Early Childhood Learning Center (PK3-K)

List of 3 items.

• Three-Year-Old Program

  Our three-year-old program provides classroom experiences of whole group instruction and learning centers that offer opportunities for active exploration and interaction with other children and adults. Literacy instruction includes story times, poetry, rhymes and dramatic play to develop pre-reading skills, letter recognition, phonemic awareness and oral language development. At this age level, the goal of the math program is to develop an understanding of patterns and relationships through the use of concrete materials and manipulatives. Curricula for science and social studies focus on families, seasons, animals and plant life and are delivered through motivating thematic units. From a social and moral perspective, three-year-olds are encouraged to grow in independence and express themselves creatively.

• Four-Year-Old Program

  Our four-year-old program expands all areas of the approach to reading, writing, math and the sciences. The language arts curriculum includes a print-rich environment to develop the understanding of the relationship between letters, sounds, syllables and rhymes. Creative writing activities encourage students to use their phonological knowledge to spell words using Wilson Phonics. Proper letter formation is taught using nationally recognized programs. Math instruction continues the use of manipulatives to develop basic concepts of classifying, patterning, estimating, sequencing, graphing and to provide the foundation of geometric shapes. Our integrated curriculum enables students to learn about science through observation and exploration. Socialization skills are emphasized throughout the year, helping four-year-old students begin to emerge from their small world as they develop responsibility and an awareness of a broader community.

• Kindergarten Program

  In Kindergarten, reading instruction continues to review pre-reading skills and further develop phonics, high frequency word recognition and decoding techniques. Our emergent readers learn to develop comprehension strategies and word attack skills as they move to a more fluent reading level, and all are expected to be at or above grade level by the time they enter first grade. Motivating lessons help foster students’ interests in reading and writing for their own enjoyment, information and communication. Proper letter formation is further developed using the “Handwriting Without Tears” program. Math activities are designed to help kindergartners understand relationships and interconnections in mathematical concepts. Children are provided hands-on opportunities to develop skills in addition, subtraction, place value, geometry and measurement. Many creative writing and art activities are the result of science exploration and discovery. Topics in social studies help students learn more about different communities, cultures and traditions. Many activities in kindergarten encourage cooperative learning, problem solving and decision-making under the guidance of caring, nurturing teachers.