Daily class meetings reinforce the concept of a classroom community and provide opportunities to practice social skills, listening skills and various cognitive skills.  Students work with the calendar and other concrete materials to develop an understanding of concepts such as counting by ones, twos, fives and tens; logic; reasoning; sequencing; patterning; estimating; classifying; and graphing.  Students are immersed in language and given the opportunity to attain greater language proficiency, including the ability to distinguish left to right directionality, which helps to develop the skills necessary for reading and writing.

Learning centers are special areas devoted to development of a particular interest or skill.  Pre-kindergarten centers include math manipulatives, listening/reading, sensory play such as sand and water, art/writing, dramatic play, and others.  During this time, children work in small groups with the teacher on specific activities.

Assessment is a daily, ongoing process. It allows us to individualize instruction and to communicate knowledgeably with families. Descriptions of children’s development and learning may consist of anecdotal records, classroom and playground observations, individually administered evaluations (teacher-made and standardized) and compilations of children’s work.

Daily outdoor play provides pre-kindergarten children with opportunities for active, gross motor exploration and development; socialization; and the fostering of peer relationships.

Dramatic play is an important part of any early childhood classroom.  Opportunity for imaginary play occurs both inside the classroom and in the centrally located dramatic play areas.

Pre-kindergartners take a momentary respite from their busy days during “reading rest.” The children rest on cots while quietly reading or looking at books. This time provides rejuvenation for the afternoon and promotes a child’s self-calming skills and the ability to reflect and relax.