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Pre-Kindergarten Program

The Dragonfly and Grasshopper Rooms

Stronger focus, workbooks & whiteboards…WOW!

Pre-Kindergarten (4-5 year olds)

Our Pre-K children are encouraged to master the skills in letter recognition and develop the understanding of letter sounds and simple mathematical skills. Our teaching staff realize the importance of preparing their students for their next step to Kindergarten and offer various stimulating and challenging activities to capture their individual learning styles. We teach proper intelligent questioning. The Pre-K children begin pre-reading skills of word families, letter capitalization, punctuation and simple sentencing. The Pre-K children are encouraged to use their imagination, problem-solving skills and develop their cause and effect skills to better understand the world around them through hands on science experiments and dramatic play.

Hands on Science

Why is one seed big and another small? What happens when they grow? The extensive hands on learning of plants,flowers, gardening and their life cycles is a year long project that gently guides them on their journey of growing older and gaining independence. The fruits and vegetables that are grown in the garden are used in our school lunches.

 

The Pre-Kindergarten  Program

  • The ratio of children to teachers is 10 to 1
  • The classroom is uniquely designed to provide a comfortable natural light.
  • Pre-reading skills of word families, letter capitalization, punctuation,simple sentence and mathematical concepts are offered in a creative and structured learning environment.
  • We encourage our Pre-K children to use their imagination, problem-solving and cause & effect skills.
  • Modern technology is used for various teaching
  • Curriculum used is World of Wonders and Everyday Math.

Pre-Kindergarten Development Goals

Social/Emotional Development

  • Accepts changes in daily schedules and routines
  • Regards parents and teachers as resources and positive role models
  • Is able to describe feelings and their causes
  • Asserts own needs and desires verbally without being aggressive
  • Completes multiple tasks in a project of own choosing with some adult assistance
  • Uses self-help skills and participates in chores without reminders
  • Puts away used materials before starting another activity
  • Understands and follows classroom procedures without prompting
  • Understands and follows classroom rules without reminders
  • Successfully enters a group and plays cooperatively
  • Shows increasing awareness that people may have different feelings about the same situation
  • Shares toys or allows turn in response to another child’s request

Cognitive Development

  • Notices and/or asks questions about similarities and differences
  • Experiments with materials in new ways when fi rst way doesn’t work
  • Continues to work on a task even when encountering difficulties
  • Wonders “what will happen if” and tests out possibilities
  • Applies new information or vocabulary to an activity or interaction
  • Sorts a group of objects by one property and then by another
  • Uses comparative words to relate to number, size, shape, texture, weight, speed, color, volume
  • Figures out logical order for a group of objects
  • Extends patterns or creates simple patterns of own design
  • Uses past and future tenses and time words appropriately
  • Understands and uses positional words correctly
  • Places objects in a one-to-one correspondence with another set
  • Counts correctly up to 5 or so using one number for each object
  • Offers to pay theme scenario
  • Uses substitute object or gesture to represent real object
  • Draws or builds a construction that represents something specific

Lanuage Development

  • Recognizes and invents rhymes and repetitive phrases; notices words that begin the same way
  • Uses longer sentences 5 to 6 words to communicate
  • Follows two step directions
  • Answers questions with complete thought
  • Asks questions to further understand
  • Responds to others’ comments in a series of exchanges
  • Participates in story time interactively
  • Shows general knowledge of how print works
  • Recognizes and names many letters
  • Makes judgements about words and text by noticing features
  • Compares and predicts story events; acts out main events of a familiar story
  • Understands there is a way to write that conveys meaning
  • Writes recognizable letters, especially in own name

Physical Development

  • Moves with direction and increasing coordination
  • Walks along wide beam such as edge of a sandbox
  • Climbs up and down stairs and ladders, and around obstacles
  • Pedals and steers around obstacles and sharp corners
  • Throws, catches and kicks with increasing control
  • Manipulates smaller objects with increasing control
  • Performs simple manipulations with increasing control
  • Makes several basic strokes or figures; draws some recognizable objects

Our kids are learning academics, social skills and all the while making lifetime friendships with their peers. It truly is like joining an extended family. Thanks for all you do.”

Suzanne B.

Steps to our community

As you schedule your childcare center tours, it is important to find a good fit for both you and your child. We recommend touring multiple centers, so you when you make that decision to enroll you are confident that the chosen center is a good fit for your family and meets all your needs.

When you come in for a tour at Castle Academy you will see an atmosphere of highly engaged teachers with their students. Experience  our state of the art facility, meet our teachers and our Administrator staff including John and Tracy Castle (the owners) and feel free to ask as many questions as you like. It’s important to us that parents feel confident when choosing a childcare facility.

From the moment you arrive at Castle Academy you will experience the warmth, love and attention we provide to our children's’ safety, well being and education.

 

Selecting the best early childhood learning center for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make. We invite you to explore the Castle Academy Early Childhood Experience… Today!

 

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