(4 and 5 year olds)

At Applewood, we believe that children learn best through their own natural investigations of the world around them.  As such, we create curriculum that is based on children’s own interests making their learning exciting and meaningful.  There are basic components of the integrated curriculum in the Pre-Kindergarten.  For the purposes of clarity, we have outlined them separately below.

Language & Literacy – The goal of this program is for children to expand their ability to communicate orally and through reading and writing, and to enjoy these activities.  Generous amounts of time and a wide variety of activities are provided for children to develop language, reading and writing ability.  Activities include looking through, reading, or being read high quality children’s literature; drawing, dictating, and writing about activities and ideas; creating a series of steps to follow in a project; making books of various kinds.

Mathematics – Our program emphasizes hands-on math experiences rather than drills and paperwork.  The children use concrete materials, such as pattern blocks, pegs, cubes, buttons, keys, etc. to develop specific skills and abilities.  The children work with patterns, classification, graphs, time, money, one to one correspondence and identification of numerals.  As children are ready, they are individually introduced to addition and subtraction.

Social Studies – This program consists of exploring the people and places around the child.  The police officer, firefighter, the clerk at the grocery store – these are the people that make up a child’s immediate environment.  We expose children to different cultures as are relevant to their lives throughout the year.  Personal relationships and human emotions are important to the young child.  The classroom is where the children will experiment with values, learn rules of social living and respect for individual differences.

Science – Discovering what the world is like and how things work is important to the kindergarten child.  Observation and hands-on experiments help the children learn about the weather, the seasons, their bodies and senses, animals and plants, stars and planets as well as simple machines, magnets, air and water.  Children in the kindergarten classroom spend time planning, hypothesizing, observing, experimenting and verifying to understand the many science facts related to their own experience.

Creative Arts – Art, music, drama, and dance are integrated throughout the day in the kindergarten program.  Many opportunities are provided for children to express themselves aesthetically and physically.  Various art media are explored that enable the child to express his own creativity through open-ended activities.

Pre-Kindergarten Program Goals

• to provide a warm, caring atmosphere that lets each child know that she/he is special
• to meet the physical, emotional and cultural needs of each child completely
• to establish respect for cultural and personal diversity
• to promote self-confidence and self-worth by allowing choices within limits and building on successes
• to encourage self-direction and independence in an accepting atmosphere
• to promote intellectual growth through discovery and exploration
• to refine the understanding of being a member of a community
• to provide a relaxed environment where active learning is encouraged
• to establish a respect for the environment