Infant & Toddler Curriculum

Materials or activities designed to provide real life experiences for children. They provide a purposeful activity and help to develop motor control and coordination, independence, concentration, and a sense of responsibility.

Examples:

 

• Hand washing, sweeping, cleaning spills, dressing self and putting on coats, setting the table and serving self at meals, washing dishes, and folding towels.
• Learning how to button, snap, and zip
• Pouring activities with a variety of objects such as funnels and small pitchers
• Transferring activities with utensils and droppers

Materials or activities designed to promote the development and refinement of the senses. Sensorial activities provide the opportunity to differentiate by sight, texture, sound, smell or taste.

Examples:

 

• The pink tower and brown stairs
• liSensory bottles and sensory tables with rice, beans, water, beads, etc.
• liScent jars
• liSandpaper letters and numbers
• liMusical Instruments
• liFood preparation

Language is integrated in the environment in many ways. Teachers encourage the children’s participation in conversations, books are available in the library and read at line time, songs are sung throughout the day, and a variety of activities available on the shelf are designed to expand vocabulary and develop pre-writing and pre-literacy skills. Baby sign language is used in the Nido classroom.

Examples:

 

• Line Time: reading books, singing songs, flash cards, etc.
• Matching work
• Letter identification
• Tracing

The environment is prepared to stimulate movement and promote the development of motor skills, as the children are free to explore the prepared environment. Fine motor materials are provided that help children gain control, coordination, and learn about cause and effect.

Examples:

 

• Transferring activities
• Lacing and threading
• Cutting with scissors
• Yoga, dancing, and out-door play on the playground

Preschool Curriculum

Practical Life:

Purposeful activities designed to provide real life experiences for children. These activities promote independence in the areas of self-care and caring for the classroom environment, further developing motor control and coordination, concentration and a sense of responsibility.

Examples:

• Grace and courtesy
• meal preparation (chopping, slicing, mixing, juicing)
• sweeping
• cleaning
• polishing
• dressing frames
• classroom jobs to promote a sense of responsibility.

Sensorial:

Materials or activities designed to promote the development and refinement of the senses to develop focus and concentration.

Examples:

• Sensorial activities provide the opportunity to differentiate by sight, size, dimension, texture, sound, smell or taste with a built in control of error.

Language:

Language is integrated in the classroom through communication, reading stories, singing songs, and language cards.

Examples:

• Vocabulary development
• letter sounds
• writing
• reading

Math:

The use of manipulative materials to introduce the concepts of number, symbol, sequence, and operations.

Examples:

• Counting (understanding of quantity
• symbol
• sequence, and association)
• addition and subtraction
• basic multiplication
• telling time
• graphs and charting

Science:

Materials or activities designed to introduce basic zoology, botany, health sciences, and an introduction to scientific methods.

Examples:

• Understanding the difference between plants and animals
• identifying and classifying animals
• understanding the basic needs of plants and caring for indoor plants
• learning about basic systems of the human body and nutrition, pouring, using droppers and measuring

Geography and Cultural Studies:

An introduction to the physical features of the world and cultural traditions around the world enabling the children to acquire an early interest in learning about the world.

Examples:

• Maps
• globes
• puzzle maps
• gaining an understanding of scientific vocabulary of geography (ex. peninsula, islands), learning the names of countries and continents.
• Annual International Week celebrating the unique cultural backgrounds of our children and families

Spanish, Music and Art