PRESCHOOLERS

Ages approximately 2 ½ to 5 years 

 A wide variety of age appropriate, safe durable learning materials and equipment is available. 

The daily activity plans for preschoolers provide a variety of develpmentally appropriate, concrete, hands-onlearning experience to:

Ø       Promote a healthy sense of competence

Ø       Develop social skills in each child

Ø       Encourage the child to think, reason and pose questions

Ø       Foster both receptive and expressive language development

Ø       Enhance each child’s physical development and skills

Ø       Encourage sound safety, health andd nutritional practices

Ø       Stimulate the child’s creative expression and appreciation of the art

The available activities support learning through exploration, problem solving, repetition, intuition, imitation, etc.  Time during the day is allowed for both child-selected activities and adult-directed activities.  All children have opportunities to make choices and I respect the child’s right to choose not to participate in every activity.

!  Preschool Program

A specially designed preschool program will be used to introduce and teach preschoolers the basic skills, such as cutting, gluing, coloring, painting, etc.  Social skills and etiquette will also be stressed.  Preschool runs September through May.  Activities included in Preschool are as follows:

Ø       Thinking and Talking (a discussion of the day’s theme or unit)

Ø       Games

Ø       Books

Ø       Songs

Ø       Crafts and Creations

Ø       Movement Time/Large Motor Skills

The preschool program is meant for children, ages 3 and up. The younger children can join us for Thinking and Talking, the reading and singing and any other age appropriate activities. There is a theme or two each week that we follow.

Crafts and Creations

Children develop art awareness, creativity, and small motor skills while participating in art activities and manipulative play. These activities include such small motor skills as play dough, painting, stringing, gluing, blocks, and etcetera.  Each morning we do one activity that will help the children gain strength in their fingers and hands, develop strong hand-eye coordination, and manipulate tools. A schedule of these activities is posted on the bulletin board.

Movement Time or Large Motor Skills

Physical activities at this level will help children develop an understanding of how their bodies work and move in space and also help develop coordination. The children will be given the opportunity to exercise their large motor skills through:  Obstacle courses, tumbling skills, parachute games, jumping, hopping, galloping, skipping skills, exercising, etcetera.  A schedule of these activities is located on the bulletin board.

Art Supplies:

Children have their own supplies box.  There are two choices on keeping your child’s box supplied.  One choice is that the parents keep their child’s box supplied.  Notes will be sent home when a supply begins running low.  The second choice would be to pay a $30 yearly fee, payable in August.  I would replace all supplies, as they are needed.  This fee would also cover the cost of one shirt for art projects per year.  If additional shirts are needed for other projects, parent will be responsible for other shirts.    All of the supplies will be kept in a plastic shoebox.  If your child is older than preschool, they still like to have a supply box, even if it just includes crayons and markers, though this is not mandatory.  They just like to be like everyone else.

Preschool Supply List:

·         Plastic shoe box

·         Washable markers, classic color (must have red, black, green, blue, etc.)

·         Watercolor paints

·         Scissors (please make sure that they are "Fiskars", other brands do not work as well, and

·         frustrate the children)

·         Glue bottle and stick (more than one of each is ideal, we go through quite a bit)

·         Crayons (not more than 24 count)

If your child would please bring a backpack, it would help them keep their school papers together.  Each child gets a piece of candy each day they bring their backpack.

Special Helper:

Each day, a different child is the Special Helper.  The Special Helper gets pass out silverware, napkins and cups at lunchtime.  There are Special Helper aprons that the children wear when they are helping set the table.  The Special Helper also passes out pillows at naptime.  Such small things are very special to the children.  It provides a chance for them to learn cooperation, consideration and making choices.

Table Activities:

There is a bookshelf in the dining room that has coloring books, beads, Tinkertoys, puzzles, the children's art supply boxes, scrap paper etc. on it.  The use of these activities encourages and enhances:

Ø       Cognitive skills: Puzzles, memory games, matching games, etch-a-sketch, coloring, all promote practice in problem solving, logical thinking skills, following directions, sequencing through trial and error.

Ø       Social /Adaptive: Children work on sharing toys, working space, collaborating with others, and working independently, development of attention span and time on task.

Ø       Communication: General communication skills of labeling pictures and objects, as well as social communication with peers and adults occur naturally within this setting.

Ø       Motor: Fine motor development and eye hand coordination necessary for pre writing skills.

Ø       Behavior: Children learn to work with others, stay on task, gain a sense of completion with the task they have chosen