Mukwonago Area School District

4K Information

The Mukwonago Area School District is proud to offer four-year-old kindergarten through a variety of community partners.

Our Vision

Mukwonago Area School District believes that early childhood education is a journey and not a destination. Our 4K program provides a rich foundation with a literacy and play-based curriculum. Our goal is for each child to be an active, engaged, lifelong learner who will grow to his/her fullest potential. In partnership with families and the community and taught by certified teachers, our partner sites offer a safe and nurturing educational environment that invites curiosity and fosters an eagerness to learn.

Guiding Framework

While our 4K instruction is provided by a variety of unique community partners, we have developed a guiding framework of qualities that should be present in any of our sites:

1. Four-year-old kindergarten will be a play-based experience.

2. Four-year-old kindergarten will provide a literacy/print rich environment that includes exposure to literature and vocabulary, opportunities for discussion, learning through social interaction, and opportunities for dramatic play, listening, and writing.

3. Four-year-old kindergarten will provide students with opportunities for choice, hands-on activities; independent, small group, and large group activities; and activities that emphasize the learning process, rather than a product.

4. Four-year-old kindergarten will provide a nurturing environment for children, where students have shared ownership of behavior guidelines and where these guidelines are consistently modeled and practiced by the students. A daily schedule/routine will be followed and communicated to children and parents.

5. Four-year-old kindergarten will provide activities that are differentiated to meet the developmental levels of individual students.

6. Four-year-old kindergarten will provide opportunities for social skills development in order for students to learn strategies to help them be successful in future years at school.

7. Four-year-old kindergarten will provide a variety of opportunities for parents to get involved. Communication will be frequent and through multiple means such as newsletters, volunteer opportunities, conferences, field trips, etc.

8. Four-year-old kindergarten will involve community resources whenever available and appropriate.

9. Four-year-old kindergarten will provide a classroom with a variety of materials and centers that are accessible and appealing to four-year-olds.

10. Four-year-old kindergarten teachers will follow the curricular guidelines, program and student assessment structures (PALS), professional development activities, and site agreement guidelines set out by the Mukwonago School District.

4K Program Curriculum

Two sets of Wisconsin standards guide the development of curriculum, instructional practices and assessment for four-year-old kindergarten students. Each school district determines the way it will integrate the expectations of the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards and the Wisconsin Academic Standards.

Our MASD 4K Daily Routines and Skills document outlines what parents can expect in a typical 4K school day.

Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards include the expectations for the critical knowledge and skills that children learn during the early years.

Health and physical development
- Physical health and development
- Motor development
- Sensory development
Social and emotional development
- Emotional development
- Self-concept
- Social competence
Language development and communication
- Listening and understanding
- Speaking and communication
- Early literacy
Approaches to learning
- Curiosity, engagement, and persistence
- Creativity and imagination
- Diversity in learning
Cognition and general knowledge
- Exploration, discovery, and problem solving
- Mathematical thinking
- Scientific thinking

Curriculum for four-year-old kindergarten is selected by the district. Such decisions are made within the district’s curriculum review and adoption process (Board Policy 2521).

Curriculum for four-year-old kindergarten is typically integrated in an interdisciplinary manner instead of being taught as separate subjects.