Pre-K will gather daily in the classroom to go over the calendar, colors, shapes, Bible/fruits of the spirit and we will introduce our curriculum lesson of the day (using the smart board). Throughout the day each group will work on an arts and crafts project based on the monthly theme, we also have many learning toys (manipulatives, puzzles, building materials, etc.) for the children to use that will give them the opportunity to learn from. During Bible time, we will be using the curriculum in stories of God’s Love along with The Beginners Bible and Devotional. The Fruits of the Spirit are used as well; they are 9 visible attributes of a true Christian life. We will introduce a different fruit/attribute each month and we will help the children practice how the gift will help us live and love one another.
The Pre-K curriculum that is used in the classroom is called the SMART Curriculum (Science, Math, Art Religion and Take Home) This curriculum incorporates reading readiness, language development, vocabulary, thinking and listing skills, phonics, math readiness and printing readiness. For example, letters; recognizing capital/lowercase letters, and their sounds. It will introduce sight words, rhyming, sequencing a story, print matching, directed/listing comprehension, and recognizing beginning and ending sounds. The second part of the curriculum consist of eye-hand coordination, one to one correspondence, identifying shapes, numbers 1-10, rote counting, making sets, and letter configurations. As we get further into the year the children are exposed to pattering, graphing, story problems (addition & subtraction), and so much more. Each child is given two worksheets daily to work on.
The curriculum is used to expose the children to skills that will set the foundation for success in school. The curriculum provides language interaction, thinking skills, literature, and the alphabet is presented to the children twice during the year to help the children feel comfortable and grow at their pace. We encourage children to do their best and to at least try. We will use various tools to assist them along the way hoping they will become eager to learn and want to do more.
Throughout the year the children will work on personal and social development. We will help the children learn to follow rules, routines, manage transitions and demonstrate self-control. Social interaction plays and important role in your child’s development. The children will learn to interact with one another, and familiar adults, they will participate in group activities, take turns and share with others, along with cleaning up after play. We work on having the children use their words to resolve their conflicts and seek help from teachers when needed. The children learn how to calm down express their feelings, use kind words, friendly voices, and work it out. When it comes to apologizing we want the children to be responsible for their actions and be able to talk about how they can make better choices.
As we enter January, the children have the opportunity to join our Kinder thru – Jr. High at their morning assembly and on Friday’s at mass.
We are one family at La Purisima Preschool-Jr. High, we go above and beyond for our families, and we make learning enjoyable for your child.