Museum's four year old program operates two sessions a day.  Each session consists of 18 children with classes scheduled for 2 ½ hour each. The times are as follow:

Morning Session           9:50 – 12:20

            Afternoon Session        1:40 – 4:10

The preschool program begins the day with community circle time, where we learn to be a productive group of learners, friends, and develop a sense of community!  We incorporate small groups into the day with a focus on specific skills such as letter and number recognition.  Active learning is where the students choose their area of play in a well-planned and skillful environment.  We also do a lot of learning through songs and books!   Please feel free to come and see what is going on in this room anytime. Any questions or concerns you have feel free to call Barbara Harris-O’Neal, teacher.  The educational assistant in the classroom is Mr. Jerold Logan. 

Curriculum:

Literacy Skills in Early Kindergarten

These "Big Five" literacy skills are taught to the children as they engage in the established routines; teacher directed lessons, center work, and independent choice time, all of which are integrated into the daily experience of school.
    1. Oral Language
    2. Vocabulary Development
    3. Print Awareness
    4. Phonological Awareness
    5. Alphabet Knowledge

 Reading and Writing

We use Early Childhood Workshop. This is an adaptation from the Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop that is used by the rest of the school.

Language and Literacy Standards:

1.       Able to have conversations at length on one topic with at least four exchanges.

2.       Can discuss stories.

3.       Can recount, describe knowledge gained through books, observations and experiences.

4.       Able to walk through the hallway quietly with hands and feet to themselves.

5.       Able to sit quietly and stay focused during morning meeting, story and directions times.

6.       When appropriate, talking to self, teachers and peers using rules of interaction.

7.       Give directions and negotiate

8.       Focus and ask questions about things they do not understand.

9.       Use appropriate voice tone.

10.   Letter recognition

11.   Listen for and play with the rhythm of language.

12.   Identify letter sounds in a word, (first, middle end).

13.   Build vocabulary

14.   Can request or provide explanations of their own and others’ actions or feelings.

  Math

We use Everyday Mathematics for Pre-K. Again, this is the same program that is used in K-6. Your student will definitely be prepared for a smooth transition into Kindergarten.

 Math Standards:

1.       Recognize numbers 0 – 10

2.       Count orally to 20

3.       Identify all six shapes, circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, and diamond

4.       Can form groups of objects 0 – 10, one to one correspondence

5.       Know position and direction words

6.       Recognize, copy, extend, and create a pattern

7.       Compare objects by size, weight, length, and height using comparison words

8.       Graphing

9.       Sequencing, beginning middle end with correct left to right progression