(Pre-Kindergarten I (Belugas) – Ages Forty-Two to Sixty Months)
(Pre-Kindergarten II (Orcas) –Ages 60+ Months)
The Friendship Children’s Centers pre-kindergarten curriculum is designed to meet the developmental needs of children between the ages of forty-two and sixty months. The pre-kindergarten classroom has been split into two groups according to age that will act as one cohesive unit. Both the Beluga Whale and the Orca Whale classrooms will prepare the children for entering kindergarten and will operate as one group, doing activities both together and separately. Because the kindergarten age requirements have changed, having this extra pre-kindergarten class will allow the school to meet the needs of those children on the cusp of kindergarten. Creating enriched learning experiences, providing a stimulating environment, a calm and pleasant atmosphere, and offering positive role models for the children, fosters the development of a healthy self-esteem and strong social skills. This includes respect for others, a sense of responsibility, self-discipline, and independent learning. In addition, a primary goal of the pre-kindergarten program is to prepare our children for their first elementary level educational experience – kindergarten.
Although each individual child may enter a slightly different kindergarten program based on his or her unique needs, there is a general consensus among early childhood education specialists regarding the skills necessary to successfully enter kindergarten. As a result, The Friendship Children’s Center has created a pre-kindergarten curriculum based specifically on these essential skills to prepare our children for the varying challenges that await them in their first kindergarten experiences.
The Beluga and Orca Whales will share some classroom space as well as a very similar curriculum. For those children who will be moving into the Orca classroom we also have an accelerated pre-k curriculum to keep them challenged and prepare them for kindergarten. To enhance their preparation for kindergarten, the Whale classrooms are divided into the following major activity centers:
BLOCKS
Building with blocks allows children to develop the concepts of big, little, more than, less than, equal to, to identify various shapes and sizes, and to improve small and large muscle coordination. The use of animals, puppets, and people within the block area provide the occasion for role-play and enactment of the child’s view of his or her world. Children will often experiment with team work, building together, taking turns, and sharing.
LANGUAGE ARTS
This learning area is filled with materials for listening, viewing, reading, writing, and speaking to stimulate the growth of oral and written language, as well as creative thought. Children learn to communicate through books, computers, and audio-visual equipment. They work independently or in groups to create stories, relay ideas, describe experiences, and express interests.
FINE ARTS
This learning center focuses on the study of art and music and is dedicated to sensory motor exploration. Self-expression is a key component of the fine arts center and occurs through music activities that include body movements, song, and the use of instruments. It is also found through art activities that include painting, pasting, cutting, molding, and construction. Within the art projects, children work with a wide variety of materials to discover color, shape, texture, and size.
DRAMATIC PLAY
Dramatic play encourages children to express themselves through role-play and to act out their views of the world around them. In the dress-up corner, children imitate real-life images and story-book characters. They create their own stories and define actions for those stories. Dramatic play also provides a comfortable setting in which each child can act out feelings and emotions. The use and creation of puppets and costumes to tell stories provide endless opportunities for imagination and exploration.
MATH
Math is regularly incorporated into the daily routine of the Whale classrooms. Throughout the day, children utilize their problem solving skills to determine the date on the calendar, complete puzzles, explore number concepts, and to interpret their environment. In addition, at the math center, the use of peg boards, sequencing cards, dominos, memory games, bean bags, and other counting and manipulative tools help to move the children from concrete to abstract thinking. Children learn logical sequencing, experiment with early arithmetic, and demonstrate preferences for patterns, numbers, and colors.
SCIENCE
Through the activities offered in the science center, children begin to develop healthy habits of thinking and investigation. A primary objective of this center is to teach children the value of observation. Children are encouraged to study, test, and explore the materials available in the science center. Items from this activity center may from time to time be included in the morning group activities or in special lesson plan projects.
