High Scope Curriculum
The primary purpose of Cartersville City School Kids and Company Pre-Kindergarten Four Year Old Program is to provide an educational experience for young children that is pleasurable, challenging and creative. The entire program is designed to meet the developmental needs of the four-year-old child.
Play provides the best learning experience opportunities for the young child exploring his/her environment. Children need time to be children. This program is designed to enhance childhood by offering rich and appropriate learning opportunities for the young child. Materials and activities will be designed to help children solve problems, develop science, social studies, and math concepts, improve self-expression, promote cooperation, enhance social skills, and most importantly, promote language / literacy skills.
A very important part of the program will be parental involvement. Opportunities will be given for parents to participate in the school program and to experience personal growth as well. Teachers and parents working together in a partnership can build a mutual understanding and promote the very best program for each child. Everyone involved will be learning and growing together.
Each child will be made to feel special. Children will learn about being a part of a social group. And they will learn to accept and be happy with themselves.
The goal of the four-year-old program is to assure maximum learning and maximum love of learning. By exposing the child to first-hand experiences with new equipment, new materials and different environments, he/she will develop concepts, form opinions, make choices and organize ideas. Much of the program will be seasonal in nature dealing with the changes that take place in fall, winter, spring and summer and with special days since they are an important part of a child’s world.
The preschooler is beginning to understand and reason better. He will go through one phase after another, which is a sign of growth. Our aim is not to suppress his/her eager interest, but to supply plenty of materials to direct his/her energies into creative and constructive activities. We want to keep his activities simple and not judge his work by adult standards. This is the age where parent and teacher should encourage the child to explain meanings of new words and introduce many new concepts.
Our program will provide a variety of activities and experiences to meet the needs of a four-year-old child: • Structured / unstructured • Informative / creative • Active / quiet • Indoor / outdoor • Observing / participating • Alone / together • Self-selection / teacher direction.
The following are some of the needs of a preschooler that will be addressed in our daily curriculum.
Intellectual Needs • To have experiences that satisfy their curiosity. • To be given guidance to help them succeed and to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. • To have the opportunity to observe, experiment, discover and learn by doing. • To experience a variety of field trips as well as class visitors to expand horizons. • To experience games, blocks, puzzles, toys, musical instruments,
computers, books, nature and audio-visual materials.
Social Needs • To live in an atmosphere of friendliness and affection. • To acquire a feeling of independence and to learn to be self-directive. • To develop a sense of responsibility to others and to cooperate in group activities. • To develop habits of courtesy and respect for authority. • To make decisions as to work, play, rest, and habits of behavior.
Emotional Needs • To experience opportunities to communicate feelings. • To have the opportunity to laugh together, to console others and to exercise control in stressful moments. • To have the opportunity to work alone. • To establish routines of physical habits, clean-up habits, good listening habits and good discipline habits. • To feel they belong. • To direct their energies towards desirable behavior.
Language Needs • To have freedom of expression and enjoy communication with adults as well as children. • To hear correct speech. • To develop an awareness of words that sound alike. • To experience listening activities such as story time and group discussions.
Physical Needs • To have a balance between active and quiet activities and between indoor and outdoor play. • To develop good health and dental habits. • To engage in large muscle activities. • To have vigorous activities - an opportunity to run, jump, climb and balance.
Creative Needs • To express original ideas and creativity. • To express themselves in various art forms such as paint, crayon, play-doh, clay, music, rhythm, dramatic play and puppets. |
