Children arrive and participate in constructive and meaningful activities that include many manipulatives. Developing fine motor skills will be the focus. All activities are student chosen. Play, and the resulting learning, is the work of the child.
Circle Time
We come together as a group to address the development of both new and ongoing skills, as well as introducing or re-enforcing specific skills and content. All activities are teacher directed with each student having his/her own manipulatives to work with. During this time, children will:
Listen to a Bible story and have discussion - Miss Nicole will also pray over the children and their day
Explore and learn about the calendar (months, weeks, days, year)
Understand concepts of time (yesterday, today, tomorrow, past, present, future)
Explore weather
Develop pre-literacy skills (print concepts and letter formation, phonological awareness - learning corresponding letters with sounds, and recognizing beginning sounds, alphabet knowledge, vocabulary, spelling one's full name, etc.)
Review and discuss social skills, manners, problem solving, etc.
Sing songs, recite finger plays, recite rhymes, etc.
Develop math skills: number sense, counting by ones, twos, fives, and tens, one-to-one correspondence, add numbers, tell time to the hour, values of coins and coin combinations, estimation, creating and extending patterns, colors, shapes, sorting, problem solving, graphing, etc.
Center Time: Plan / Discuss Activities
Center time provides children with an opportunity to make choices and initiate their own activities. Center time is an intentional part of the day and is an important component to a child's development and growth. Materials and activities for each center will be rotated frequently to provide opportunities for the children to develop and refine specific skills. Each center's activities will offer different degrees of difficulty to continually challenge the students, yet allow for continued success. Activities are student chosen. All center activities will be discussed with the children so they know how to properly use items, materials, etc. Before center time begins, each child is given the opportunity to express his/her plan of action (stating which center they want to do first and why.) This helps foster each child's self-regulation and initiative, and it also supports each child's language development.
Center Time: Do / Clean Up
Children engage in the activities of their choice. Play, and the resulting learning, is the work of the child. During this time children will:
Initiate their own activities and determine how long to spend on each activity
Make choices about activities, materials used, and their play patterns
Have opportunities to practice and explore newly introduced skills and concepts
Develop language skills through this process as they interact with their friends and Miss Nicole
Independently participate in the clean-up process
Snack / Center Time Review
All children will be given a nutritious snack. The choice to eat/drink is up to the individual child. During this time children will also:
Develop social skills and table manners
Participate in and lead conversations, building oral language skills and self-confidence
Reflect upon and discuss their center time activities
Outdoor Play
Outdoor play will consist of child-initiated play and exploration, as well as structured movement activities such as group games, obstacle courses, etc. In addition we will take many nature walks and learning walks around the 'circle'. During outdoor time, children will:
Develop gross motor skills
Initiate his/her own activities and determine how long to spend on each activity
Cooperate with friends to play group games
Learn and practice, 'Stop, Look, and Listen' when crossing streets
Participate in practical, real-life activities
Small Group
Activities planned for small group are based on the skills being addressed and the ability level of each child, regardless of age. During small group time, children will:
Participate in activities designed specifically for his/her individual skill level
Interact and cooperate with their friends and Miss Nicole
Have many opportunities to respond and demonstrate capabilities
Have many opportunities to receive individual feedback
Read Aloud
Early experiences with books lay the foundation for concepts and skills that children will later use as they begin to read and write. In listening to and talking about stories read aloud, children build both listening and speaking skills. Children are introduced to new vocabulary and formal written syntax (the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences), and the ways of linking and relating ideas. While listening to stories aloud, children will:
Learn about book format (cover, title, pages, etc.)
Gain insights into the elements of a story (setting, characters, events, sequencing, etc.)
Predict outcomes or suggest other possible outcomes
Tell or create his/her own stories
Music and Movement
Children will listen to, sing to, move to, enjoy, appreciate, and produce music in all various forms. Children will learn such musical concepts as:
Rhythm and beat
Learn to discriminate individual sounds
Demonstrate physical movements to various tempos and rhythms
