I'm looking forward to a great year filled with learning, laughter, and fun!
-This year we will be using the Literacy program, Happily Ever After. The children will work on comprehension skills as they listen to and follow along in big books, as well as in their own story booklets. They will complete related activity pages, which teach new vocabulary, reinforce recognition of colors, shapes, and work on fine motor skills. The children will also be introduced to a new letter of the week, working on letter recognition, formation, and letter sounds.
-In Math this year the children will be counting, working on one to one correspondence, recognizing patterns, and sorting objects into categories. They will be introduced to 2 and 3 dimensional shapes, measuring using length, weight, and capacity, and recognizing and writing numerals.
-In Religion we will be using Sadlier's Discovering God's World, as well as reading and discussing Bible stories from our Children's Bible.
-We will also be using the Scholastic Magazine, Let’s Find Out and Science Spin, which has themed based lessons on seasons, holidays, our feelings, our senses, numbers, apples, pumpkins, fires safety, polar animals, caterpillars, and many more topics.
*Students in the 5 day program participate in our Music, Art and Physical Education and Library specials. Monday- GYM Tuesday- STEM Wednesday-MUSIC Friday - ART
The most important goal of Pre-K is to help your child develop the knowledge, skills, and approaches to learning needed to be ready for school. Below are typical pre-k activities with suggestions of what you can do at home to reinforce and extend your child’s learning. Working together, we can give your child a great start for school. Gross and Fine Motor In Pre-k Children play outside every day, weather permitting. Playing outside helps develop children’s muscles, improves coordination, and reinforces healthy habits. The playground is a great place for children to learn social skills such as taking turns, talking to others, making friends, and getting along. At Home Take your child to the playground to explore all kinds of movements. Play outdoor games like hopscotch, jump rope, red light, green light, and drawing with sidewalk chalk. Play games that you played when you were a child.
Read Aloud In Pre-k Children listen to stories every day. They ask questions, learn new words, and discuss different parts of books. During this time, children develop listening, reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills. They get excited to hear what will happen next and what they will learn each time the teacher turns the page. At Home Read different kinds of books with your child. Visit the library and take out storybooks and non-fiction books about animals, people, places, and things. Let your child take “picture walks” by telling you what the story is about by looking at the pictures. Ask questions about what may come next or why a person did something in the story.
Center/ Choice Time In Pre-k Children make decisions about where they will explore, discover, and learn each day. They learn independence by working by themselves or with other children during center/choice time activities. Building these skills is critical in a child’s social-emotional development. At Home Allow your child to make decisions about what to wear to school, which game to play, or which color towel to use etc.
Class Meeting In Pre-k Children come together and become a community of learners, explorers, and friends. They discuss the plan for the day. They build language skills by listening and responding to stories as well as singing songs and reciting nursery rhymes. They practice counting, look for patterns, and explore other math concepts. At Home Sing songs, share stories, and recite poems that you learned as a child. Tell stories about your family and what you did when you were young. Talk about the weather each day and why people wear different clothes depending on the weather.
Small Group In Pre-k Children spend focused time with the teacher and other students when they are in small groups. They develop new knowledge and practice what they learn with support from the teacher and other students. At Home Spend time with your child one-on-one when possible. Have conversations about what they learned at school. During bath time, talk about the day, favorite activities and friends.