and solve problems.
- Measurement: Use direct and indirect measurement to solve problems.
7 units, including count to 10, numbers to 20, see it fast, make 5 and 10.
English Language Arts
Big Ideas
- A1 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply listening, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills and strategies to understand and communicate meaning for various audiences, purposes, and contexts.
- A2 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply understanding of foundational language knowledge and skill when reading and writing.
- A3 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply knowledge of sentence structure, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation when reading and writing.
10 units, including talk & listen, letter partners, first sounds, rhyme time.
Science
Big Ideas
- Physical Science: Sand and water. Learners will investigate sand and water through the senses.
- Life Science: Living Things. Learners will compare living things through the senses.
- Physical Science: Materials and the world around us. Learners will investigate materials through the senses.
6 units, including sand & water, my five senses, materials, push & pull.
Social Studies
Big Ideas
- Investigate groups to which they belong. Learners will investigate groups to which they belong.
- Investigate how cooperation is an important part of being a group member. Learners will investigate how cooperation is an important part of being a group member.
- Investigate how local people have varied traditions, rituals, and celebrations. Learners will investigate how local people, including Acadians, African Nova Scotians, Gaels, Mi’kmaq, and various cultural groups, have varied traditions, rituals, and celebrations.
5 units, including families, we belong, fair & kind, helpers & rules.
French Immersion
Big Ideas
- French Immersion is first and foremost a language program: French is both the language students learn in and the language they learn.
- Early French Immersion begins in Primary and Late French Immersion in Grade 7, and both follow Français arts langagiers.
- Students listen, speak, read and write in French for real purposes and audiences.
7 units, including bonjour et merci, mes premiers mots, les lettres, le son du début.
What to look for on the report card
Look for comments on listening, early letters and sounds, counting and comparing, sharing ideas, and getting along with classmates.
Nova Scotia report cards describe learning with Beginning, Developing, Meeting, Exceeding. See what each level means.
The Essential Graduation Competencies grow through every subject from Primary to Grade 12. Read about graduation competencies.
Common questions
Kindergarten covers math, english language arts, science, social studies, french immersion in the Nova Scotia Curriculum. Primary (Kindergarten) in Nova Scotia builds early learning through play in language and literacy, mathematics, science and social studies. Children count, spot patterns, compare objects, and explore living things, materials and their community.
Nova Scotia report cards describe learning with Beginning, Developing, Meeting, Exceeding.
Short, regular practice works better than long sessions: 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week, on the skills your child's teacher flags. Read together, use math in real life, and praise effort.
Practise Kindergarten skills with Gradelings
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