Getting Serious About Kindergarten

By Michelle Galley

Silver Spring, Md.

As the 19 children in Karen Carter's kindergarten class rehearse their play about dinosaurs on the lunchroom stage, they squirm, fidget, and generally act like typical 5- and 6-year olds. The class stands on small risers singing, then takes turns prancing around the stage and growling in their handmade costumes.

But it isn't all fun and games. Their songs are about the Mesozoic Period, the work of paleontologists, and the habits of some lesser-known species of dinosaurs.

And it is no coincidence that their performance combines lessons in art, music, and science, along with physical activity. That kind of integrated instruction is a strategy that Ms. Carter has used for years to engage her students here at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School. "You have to have a lot of tools in your bag of tricks," she observed...