Preschool Curriculum
Program Objectives:
- To provide a Christ-centered learning environment.
- To provide the basics of Christianity in a caring, gentle manner.
- To minister to the whole child including his/her mental, physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs.
- To help the child learn to serve and love God and others.
- To help the child thank God for their many blessings.
- To provide an opportunity for the child to develop socially with other children.
- To provide meaningful play experiences that contribute to the developmental needs of the child.
- To provide an educational foundation on which future learning experiences can be based and to foster readiness for the primary grades.
- To provide the children with opportunities to act and think for themselves and develop a degree of independence.
- To help the child develop an interest in the world around them.
- To foster in the child the idea that learning can be exciting and FUN!
- To serve as a mission outreach to the community.
Curriculum Goals:
Spiritual Growth
- Knowing and trusting in Jesus as their Savior
- Knowing that our Lord loves and protects them
- Knowing how God wants His children to live
- Showing love for the Lord and others
- Realizing that the good news of Jesus is for all people
Mental Growth
- Increasing attention span and improving listening skills
- Developing sensory perception
- Developing reasoning and problem-solving skills
- Learning organizational skills
- Discovering similarities and differences
- Comparing and identifying shapes
- Recognizing colors
- Learning new vocabulary
Emotional Growth
- Learning independence
- Gaining self-confidence
- Maintaining a positive self-esteem
- Learning appropriate ways to express one’s feeling and respond to others feelings
- Developing a positive, cooperative attitude
Physical Growth
- Developing fine motor skills through cutting, drawing, painting, coloring, tracing, gluing, puzzle solving, building and manipulative play
- Developing gross motor coordination through running, walking, skipping, hopping, jumping, bouncing, throwing, catching and balancing.
Power of Play:
Play is an important part of the curriculum. The child’s experiences will be broadened through play periods. A child learns to use their body and mind as they play. Children gain powerful knowledge and useful social skills through play. Play deepens a child’s sense of serenity and joy. Children need experiences involving their senses, the God-given doors of perception which open the world in new ways. Play enhances dexterity and grace. Peer play promotes social skills. Children’s play sharpens cognitive and language skills. Preschoolers acquire real number and time concepts through play. Play areas promote children’s spatial understanding. Play prompts children’s reasoning of cause and effect. Socio-dramatic play clarifies the world of pretend versus real. Play enriches children’s sensory and aesthetic appreciation. Play extends children’s attention span, persistence, and sense of mastery. Play helps children release emotions and relieves separation.
Play is the work of childhood. - Maria Montessori
Religious Curriculum:
There is a religious component to our program. We will pray before meals, at the beginning and end of each class and at naptime. The children have daily Bible Lessons. All teaching done during the day is done in light of God’s love for us.
We believe:
- God’s Word is Truth.
- God’s Word is verbally inspired, inerrant, and infallible.
- The purpose of the Bible is to reveal God’s plan of salvation through Christ.
We celebrate:
Christmas and Easter with an emphasis on what God has done for us, in giving us His son, Jesus.
Spanish Instruction:
In today’s increasingly demanding world, parents are interested in preparing their children with tools that help them succeed in life. Tools that will also help them understand the diversity and cultural richness of our world. Learning Spanish as a second language is one of those tools that is becoming more valuable in our hemisphere. The children are taught Spanish words and songs.
Music Instruction:
Music expands memory and assists in developing crucial language skills. Music exerts a multiplier effect on reasoning skills, especially on spatial reasoning. Music also reinforces logical and perceptual ideas as beginning and ending, cause and effect, sequence and balance, harmony and dissonance, as well as math concepts such as number, enumeration, and timing.
The children will learn many songs, as well as work with rhythm instruments. The children also sing in church several times a year. This gives the supporting congregation the opportunity to see the children sing praises and give glory to God.
Movement Activities:
We plan different large motor activities weekly. Children need opportunities to develop upper body strength and expertise by pulling themselves up, swinging, rolling balls at targets and throwing bean bags. They need opportunities to strengthen their lower bodies by jumping up and down, balancing on one foot, walking, galloping, and running. As each child develops at a different pace, encouragement is given at every step of the way.
Curriculum:
We follow the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (www.collaboratingpartners.com).
In many areas of our curriculum we are following the national standard set by NAEYC. (The National Association for the Education of Young Children.) Hands-on activities are available to the children daily. We encourage the children with open-ended art projects using a wide variety of mediums and love to see the children’s unique ideas. We strive to use the most developmentally appropriate practices to help each child develop their God-given talents. Each week has a different theme, giving the children the opportunity to explore a wide variety of subjects, and expand their previous knowledge. Staff are responsible for writing lesson plans, planning activities, using a variety of resources. We are aware we can also use the services of the Wisconsin Child Care Information Center, known as CCIC (800-362-7353).
Learning Centers:
Centers are set up in each classroom according to ECERS, The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. The scale is designed for use in child care, preschool, and kindergarten classrooms serving children 2 1/2 to 5 years. The 43 items are scored on a 7-point scale in these categories: space & furnishings/personal care routines/language-reasoning/activities/interactions/program structure/parents & staff.
Portfolios:
Individual student portfolios are assembled by their teachers for the purpose of tracking a child’s progress throughout the school year. Portfolios are records of a child’s process of learning and will contain the following:
- What the child has learned
- How the child learns
- How the child thinks
- How the child creates
- How the child interacts
- Goals for the individual child
Portfolios will contain assessments and samples of the child’s work. Portfolios will be used for parent-teacher discussions, are always available for parents to look through. When your child leaves Jesus’ Lambs they will receive their portfolio.
Outdoor Environment:
We have a clean and organized fenced-in playground and interactive climbing structures. Age-appropriate equipment will be provided for all ages to explore, play and learn. Teachers will supervise and interact with the children while they are outside. The playground has wood chips surrounding the climbing structures and an area of grass. Sandboxes are available as well as a variety of slides, water tables, building materials, and ride-on toys. Jesus’ Lambs of Grace Preschool does not have a swimming pool on the premises. The center will not be using an off-premises pool, wading pool, water attraction, or beach for the children.
Outdoor Play:
Children, by law, will go outdoors daily when weather permits. Parents are responsible for sending appropriate outdoor gear. The children will be kept indoors if the temperature is below zero degrees, including the wind chill. Children will also stay indoors when the temperature is above 90 degrees.