What does my child learn in school?
The 3 most important academic skills taught in St. John’s Preschool program are: pre-math skills, pre-reading skills, and pre-writing skills. These skills are listed with several activities that you see in our classroom. We know that young children acquire knowledge very differently than older children and adults. Below you will learn how we introduce young children to academic concepts in a way that is developmentally appropriate, motivating, and FUN!
Pre-Reading Skills: Pre-reading skills are the skills that children need in order to help them become a reader.
Pre-writing skills: Pre-writing skills are the skills that lead to the ability to form letters and numbers.
Pre-math skills: Pre-math skills are the skills that children need to be more successful learning math. Most preschool children need to be involved with concrete materials in order to build pre-math skills.
Pre-Reading Skills: Pre-reading skills are the skills that children need in order to help them become a reader.
- Matching: When we read, part of what we do involves matching. Children learn to match shapes, colors, patterns, objects, pictures, and much more. Some preschoolers are able to match letters. All of this work will help the children later match words.
- Letter knowledge/recognition: Children may work on letters everyday using magnetic letters, picture cards, poems, books about the letters, and repetition with the letters in the children’s names. The “check in” with name photos, name tags, and also watching the teacher print names while saying each letter are examples of how we are learning the letters in our names. Learning shapes also assists with letter recognition. Letters are made out of shapes. (Please note- Letter recognition is not the same as comprehension.)
- Rhyming: Rhyming helps children with spelling and reading in the elementary grades. In class, we use books, songs, and finger plays to practice rhyming.
- Concepts of print: Reading stories with the children and allowing them time to look at books on their own helps children learn how to hold books right-side up, how to turn pages in a sequence, how to explore pictures, and to recognize that the letters in the book tell us something (print awareness). Enjoying books will also encourage print motivation. Children are constantly encouraged to use the writing table, write their names (with help when needed) and observe that print is in everything they do.
- Language/Narrative skills: Again, books are an important part of this. When the teachers are reading, they are stopping often to ask, “What do you think happens next?” and/or “What do you think this story is about?” We also go back and ask the children to summarize the story. Learning to read involves comprehension as much as fluency. We want the children to be able to understand the content of the stories as well as read the words when they become readers. Language skills are also developed during conversations, dramatic play, Jesus time, Choice time, and closing group time.
- Phonological Awareness: We work on letter sounds by chanting, singing, reading books, and playing games. One example is the alphabet chants and various ways we use them. We chant: A-A-Alligator, B-B Bear, C-C-Cat and so on. Chanting and singing with movement helps us remember things and is also fun!
Pre-writing skills: Pre-writing skills are the skills that lead to the ability to form letters and numbers.
- Strength and dexterity: These are fine motor skills as well as building strong muscles in the forearms. The children are using manipulative activities for much of this. Bristle Blocks, peg boards, play dough and clay, blocks, scissors, painting, coloring, clothespins, stickers, magnets, lacing beads, Legos, and many more activities will help strengthen the child’s hand muscles. Strong hand muscles will help the child better grasp a pencil and have more success when learning to write. Holding a paintbrush and cutting with a scissors builds the same muscles that are needed to grasp a pencil. Playing with blocks builds strong forearm muscles. When the children have strong hands, they then have the freedom to manipulate and control objects, like a pencil, in a more precise manner.
- Writing practice: At the messy art table we use finger paints, foam paint, shaving cream, etc. so the children can practice making letters, shapes, and pictures with their fingers. This helps the child who is still developing strong muscles to feel successful with writing without the added frustration of not being able to grasp a pencil tightly. We have forms for making letters out of playdough and clay. We also practice drawing lines, circles, and encourage all of the children to color or draw at the writing table. White erase boards work on this skill too.
Pre-math skills: Pre-math skills are the skills that children need to be more successful learning math. Most preschool children need to be involved with concrete materials in order to build pre-math skills.
- One-to-one correspondence: This is the ability to point to only one object when counting and stop counting when all of the objects have been touched. We will have a “counting bag” that comes home with one child each day; I ask that the child find 5 items (eventually 10, then 15, then 20) which we will count together during group time. We also use all of our manipulative toys and puzzles, counting songs and rhymes, and an “attendance” count to practice this skill.
- Grouping objects: We use many objects in the classroom for grouping. We are sorting objects by size, shape, color, and use. Many of the activities in our games/manipulatives area can be used for grouping. You will often see something in the sensory table that can be used for grouping. These activities are also great for making comparisons like bigger and smaller, and making predictions such as “how many blocks can we stack before they fall?” We also use picture cards to work on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, last, etc.
- Patterns: This helps children to be able to pick out visual patterns and know that something comes next in the sequence. It also helps children make predictions or guesses. Again, many of our manipulative activities are set up for making patterns. One example is the color bears. The teacher begins a pattern with the bears (red, yellow, red, yellow, or blue, blue, green, blue, blue, green) and then asks the children which bear comes next in the pattern. This activity is done with many of the objects in our classroom. During choice time, these activities are set out and the children are encouraged to make their own patterns. We often see the children make a pattern across the entire rug.
- Measuring: The children work on the concepts of heavy and light, more or less, and use items like measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a balance scale. The sensory table and science center are great areas for these skills.
- Recognizing numbers: Children learn numbers by hearing them and seeing them over and over. We practice numbers with games, songs, stories, playdough forms, etc.
Preschool 3 and 4
St. John's Preschool operates with the belief that all children are gifts from God and are given the ability to learn. We emphasize the "whole child" which includes the following domains: spiritual, cognitive, language, social, emotional, creative, large and fine motor. In a kind and loving atmosphere, children are encouraged to:
Hear about Jesus' love for them
Share and get along with others
Help themselves and be responsible
Use words to resolve conflict and solve problems.
Our Curriculum includes many "Developmentally Appropriate" activities and materials which encourages success and an "I can do it" attitude. The two-day session requires that a child is three years old by September 1st; the three-day session requires that a child is four years old by September 1st and will build on the skills acquired the previous year.
Two-Day Session Curriculum: Three-Day Curriculum:
Hear about Jesus' love for them
Share and get along with others
Help themselves and be responsible
Use words to resolve conflict and solve problems.
Our Curriculum includes many "Developmentally Appropriate" activities and materials which encourages success and an "I can do it" attitude. The two-day session requires that a child is three years old by September 1st; the three-day session requires that a child is four years old by September 1st and will build on the skills acquired the previous year.
Two-Day Session Curriculum: Three-Day Curriculum:
- Spiritual Training (Voyages Religion Series) Spiritual Training (Voyages Religion Series)
- Shapes Phonemic Awareness & Rhyming
- Colors Safety & Health Concepts
- Numbers (1-5…) Number concepts through 10 & more
- Community Helpers Sorting & Classifying
- Fire Safety Patterning
- Holidays Graphing
- My Five Senses Letter Recognition
- The Farm/Clothing/Food Writing names/words
- Music & Singing Computer Introduction
- Friends & Family Group Games
- Pre-Reading & Writing Practice of 2-Day Session Curriculum
