Curriculum

The curriculum of the Weekday School is based on the philosophy that young children learn best in a setting that encourages play and experiential learning. Play is the work of young children as they explore their world, discover how to get along with others, test their skills and muscles, and try out new ideas in their classrooms. Through play, a child's brain develops as they explore and discover, practice critical thinking skills, develop language and vocabulary, and grow physically, socially, and emotionally. Our primary goal is to enhance and nurture each child's natural enthusiasm for learning, competence, and sense of self-worth and to create a safe, loving, and nurturing environment. In this environment and through Christian education activities, each child will experience the unconditional nature of God's love. The security and acceptance this provides a child is basic to further faith development

The Creative Curriculum is our school's guide for implementing developmentally appropriate practice in the classrooms and focuses on physical, cognitive, social/emotional, and language development. Learning experiences are offered each day that include art activities, block play, music, literacy and math activities, dramatic play, science, social studies, and outdoor time. Both the youngest and the oldest children are engaged in these activities in an age-appropriate way. The Creative Curriculum "provides children with opportunities to learn and practice many skills, offers challenges just beyond the level of their present mastery, and occurs in a school community where children feel psychologically secure and valued." In this environment, children develop skills that prepare them well for their next educational level. Weekday School students are well-prepared for kindergarten because they experience a well-rounded program which focuses on all areas of a child's development.

Because we are a church-based preschool, we focus on a child's spiritual development as well. Each child is in a Christian environment of unconditional love and acceptance which fosters trust, respect for others, and a beginning understanding of God's love.

Toddlers and Twos Curriculum

Toddlers and Twos are the youngest groups of children at the Weekday School. Often, this is their first experience in a group setting, and there are many adjustments for these children to make as they learn to trust adults other than their parents to care for them. They must also adjust to a classroom environment and schedule where they begin to adapt to playing around other children and adjusting to a routine in the classroom. Preschool opens up a new world to this age child as they are introduced to many new toys and ways to play, music and stories in a group setting, playground time, and enjoying lunch with classmates. Their receptive language becomes strong, and they are beginning to use their words. Potty training can be a major milestone during these years.

• In the classroom and on the playground, there are many opportunities for both large and small muscle development. This involves very active play with many opportunities to push toys, dig in the sand, run, jump, and climb. Music will often accompany and encourage physical expression. Indoor play with smaller toys and materials are carefully selected to enhance coordination and skill development. Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive development are enhanced as the children play with blocks, small manipulative toys, puzzles, playdough, and draw, paint, or glue.

• Two year olds engage in parallel play much more often than cooperative play. There are sufficient toys, materials, and space to allow this. As they mature, the enjoyment of play with other children increases. They enjoy imaginary play with housekeeping props, dolls, vehicles, and play animals. They are learning to take turns, share, use their words to resolve problems, and are guided by the teachers as they learn new group interaction skills.

• The cognitive development of Toddlers and Twos is greatly enhanced by classroom activities as they begin to distinguish colors, shapes, and opposites, remember and follow a few simple rules, and comprehend cause and effect. These age groups are learning language at a very rapid rate. Language skills are enhanced by stories read aloud, repetition of songs, rhymes and chants, free access to books, and interactions with teachers.

Threes Curriculum

Threes are somewhat in a transition period between the Twos and the Fours. Their increased ability to express themselves and to play in small groups sets them apart from the Twos, but they have not yet acquired the social competence and self-regulation skills to engage with their peers and classroom materials as the Fours. The play of three-year-olds becomes more sustained and focused, and their ability to engage with a variety of learning materials in the classroom is more mature. Their language skills develop at an astounding rate during the three-year-old year.

• Threes learn from play and active engagement with people and materials. They are provided opportunities for open-ended learning experiences with a great variety of toys, books, art materials, music, and props for creative play. Classrooms are arranged into distinct interest areas which promote decision-making as children learn to make choices.

• Threes experience social growth as they have many opportunities to interact with each other and with their teachers. A three-year-old is between the parallel play stage of the two-year-old and the intensely social stage of the four-year-old. Group play helps children gain self-control as they learn to cooperate, take turns, share, and resolve disagreements. Participation in classroom clean-up and as class helpers encourages a sense of individual and group responsibility.

• Active play indoors and outside contributes to their physical development. Gross motor activities, such as running, climbing, swinging, playing in the sandbox, and dancing to music are great sources of pleasure for this age group. Music will often accompany and encourage physical expression. Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination develop as the children play with a large variety of blocks, small manipulative toys, puzzles, use scissors, draw, paint, glue, use clay and playdough, and do fingerplays.

• Cognitive development in the three-year-old occurs as children follow their natural curiosity and explore and manipulate their environment. Language development soars during this year. Most three-year-olds talk in sentences, love to share their thoughts with others, and participate in conversations. They ask questions, answer questions, and describe classroom events. Children develop literacy skills as they listen to stories and have many books read to them. They will sing, recite nursery rhymes, and engage in continuous conversation with classmates and teachers. They are exposed to the printed word and may begin to recognize some letters. They always have free access to books. Developmentally appropriate math and science concepts are built in to the daily activities as children count, sort, classify, place items in sequence, cook, and observe nature and scientific principles. The children are also be introduced to Social Studies concepts that explore community life and various cultures.

Fours and TK Curriculum

The Fours and TK years engage each child in the learning process and prepare each child with the readiness skills needed to enter kindergarten.

Social/emotional competence develops as children learn the social skills necessary to function well in a group: taking turns, sharing, following directions, attending to a task, transitioning from one activity to another, taking care of personal needs, and interacting with both peers and adults. A strong social/emotional intelligence is the best predictor of academic success for students.
Physical development includes both large motor and fine motor skills. Activities are offered daily to enhance the large muscles and fine motor development which will encourage pre-writing skills.
Cognitive or intellectual development is reflected in the way a child processes information, remembers, classifies, solves problems, acquires language, learns to read, and understands mathematics. The essential components of intellectual development are curiosity, symbolic thinking, imagination, problem-solving, and creative expression.
Literacy and language skills are developed each day in the Fours and TK classes. Expressive and receptive language are needed for development of relationships and for understanding subject content. Literacy skills are developed in the following ways:

• The enjoyment of reading books and telling stories is a daily part of our curriculum. Children also need exposure to different types of books - picture books, storybooks, informational books, and poetry - which are offered in our classrooms.
   
• Language and vocabulary are the foundations of literacy development. Through speech, children learn to organize their thoughts and ideas and gradually learn the rules of grammar, speech, and sentence structure. To enhance language skills, children must develop comprehension and expressive language, as well as an expanded vocabulary. These skills are developed through conversations and interaction with peers and adults; through songs, rhymes, fingerplays, and movement activities; through hearing new words and increasing their vocabulary to describe what they experience firsthand; and by listening to print read aloud.
   
• Phonological awareness is understanding the different sounds, syllables, and patterns of spoken language. Word games, rhyming, and songs all contribute to phonological awareness, which lays the groundwork for phonics.
   
• Knowledge of print refers to the concept of how children make sense of written language and how sounds, words, and sentences are represented in written form. Children see print many times each day in our classes and also practice their writing in a fun way.
   
• Knowledge of letters and words is an important component of literacy and involves more than reciting the ABC's. Over the course of the year, a child will learn to recognize and name letters, recognize beginning letters in familiar words, and match some letters to the sounds they represent.
   
• Comprehension is another focus of literacy development as children learn to comprehend stories being read, to understand oral directions and information or subject area content such as science or math. Comprehension is based on a child's background of knowledge and experiences. Thus, a major goal in preschool is to provide firsthand experiences that help children construct understandings about the world. Encouraging children to reflect on their experiences, ask questions, make predictions, and experiment helps them construct understandings about the world and about language.

Transition Kindergarten (TK) Curriculum

Integrating all of these readiness skills stated above, as well as introducing new content and knowledge, is the focus of the Science Start curriculum used in our TK classes. Science Start is an early childhood science, language, and early literacy curriculum and is designed to help young children think like scientists in the classroom setting and to develop a "scientific world view". The children seek answers about the world around them through action and observations. Collecting things, counting and measuring, organizing materials, making observations, analyzing data, and discussing results are all part of the everyday work of the young scientist in the classroom.

Five topics are explored during the school year - Measurement and Mapping, Color and Light, Properties of Matter, Neighborhood Habitats, and Movement and Machines. All components of an early childhood curriculum are integrated into these science topics. Learning through play and hands-on experiences will remain the focus of this developmentally appropriate curriculum.