Curriculum

The curriculum includes religion, manipulative play (for small motor development), creative play, cooking, art, pre-reading activities, math readiness, computer usage, large motor coordination activities, music and story time.

Activities change frequently because young children have short attention spans and tend to get restless if an activity continues too long. All the activities are important in helping children develop into well-rounded individuals. All students are encouraged to participate in all the offered activities in order to develop both small and large muscle coordination, role playing skills, creativity, and the necessary academic foundations.

The teachers are concerned with providing experiences for the appropriate age levels that stimulate curiosity and the desire to learn. Teachers in the three, four, and five year-old classes utilize the theme approach to introduce topics of study. Examples of such thematic units are: harvest, friends, community helpers, seasons, families, etc.

Preschool children are introduced to concepts such as recognizing colors, numerals, letters, writing their names (four year olds), etc., but there is no pressure on them to accomplish any of these skills. If a child is developmentally ready for each concept, he/she will learn it quickly and easily. If a child is not ready, pressure will only discourage him/her and create a dislike for learning. The teachers strive to eliminate any sense of competition between the students. For this reason, charts with stars, etc. are not kept to show which students have mastered what skills because the staff doesn't want any child to feel that learning is a competition.