CURRICULUM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

 

Trinity Lutheran Preschool bases its goals and objectives primarily but not solely on the Rhode Island Learning and Development Standards.

 

Physical Health and Motor Development:

Children will increasingly develop large and small muscle control, strength and coordination, self-help skills and safety practices.

 

Activities to support learning and goals:

During the course of the day, the children’s bodies are always in movement. During circle time they participate in various moving games through music and teacher direction. Our classroom has a gross motor area where they can climb, slide, balance and tumble. Child sized furniture allow children to sit at a table independently and comfortably. The playground offers more equipment including bikes, slides, swings, balls, balance beam, tunnel for crawling and plenty of room to run. Manipulative toys are offered and switched on a regular basis that reinforces small motor development and writing tools, stickers, scissors, play dough, glue and much more is available at all times.

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Independence to promote self-help skills is encouraged from the beginning of our school year. The children learn to put their belongings away in their labeled cubbies and mailboxes, obtain, set up and clean up their own snacks and lunches, put on their coats, aid in cleaning up centers, etc.

 

Social and Emotional Development:

Children become increasingly successful in developing positive relationships with children and adults. They will learn that they are unique individuals, and develop self-confidence and self-regulation to promote positive self-esteem, confidence and trust.

 

Activities to support learning and goals:

Throughout the day teachers set examples of empathy, caring and affection with each other and the children. They get down to child’s level when talking one on one, set examples with each other and other children, discuss the importance of kindness and respect, discussions of family and uniqueness of self and others often referring to how God made us all special through our weekly Bible stories. Families are an important part of our program often participating in special occasions, visiting or getting involved by helping out with class projects. Group games are played regularly to demonstrate and promote sharing and taking turns. Kid friendly classroom rules and pictures of children are posted in classrooms and teachers often refer to these for examples and reminders.

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Language Development:

Children will develop an understanding of increasingly complex language. They will increase their proficiency in vocabulary, grammar and syntax and learn to understand, follow, and use appropriate social and conversational rules.

 

Activities to support learning and goals:

Language is fluent throughout the day at Trinity. Teacher and child conversations are initiated during arrival, center time, snack and lunch, and outdoor time as well as during transitions. At story time, teachers encourage discussions about the story promoting vocabulary relative to what is being read. Children are always encouraged to express themselves “using their words” when needing or relating a message. Role playing is often used to demonstrate proper language and problem solving.

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Literacy:

Children will begin to make sense of written language as they value and enjoy reading. They learn to understand the purpose of print as a means of communication, and comprehend stories. They will gain knowledge of the alphabet and begin to write letters and words during their play.

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Activities to support learning and goals:

During the course of the day, opportunities for early reading are everywhere in our program. Circle time offers stories, finger plays, and songs often with the corresponding words displayed as we follow along. Equipment is labeled with sight words, and cubbies and mailboxes are labeled with children’s name. Writing opportunities are demonstrated and offered daily at the language center but also incorporated in many other centers as well. There is a “word wall” with seasonal words for coping onto white boards, easels and paper. Many of the stories we read are the bases for art projects which leads to dictation from the children about the story.

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Cognitive Development:

The children will learn how to be thoughtful about how they use information, resources and materials. They think about their ideas, make predictions, and test possible solutions demonstrating curiosity and persistence. They increasingly are able to retain information and use it to perform various tasks.

 

Activities to support learning and goals:

During story times children are asked to make predictions, possible solutions and suggest outcomes. The math, language arts and science tables provide a variety of learning games and activities that are demonstrated at circle time so that the children will be able to use those materials independently as well as in a group. Some of these activities include sorting, classifying, patterning, counting, letter and number recognition and writing, etc.

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Mathematics:

Children will develop an awareness of numbers and their use. This includes number recognition, counting, comparing quantities, problem solving, patterning, and measurement.

 

Activities to support learning and goals:

Math is incorporated throughout our daily program. We begin our day with circle time where we count days in our month, play number games, graphing, and finger plays that involve counting frontwards, backwards and one to one correspondence. Many of our center choices involve math such as sensory with measuring and comparing rice, sand, etc. Often in the dramatic play area there will be a cash register used for purchasing meals, groceries, etc. We use several table toys involving math skills and we demonstrate games that the children will learn how to play independently such as number bingo or Candyland.

 

Science:

Children learn to become scientific thinkers in the world around them. They use their senses to explore, investigate, and gather information. Children also begin to distinguish characteristics of living verses non-living, man-made and naturally occurring objects.

 

Activities to support learning and goals:

At our science center, we provide daily opportunity for children to explore. For example, some of our weekly science activities include animal habitats, insects, seasonal changes, exploring and mixing colors, magnets, measurement, etc. and periodically teacher led experiments. Children are encouraged to use scientific tools such as binoculars, magnifying glasses, scales, tweezers, etc. Non-fiction books are also incorporated into our center. In addition, we have regularly scheduled Audubon Society visits which the children are able to interact with live animals.

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Social Studies:

Everyday experiences important in a child’s life are the foundation for learning social studies. They learn what role they play in their family and community, and gain an understanding of similarities and differences in people. Children begin to grasp the concept of time and places.

 

Activities to support learning and goals:

Much of our focus at Trinity is on self-concept and family. We read stories, learn songs, and have discussions throughout the year based on the uniqueness of ourselves and others, and our roles as members of our family and classroom. We also focus on bullying prevention and respect and acceptance of others we may see as different. The dramatic play area offers lots of opportunity for role playing and props are changed frequently for the children to experience what it may be like to be a mail carrier, veterinarian, restaurant worker, etc. Other toys are set up such as an animal habitat so the children can see where different animals live in the world. We use a globe to show the children what the world looks like, ie water vs land. We have many multi-cultural non-fiction books and discuss how God made all people unique. During circle time, we use a calendar and talk about today, tomorrow and yesterday, next month, last month next year, etc.

 

Creative Arts:

Children like to get their hands messy and experiment and create with different materials. They like to sing and move their bodies to music and pretend to be someone or something else.

 

Activities to support learning and goals:

In our classroom the children have access to art media every day at our free art center or paint at the easel. In addition, we offer a teacher lead art project at the art table daily. We also offer a sensory table each week containing water, sand, rice, oats, mud, etc. The children can create at the play dough table with dough, foam dough and rolling pins and cookie cutters. The dramatic play area offers numerous props and dress up clothes. Our gross motor rug often is supplied with instruments and scarves for music. During circle time and transition times we sing and dance to music or our own voices.

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ASSESSMENT

 

The teachers at Trinity Preschool are trained to implement both informal and formal assessments on all preschoolers. These assessments are ongoing throughout the school year. Some of the forms of assessment include:

 

Anecdotal Notes

Checklists

Pictures

Work samples

Portfolios

 

In addition, progress reports are distributed in January and May. Parent-Teacher conferences are offered at these times as well. Conferences are also done any time during the year per request of either classroom teacher or parent.

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Nurturing Relationships and Classroom Environment

 

Our classroom at Trinity is a community where children feel safe, help one another and see themselves as part of a group. Children learn to feel that they are accepted and appreciated. By role modeling, discussions about making friends, coaching children and occasionally pairing children to work on a task together, we teach them to relate positively to others, establish friendships and learn how to solve problems on their own.

 

The classroom is bright, attractive, safe and comfortable with children’s art work displayed. It allows the children to participate in quiet, individual play such as art, manipulatives, and library as well as gross motor play such as dramatic play, block building, and music and dancing.