The five-day
program provides more exposure in all areas of the school curriculum.
The children learn through hands-on experiences.
Some paper and pencil activities in language during the second half
of the school year is provided.
A typical five-day class
will include the following activities in its daily schedule:
Free Play,
Circle Time, Art, Snack, Language Discussion, and Math Activities.
During the week the
children are scheduled for Sensorimotor three days a week for fifteen
minutes in the Green Room with a Sensorimotor teacher. The children gather
for formal Music once a week. Several classes are grouped together in one of
the classrooms for this activity. The school has a Science Cart that has
different age-appropriate activities each month. Each class is scheduled to
use these activities once a week.
Free Play - A block
of time is set aside each day for the children to play in an area of their
choice. Puzzles, blocks, housekeeping, dress-up, dolls, and a water table
are a few of the things that the children may choose.
Circle Time - The
children will talk about the calendar, dress a weather bear, sing favorite
songs and do fingerplays, share items that have been brought in by
individual children, and hear stories.
Art Project - Each
child will participate in an art activity every day. Free expression is
encouraged. Some of the projects that the children experience will not be
brought home; for example: shaving cream finger-painting on the tabletops.
Snack Time - A snack
will be provided each day. Birthday treats may be sent in as the snack that
day. Throughout the year, the children will be involved in simple cooking
projects: making soup, muffins, cakes, and cutting out cookies.
Learning with letters
- The five-day program provides more time for the children to spend on
individual areas of study. At the beginning of the year the children will be
introduced to two alphabet letters a week. Both the capital and the lower
case form of the letter are discussed. The children will hear individual
stories for each of the letter, and they will be introduced to the letter’s
sound. In January the children will fill in individual books on each one of
the letters. Forming the letters and matching sounds will be stressed more
during the second half of the year.
Math - The five day
program will go over all of the basic math concepts of the regular four-year
old class: comparisons, measuring, sets, number recognition and writing
1-10, classifying, patterning, and sequencing. Daily counting, hands-on
games and daily art projects will also give the children more exposure to
basic math concepts.
Field trips and
In-School Programs - The five day program will go on the same field
trips as the four-year old classes. They will also attend all of the
in-school programs.
Books - The five-day
class spends much time “writing” their own books. Each child is given the
name of the book that they will be “writing” and the teacher writes down
his/her ideas on the subject. Once the written word is finished, the
children can draw a picture to go along with their individual page. When the
entire class has finished, the pages are bound and sent home with each child
to share with their families.
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