Ontario · Kindergarten (JK/SK) · In effect from 2026-27

Ontario's new Kindergarten curriculum: from frames to four strands

Ontario's new Kindergarten curriculum (2026) replaces The Kindergarten Program, 2016, and every Kindergarten program is based on it starting in the 2026-27 school year. The frames became strands, early reading and writing are now taught explicitly and systematically, and coding and an inquiry process are new. Here is what changed, how the 25 overall expectations are organized, and a way to plan September to June.

Milestone Teachers - created by an Ontario Certified Teacher · Last reviewed 29 September 2026

Download the free planning grid (PDF) · Worked long-range plan from Milestone Teachers · Read the curriculum on the Ministry site

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4 strands, A to D
25 overall expectations
Dec 2025 issued (Ministry version history)
2026-27 first school year in effect

What changed from the 2016 program

Area	New or updated	What changed	Where
Structure	New	Frames became strands, one of them newly named Foundations of Language and Mathematics, and some learning was merged within and across strands.	All strands
Oral language	New	Language conventions (grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary) are taught explicitly.	A1
Reading and writing foundations	New	Evidence-based, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, alphabetic knowledge, phonics, vocabulary and reading fluency, set out in a new Kindergarten-Grade 1 continuum.	A2
Understanding texts, creating texts	Updated	Children apply those foundations to read, understand and create texts.	A3, A4
Mathematical processes	Updated	Aligned with the 2020 elementary math curriculum and now part of the mandatory learning.	A5
Number sense	Updated	Updated milestones for counting, estimating and comparing, for how numbers up to 20 relate, and for addition and subtraction within 10. New: equal-share problems as a first step toward fractions.	A6
Patterns	Updated	Identifying, describing, creating and extending repeating patterns.	A7
Data	New	Sorting objects or data by one attribute.	A8
Geometry and space	Updated	Describing 2D shapes, 3D objects, location and movement. New: giving and following directions to get from one place to another.	A9
Measurement	Updated	Describing and comparing length, area, mass or capacity.	A10
Coding	New	Putting steps in order, and writing and following instructions for moving from place to place.	B11
Inquiry, science and engineering	New	An inquiry process to answer questions and solve problems, with scientific investigations and engineering design.	B12
Perspectives and Canadian identity	Updated	Understanding multiple perspectives among people, groups and communities in Canada, and where they connect.	D20

Assessment policy for Kindergarten sits in Growing Success - The Kindergarten Addendum. The new curriculum names a mandatory early reading screening in Year 2 of Kindergarten and describes pedagogical documentation (gathering and studying evidence of children's thinking over time, often with families) as an integral part of every assessment approach.

The four strands and 25 overall expectations

The strands organize the expectations, but the curriculum encourages educators to integrate them: a flexible flow of the day in which children build learning across all four strands at once.

Strand A: Foundations of Language and Mathematics

Talking and listening, the building blocks of reading and writing, and early number, pattern, data, shape and measurement.

A1 Oral and Non-Verbal Communication
A2 Foundations for Reading and Writing
A3 Understanding and Responding to Texts
A4 Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts
A5 The Mathematical Processes
A6 Number Sense and Operations
A7 Patterns and Relationships
A8 Data Literacy and Probability
A9 Geometric and Spatial Reasoning
A10 Measurement

Strand B: Problem Solving and Innovating

Thinking creatively and critically, asking questions and testing ideas, and now coding and engineering design.

B11 Coding Skills
B12 Scientific Investigation and Engineering Design
B13 Exploring Environments

Strand C: Self-Regulation and Well-Being

Managing feelings, alone or with a caring adult's help, getting along with others, health, and movement.

C14 Social Skills
C15 Self-Regulation
C16 Understanding Health Concepts
C17 Active Participation
C18 Movement Skills and Concepts

Strand D: Belonging and Contributing

Identity, relationships and community, caring for nature, perspectives and Canadian identity, and the arts.

D19 Identity and Self-Image
D20 Understanding Perspectives and Canadian Identity
D21 Self-Confidence
D22 People and Communities
D23 Respect and Care for Nature
D24 Responding to Art
D25 Exploring and Creating Art

Planning the year

Run the everyday expectations all year. Some overall expectations describe how children learn every day rather than a topic: communicating (A1), the mathematical processes (A5), social skills (C14), self-regulation (C15), active participation (C17) and identity (D19). Plan them as all-year threads instead of giving them a month.
Follow the ladders inside a strand. Several expectations build on one another, so their order matters more than their month. Two examples from Strand A: A2.1 naming letters → A2.3 hearing and blending sounds → A2.4 matching letters to sounds → A2.5 reading and spelling simple words → A2.6 reading short sentences fluently.
Build number the same way. Seeing small amounts at a glance comes before taking amounts apart and putting them together, which comes before addition facts and then adding and subtracting to 10 with materials. A6.4 subitize to 5 → A6.5 compose and decompose to 10 → A6.11 facts to 5 → A6.12 add and subtract to 10.
Give the new areas a regular home. Coding (B11) and the inquiry process (B12) are new. Direction words and simple instructions can come first, testing and recording instructions next, then full inquiry and design-and-build cycles once children can record their steps.
Plan around Year 2 screening. Children in Year 2 of Kindergarten take the mandatory early reading screening. Check your board's screening window when you place the A2 reading and writing foundations in your year.

One way to shape the year

Fall (September to November). Routines, belonging and social skills; letter names, the sounds in words and matching letters to sounds; subitizing and counting; patterns and sorting; the local environment.
Winter (December to February). Reading and spelling first words; composing to 10 and facts to 5; shapes; the coding sequence; first writing; fairness and friendship.
Spring (March to June). Reading short sentences; data; the inquiry process and design-and-build; adding and subtracting to 10; money; caring for nature; the arts.

How to sequence the year: October worked in full. Every code our plan introduces that month, why in that order, and the centres placed there.
Maternelle et jardin d'enfants (2026) : le guide de planification en français. For French-language schools: a separate document with 27 overall and 106 specific expectations, numbered differently.

Free: Ontario Kindergarten (2026) Planning Grid

Page 1: all 25 overall expectations by code and title against the ten months, with the six all-year threads marked, so you can shade in your own plan. Page 2: a blank month page with a box for each strand and for documentation notes.

Download the planning grid (PDF, 2 pages). No sign-up needed.

Plan it on screen: the Ontario Kindergarten 2026 Planner

The same year on screen: all 102 specific codes by month and strand, a code finder that shows when each code comes back and which of the 72 centres show it, and a one-page week sheet to print. Free, with no login or email. Open the planner.

A worked long-range plan

If you would rather start from a worked plan than a blank grid: Ontario Kindergarten Long Range Plans 2026 Curriculum | Strands A-D | Digital. Our long-range plan places every overall and specific expectation in a month from September to June, with the reason for each month's order and trackers for what you have taught. It is a printable PDF, not an editable file, and a starting sequence rather than a required order. See the current price and currency on the product page before purchasing.

Play-based centres for all four strands

72 centres in four sets, one per strand. Each centre is a one-page teacher card plus the child materials it needs: one explicit skill in a 3-5 minute mini-lesson, then play prompts and look-fors tagged with the strand's codes. Every set links its centres to the month the long-range plan above first introduces their codes.

Strand A: 24 centres

Ontario Kindergarten 2026 Strand A Centres | Language and Math Foundations. Child materials include letter cards, sound-box cards, dot plates, ten-frames and true-size Canadian coin cards. A 118-page PDF and a 1-page START HERE: a coverage map of all 47 Strand A specific expectations, and a documentation kit (14 pages) with 5 class observation grids and frames for Key Learning, Growth in Learning and Next Steps in Learning. See the current price and currency on the product page before purchasing. Independent resource, not a Ministry publication.

Strand B: 16 centres

Ontario Kindergarten 2026 Strand B Centres | Problem Solving and Innovating. Five unplugged coding centres (no screens needed), six inquiry and design centres and five exploring-environments centres. A 82-page PDF and a 1-page START HERE: a coverage map of all 12 Strand B specific expectations, and a documentation kit (9 pages) with 2 class observation grids and frames for Key Learning, Growth in Learning and Next Steps in Learning. See the current price and currency on the product page before purchasing. Independent resource, not a Ministry publication.

Strand C: 18 centres

Ontario Kindergarten 2026 Strand C Centres | Self-Regulation and Well-Being. The calm corner is never a time-out, and a health-facts page names the public-health source of every health statement. A 93-page PDF and a 1-page START HERE: a coverage map of all 22 Strand C specific expectations, and a documentation kit (10 pages) with 3 class observation grids and frames for Key Learning, Growth in Learning and Next Steps in Learning. See the current price and currency on the product page before purchasing. Independent resource, not a Ministry publication.

Strand D: 14 centres

Ontario Kindergarten 2026 Strand D Centres | Belonging and Contributing. Identity work as an invitation: children choose what to share, with a pass option. A 82-page PDF and a 1-page START HERE: a coverage map of all 21 Strand D specific expectations, and a documentation kit (11 pages) with 3 class observation grids and frames for Key Learning, Growth in Learning and Next Steps in Learning. See the current price and currency on the product page before purchasing. Independent resource, not a Ministry publication.

The full program

Ontario Kindergarten 2026 Bundle | Long Range Plans + Strands A-D Centres. Our long-range plan and all four strand centre sets in one resource bundle: 72 centres and 398 pages across five resources, with all five resources included. Its preview includes a month-by-month map of every centre. See the current price and currency on the product page before purchasing. Independent resource, not a Ministry publication.

What this guide is not

An independent planning guide, not a Ministry of Education publication. It paraphrases the curriculum and gives only codes and titles; read each expectation in full on the Ministry's Curriculum and Resources site. The planning order is ours, and your board's direction comes first.

Sources

Ontario Ministry of Education: Kindergarten (2026): the curriculum
Ontario Ministry of Education: Key Changes - Kindergarten Curriculum
Ontario Ministry of Education: Curriculum at a glance: strands and overall expectations
Ontario Ministry of Education: The Strands in the Kindergarten Curriculum
Ontario Ministry of Education: Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning and Growth
Ontario Ministry of Education: Version history (December 2025, new curriculum issued)

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