7:30-9:00 AM Children’s Arrival & Free Play
Arrival – Families are welcomed to the preschool. Teachers greet the children and encourage them to hang up their coat, put belongings in cubby, and then help them transition to free play activity. Breakfast
Free Play – Free play provides opportunities for learning and social interaction. Self-directed centers (books, manipulatives, puzzles, blocks) are set up to allow children to independently choose activities that help them separate and adjust to the beginning of the day.
9:00-10:00 AM Outside Play
Children develop their large motor and social skills during outside play. A swing and slide structure, tricycles, scooters, balls, a child sized playhouse, and sandbox are included in the playground equipment.
10:10-10:30 AM Morning Snack
10:35-11:00 AM Circle Time
Circle time is a more structured setting where children practice self-regulation, increase attention span, and develop listening skills. The children greet one another, talk about the weather, mark the calendar (month, date, weekday), sing songs, listen to stories, and invited to share something about themselves. We encourage children to take turns talking and listening.
11:05-11:50 AM Activity Center Time (see Activity Center Description below)
12:00-12:30 Lunch (clean-up/Lunch/Health)
Children share the responsibility of cleaning up the preschool. Self-help skills such as independent toiling, washing hands, helping with place setting and serving food, and cleaning up is encouraged. Lunch is also a time where children learn table manners and visit with each other and teachers. Healthy eating is promoted and a variety of nutritional foods is prevalent in our lunch.
12:30 Half day dismissal
Full time children get ready for nap time. Projects or information to be taken home is put together for children going home after lunch.
1:00-3:00 Nap/Quiet Time
Children are given this time to take their afternoon nap. Children who do not need the full time to nap still need rest and are given a comfortable, quiet place to read books.
3:05-3:20 Afternoon Snack
3:25-3:45 Afternoon Circle
Children are encouraged to share their day with one another and talk about what they did/learned. Books and songs enhance the children’s togetherness in the afternoon.
3:50-6:00 Free Choice and Activity Centers
Our full day students can use this time to work on projects not completed during the morning time, participate in teacher planned art, writing, sensory, and various other activities are provided as children wait for their parents or guardians to arrive.
Activity Center Descriptions
Activity Center Descriptions – Children are assigned a math, language, or science center each day. Children are encouraged to freely choose any and all centers listed below. Specific skills checks and activities are facilitated by the teachers during Activity Center Time.
Art – Art projects provide children with opportunities for expanding their creative expression and imagination. Fine motor skills such as holding a paint brush and cutting paper are developed when children create art. We encourage self-directed art projects that are unique for each child.
Blocks – Constructive play allows children to create structures of their own design, while developing concepts of size, numbers, shape, and weight. When building with blocks and placing blocks on top of one another, children are learning geometry. Eye-hand coordination, as well as a sense of accomplishment is also fostered in this area.
Books – We have an extensive library of wide variety and age-appropriate literature for children. This comfortable area provides a quiet place to read and relax. Book reading strengthens cognitive, listening and language skills.
Cooking – Children will learn about nutrition and the importance of healthy eating. They can participate and have fun in creating a healthy snack for them to enjoy. During cooking activities children measure, count, and follow directions.
Dramatic Play – Children are encouraged to dress-up and engage in pretend play. This area enhances creative expression and imagination, social role-play, verbal skills, and storytelling by offering a wide variety of multicultural and age appropriate materials. Children who play with baby dolls learn to nurture and care for others. When children set the table in the house area, they are learning patterns and counting.
Language – Language Arts is an integral part of our curriculum. We promote a language-rich environment where children are encouraged to freely express themselves, engage in social problem solving, and ‘use their words’. They explore their environment and build the foundations for learning to read and write. In Language Arts the children enjoy listening and discussing storybooks, understand that print carries a message, engage in reading and writing attempts, identify labels and sounds in their environment, identify some letters and make some letter-sound matches, and use known letters to represent written language (their name, mom, dad, I love you).
Math – Math activities expose children to numerical concepts such as counting, number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, more or less than, and grouping objects into sets. Hands-on experiences encourage the understanding of mathematical concepts.
Music and Movement – Social activities are part of music and movement and help children feel part of the group. Music and movement benefit a child’s development in many ways: participate in a group; social skills; refine listening skills-notice changes in tempo or pitch; awareness of movement and body positions, improve balance, coordination, and rhyming through dance and movement activities; improve small motor skills-learning finger plays and playing musical instruments.
Science – Science experiences allow children to explore, touch, examine, question, take risks, and discover. In Science, children will mix things together to make slime or play-dough. They learn cause and effect as they mix materials together and watch something new form. In the gardening area children learn to care for things, observe, and see plants at different stages.
