Kindergarten Health Curriculum

Family-facing version of the kindergarten health curriculum

Quarterly Overview of Kindergarten Health

The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.

Lessons and Details

NOTE: Lessons with * are part of the Emotional and Social Health (ESH) unit of the Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum and will be included within the health grade. Parents or guardians may choose to opt their child out of any or all lessons in the ESH unit.

Bus Safety

Students will:

  • Describe bus safety practices.
  • Identify how safety choices can prevent injuries.
  • Describe common safety rules and practices.

Pedestrian Safety

Students will:

  • Describe pedestrian safety practices.
  • Identify how safety choices can prevent injuries.
  • Describe common safety rules and practices.

Five Senses

Students will: 

  • Describe the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch).
  • Identify situations that require the use of the five senses.
  • Describe ways to protect the five senses.

Major Body Parts

Students will:

  • Identify major body parts (e.g., head, torso, arms, legs, hands, feet, muscles, bones).
  • Describe how the body’s parts work together to move.
  • Describe the different body parts involved in one movement (e.g., jumping, walking, biking).

Making Healthy Food Choices

Students will: 

  • Identify the MyPlate food groups and a variety of foods and beverages.
  • Explain what it means to have a food allergy.
  • Describe healthy meal choices from the MyPlate food groups.
  • Identify foods that most often cause allergies.
  • Explain that not all products advertised or sold are healthy or safe.
  • Create a shopping list that includes foods from each MyPlate food group.
  • Describe how to help people with food allergies.

Physical Activity and Sleep

Students will: 

  • Describe different types of physical activity and recognize the need for regular physical activity.
  • Recognize the importance of a regular bedtime routine and enough sleep.
  • Identify physical activities and the benefits of physical activity.
  • Describe alternatives to screen time.
  • Describe ways to participate regularly in physical activities inside and outside of school.
  • Describe ways to calm down before bedtime to prepare for sleeping.

Brushing Teeth

Students will: 

  • Describe the function of teeth, how to take care of them, and the health professionals that help care for teeth (e.g., dentist, hygienist).
  • Discuss the benefits of personal hygiene (e.g., tooth brushing, flossing, hand washing, grooming).
  • Demonstrate how to brush and floss teeth correctly. 

Germs and Washing Hands

Students will: 

  • Define germs and describe how germs (e.g., bacteria, viruses) may cause common diseases (e.g., cold, flu).
  • Explain how washing hands helps remove bacteria and viruses that can make people sick, and describe situations where it is important to wash hands.
  • Discuss the benefits of personal hygiene practices (e.g., tooth brushing, flossing, hand washing, grooming).
  • Demonstrate proper hand washing.

What is Medicine?

Students will: 

  • Identify medicine and its uses and effects.
  • Describe how medicine and other substances can be helpful or harmful.
  • Describe the consequences of taking medications unsupervised.
  • Discuss why medicines should be taken under adult supervision.

Staying Safe from Poisons

Students will: 

  • Describe how medicine and other substances can be helpful or harmful.
  • Identify household products that are harmful or poisonous.
  • Identify the meaning of signs, symbols, and labels.
  • Identify adults to ask for help with harmful and unknown substances.
  • Explain that some household products are harmful.

Family Words*

Students will: 

  • Recognize that everyone is a member of a family and identify members of their individual families.

Families are Special*

Students will:

  • Identify positive ways in which family members and friends show love, affection, respect and appreciation for each other.

Good Touch, Bad Touch*

Students will:

  • Identify elements of good and bad touches by others.

Responses to Inappropriate Behaviors*

Students will:

  • Demonstrate how to say “no” to inappropriate behaviors from family members, neighbors, strangers, and others.

Feelings

Students will:

  • Identify a variety of feelings.
  • Describe how feelings can influence actions.
  • Demonstrate how to use words to express feelings. 

Being a Friend

Students will:

  • Describe what it means to be a friend.
  • Identify strategies for making friends and how to show kindness.
  • Demonstrate strategies for making friends and showing kindness.

Why are Rules Important

Students will:

  • Recognize that classroom rules are important for school (e.g., sharing, respecting others).
  • Explain how classmates can support one another at school.
  • Demonstrate acceptable behavior in classrooms and during play, including showing respect for the personal space of others.

My Own Space

Students will:

  • Describe personal space.
  • Identify ways to tell someone they are entering one’s personal space and when to ask an adult for help.
  • Demonstrate how to tell someone they are entering one’s personal space.

Safe Choices

Students will:

  • Describe bike and playground safety practices.
  • Identify how safety choices can prevent injuries.
  • Describe common safety rules and practices.

What to do in an Emergency

Students will:

  • Describe emergency and non-emergency situations.
  • Identify people who can help in emergency and non-emergency situations.
  • Describe why it is important to ask adults for help in an emergency, how to ask for help, and how to call 911.

Gun Safety

Students will:

  • Identify community members who safely use guns.
  • Identify safety rules for making a good choice when a gun is found.

Reusing Materials

Students will:

  • Identify items and materials that can be reused (e.g., grocery bags, paper, water bottles, other containers).
  • Describe ways to reuse items and materials in the classroom.
  • Share the importance of reusing items and materials with school and family.

Assessments

Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.

  • Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
    • Check for understanding 
    • Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
  • Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for the next steps in instruction.

For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.

In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), kindergarten tests focus on measuring content knowledge and skill development.

Looking for other kindergarten information?