Pre-K / TK 4 & 5 years old

The following descriptions will give you an idea of just some of the materials that are used to incorporate reading readiness, math and science into our curriculum.

READING READINESS-

Our Pre-K / T-K program is a phonics based approach to prepare our children to read.  We explore each letter phonetically, helping beginning readers to understand how letters are linked to sounds, and these sounds build words.  This form of synthetic phonics encourages discovery as the children begin word building as we work through the alphabet.  We include fun crafts for each letter sound, along with sensory activities, art projects, lessons for print awareness,  and concepts of print. Our program is organic in a way that we can adapt based on our children's strengths, needs, and interests.  We want each child to be engaged and  reach their highest potential as well as support  their individual needs.   We also explore children's literature, both classic and modern stories, inspiring a love of books.  We have many activities for our favorite books, giving the children an opportunity to retell the stories and support comprehension.  We also integrate many subjects together with our reading program in order to peak interests for everyone.  Science, history, social studies and math are all incorporated in our reading program.   Our goal is for every child to enjoy the process that prepares them for kindergarten, while stimulating a love of learning.

WRITING-

With our emergent writers, we encourage story telling.  Sometimes we give story prompts and sometimes it is child directed, but the words are always theirs. We encourage them to write any way they choose. They can begin with pictures and dictate the words to the story as the teacher models writing and punctuation.   As each child's skills strengthen, they can participate in the writing process with beginning letter sounds and sight words they know.  Sight words are introduced separately as they don't always make sense phonetically.  This process continues on to letter strings and eventually editing their own work.  Our goal is for each child to feel comfortable and validated during the process of writing.  In addition to writing, we encourage many forms of fine motor development in order to strengthen the important muscles in the hands to prepare our children for proper letter formation.  

MATH-

We follow a Montessori approach for mathematics.  We begin with the spindle box, where our children learn the connection of numbers (0-9)  with quantity of an item, along with the concept of zero (empty).  We move along to the teens, tens and hundreds boards.  These items teach number names (10-100),  sequence of numbers, and place value.  The children work with beads that represent quantity that is linked to each number.  This allows for a more clear understanding of basic math concepts, exposing them to addition and subtraction naturally.  We also study basic geometric shapes, throughout our curriculum.  Our Montessori materials build and grow along with the child's readiness.   During our daily calendar, our children are also exposed to number counting, patterning, and place value of numbers.  We count our "days in school" and celebrate once we get to 100, and then we keep on going.  Math is everywhere, and we take every advantage to incorporate teaching moments for each child and their readiness.  

Pre-K / T-K is an amazing stage in child development.  Our children are excited to learn, honest with their abilities, and happy with every accomplishment they achieve.  This is a year of discovery, personal development, and reaching milestones as our children prepare for kindergarten.  Our goal is to give every child the tools needed  through the process  and have fun along the way. 

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

One of  the most important skills that a child learns in Pre-K / T-K is how to get along with their peers. Sharing, problem solving, getting another child’s attention,  

Weekly Enrichment - Included at no cost

PE -   Art  - Computers -  Swimming