Pre-School/Pre-K

Introduction to Curriculum:
The Holy Redeemer Early Childhood curriculum is built around one basic goal: “making the most of every opportunity”. The world is full of wonder for our little ones! We consider their wonder each and every day before we impose our structure. We have built a basic curriculum structure that is flexible enough each day to take the children’s wonder and make the most of every opportunity for learning in our classrooms.


Teachers’ Roles:
Our teachers’ primary goal is to help young children use the environment productively and see themselves as capable learners. Holy Redeemer Pre-K teachers and assistants help the children develop as individuals with skills and understanding that will enable them to make sense of the world and succeed in it. This is accomplished by our use of “Differentiated Instruction” in planning our daily activities. Through the use of DI, each student’s learning needs can be met.


Physical Environment:
At Holy Redeemer, we work on creating an environment that encourages child initiation, participation and appropriate social interaction. Our teachers are aware that the physical classroom environment plays a great part in either creating or preventing situations that cause challenging behavior. We consistently assess the physical structure and layout of the preschool classrooms. We put specific emphasis on the arrangement of areas or centers, choice of materials, and the organization of materials.

Special emphasis is put on the following interest areas in our program: block and toy area, table toy area, art center, reading corner, housekeeping corner, sensory table, and outdoor area.(The Creative Curriculum) We also have: computer corner, puppet theater, work bench area, music corner, listening center, science center, puzzle corner and dramatic play/dress-up area.



Parents’ Roles:
Parents are the first teachers of their children. We recognize this fact and value it! Our staff will work at developing an effective partnership with mutual respect and trust with each set of parents. Daily verbal contact, weekly calendars, emails, and Holy Redeemer School Edline updates will keep the lines of communication open between home and school.


Curriculum Organization:


Weekly Themes:
The Holy Redeemer curriculum is organized around weekly units and themes. These are selected on the basis of the children’s interests and need for Pre-Kindergarten and/or Kindergarten readiness. The following is a list of possible weekly units:

Weekly theme units:

• I Am Special/Self Concept
• My Family
• My School
• Manners
• Colors
• Shapes
• Nursery Rhymes
• Autumn/Halloween
• Numbers
• Letters Aa-Zz
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas (Jesus’ Birthday)
• Holiday Celebrations (of other faiths)
• Winter
• Animal Winters
• Valentine’s Day
• Children of other Lands
• Oceans
• Community Helpers
• Spring/New Life
• Easter (Jesus’ Resurrection)
• Insects
• Planting
• Seasons
• Animals Earth/Environment
• Bible Stories
• God’s Love
• Outside Fun
• Other Countries (varies)
• Dinosaurs

Teachers in each classroom have the opportunity to choose their own topics based on the needs and interests of the children each year. They keep weekly calendars and/or file folders organized for each unit of study. Many manipulatives, books, and teacher’s supplies are also readily available for each theme. Teachers also keep updated daily lesson plan books for their current unit of study.

Daily Schedule:
Our daily schedule offers a balance between a variety of activities that support the entire learning program. Each day offers the opportunity for children to participate in A) active and quiet times; B) large group, small group, and individual activities; C) indoor and outdoor playtimes; and D) both child selected and teacher directed activities. (The Creative Curriculum)

The following daily routines and transition times are also included in the daily schedule: arrival and departure routines, snack time, bathroom breaks, drink breaks, hand-washing time, and activity transitions.

A typical day in our Holy Redeemer Early Childhood classrooms will include the following activities: Free Play, Circle Time, Story Time, Table Time, Recess (Outdoor Play), and Snack Time. Other weekly activities include: Gym Class, Library Visit, Bible Story, Music Class, and Show and Tell.

• Free Play: Children are given free choice play throughout the classroom. The classroom interest areas previously listed are open for each child to pick his/her own choice. (The Creative Curriculum) They may choose individual or small group activities.
• Recess:  Children are given free choice play outdoors for large motor development. Our outdoor classroom is opened up for individual and small group choices of play: climbing, swinging, jungle gym, sand and pea gravel areas, large truck area, exploration of nature, etc. (The Creative Curriculum)
• Circle Time:  Large group activity for sharing, listening, and singing time, etc. This time is used for class meeting and greeting, calendar activities, weather discussion, daily theme introduction, morning song and prayer.
• Story Time :  Large/small group time for read alouds, puppets, finger plays, and listening. Children are introduced to and exposed to many kinds of quality children’s literature by teachers through a variety formats.
• Table Time:  Small group activity for fine motor development. Children work in groups of 4-6 at a time with a teacher to take part in activities that strengthen fine motor skills: coloring, painting, cutting, gluing, writing, clay, play dough, puzzles, and other small manipulatives.
• Gym Class: Large/small group activities for large motor development. Children are taken to the school gymnasium once a week for organized games, sports activities, and obstacle courses. They are also given free play with various kinds of gym equipment.
• Library Visit:  Small group activities for library introduction. Children are taken to the school library once a week for story time, library exploration, and checking out books to take home.
• Bible Story:  Large group activity for introduction of the Bible and Bible characters. Once a week, a new Bible Story or person from the Bible are introduced to the children with stories, songs and/or activities.
• Music Class:  Large group activity for introduction of songs, rhythms, and instruments. In addition to daily singing, extra time is spent each week to let children explore music through songs, rhythms, dances, movement, and instruments.
• Activity Boxes-(Pre-Kindergarten):  Individual activity to practice or evaluate child’s understanding or mastery of a certain skill or concept. Small boxes are filled with various manipulatives that are designed to evaluate a certain concept for Kindergarten readiness: colors, numbers, sizing, sequencing, patterning, lacing, stacking, pre-reading skills, etc. Teacher checking and feedback is given to each child as he/she finishes an activity.

Evaluation
An evaluation binder is kept by teachers in a secure location in the classroom. These are kept readily available for documentation by teachers and their assistants. Two kinds of evaluation documentation can be kept for each child: skills checklists and anecdotal or developmental notes(when necessary). All entries are dated and kept confidential. Four times a year, progress reports are filled out and sent home to parents. However, parents can be given evaluation updates on their children if requested at any time during the year.


Conclusion
The previous pages have outlined our basic daily curriculum. We consult “The Creative Curriculum for Preschool” model to enhance the effectiveness of our program and classroom arrangement. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale(ECERS) is also utilized to insure that our classrooms meet high standards.

As recommended in The Creative Curriculum, our educators strive daily to individualize our program. We are constantly observing the children and their interactions with each other and the environment. We use these observations and the flexibility of our curriculum to fill each day in our Holy Redeemer Early Childhood Program with opportunities to learn!

Curriculum Resources

Holy Redeemer Early Childhood Program Curriculum Resources *The Creative Curriculum for Preschool (4th edition) Dodge, Colker, and Heroman Teaching Strategies, Washington, DC, 2002 *Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale(revised) Harms, Clifford, and Cryer Teachers College Press, New York, NY, 2005 *All About the ECERS-R Cryer, Harms, and Riley Kaplan Early Learning Company, 2003 *Every Day Counts: Every Day in Pre-K Math Gillespie and Kanter Great Source Education, Houghton Mifflin, 2003 *Preschool Hands-On Bible Curriculum Group Publishing, Inc., 1984