The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board's kindergarten program provides children with organized educational activities appropriate for young learners, taking into account their physical, intellectual, social, and emotional needs.
Children investigate and develop an understanding of their world through play.
Play provides a context in which the teacher observes the children's handling of materials and social situations, assesses their stages of development, and encourages experiences to further growth. In order to learn effectively, children must feel good about themselves, about school, and about others. A prime goal of kindergarten is to foster social and emotional growth through play. Children practice socially appropriate behaviour and develop self-help skills to assist them in working with new people and situations. In daily periods of indoor and outdoor play, children use balls, hoops, water, sand, climbers, and tricycles to strengthen large muscles.