Pre-School Curriculum

We believe that children who are actively involved in their learning, through play and exploration, tend to take responsibility of their own learning. We provide developmental materials for each child in our classroom and we encourage each child to make choices and pursue their individual interests. Through this, we feel as though children will become self-directed learners.

Each child in our classroom develops differently, and we all start off from what we have done prior to school. Not all children are doing the same thing at the same time, but each child in our classroom will be given the same opportunities to develop and grow into life-long learners.

Throughout the year, we will follow seasonal themes, as well as themes of interest. For example, it may be penguins because Pepper the Penguin visited school, or it could be apples because a child is going apple picking and the rest of the students wanted to join in. We will introduce a new letter a week. It will not be the main focus of the theme, but we will talk about the letter and things that begin with that letter. We will also introduce Spanish and Sign Language as your child is ready.

The earlier your child is introduced to new languages, the better. The words that we learn will be words of interest, as well as fun songs.

Socially each and every child will be given the opportunity to

• Imitate adults, such as Mom and Dad, and playmates.
• Show affection for familiar playmates.
• Take turns in games and cooperate with other children.
• Understand concepts such as “mine” and “his and hers.”
• Increase their interest in fantasy play.
• Dress and undress themselves.
• Become more independent in everyday activities.
• To please friends and be like them.

Emotionally: each child will be given the opportunity to

• Express themselves openly
• Express a wide range of emotions such as: happy, sad, tired, grumpy, etc.
• Separate easily from parents
• Object to major changes in routines
• View themselves as a whole person involving body, mind, and feelings

Cognitive Skills: each child will be given the opportunity to

• Correctly name some colors.
• Understand the concept of counting, and they may even begin to know a few numbers.
• Approach a problem from a single point of view.
• Have a clearer sense of time.
• Recall parts of a story.

Language Skills: each child will be given the opportunity to

• Follow 2-3 step instructions.
• Recognize and identify almost all common objects and pictures.
• Understand most sentences.
• Understand placement in space. Example: on, in, and under.
• Use 4-6 word sentences.
• Say name, age, and sex.
• Use pronouns and some plurals. Example: I, you, me, we, they, cars, dogs, cats.
• Clearly pronounce words so that strangers can understand most of what they say.
• Tell stories and past experiences.
• Understand concepts such as same and different.

Gross Motor Skills: Children will be given the opportunity to

• Climb well.
• Walk up and down stairs with alternating feet.
• Kick a ball.
• Run with ease.
• Bend over easily without falling.
• Begin hopping and standing on one foot for up to 5 seconds.
• Begin to throw a ball overhand.
• Begin to catch a ball bounced to them most of the time.
• Begin to move forward and backward with agility.
• Swing on swings without assistance.

Fine Motor Skills: Children will be given the opportunity to

• Make up-and-down, side-to-side, and circular lines with pencil and crayon.
• Turn books one page at a time.
• Build a tower of more than 6 blocks.
• Hold a pencil with a proper grip.
• Screw and unscrews jar lids, nuts, and bolts.
• Turn rotating handles.
• Begin to copy square shapes.
• Begin to draw a person with 2-4 body parts.
• Use scissors.
• Begin to copy some capital letters.
• Use fork, spoon, and sometimes a table knife.