Programs & Enrollment
For 2008 - 2009, Good
Shepherd Preschool offers two programs:
- Three
and four-year-old class:
Meets for three and a half hour sessions (8:30 to 12) two
mornings per week. Children are eligible to enroll if reasonably
independent in toileting and between 36 months and 49 months of age by
opening date. We strive for a class size of twelve, with two
teachers, for a 1:6 ratio of teachers to students.
- Pre-Kindergarten
class: Meets for three and a
half hour sessions (8:30 to 12) three mornings per week.
Children are eligible to enroll if toilet trained and at least 48
months. Five year-old children who are not attending
kindergarten are included in these classes. We strive for a
maximum class size of 16, with two teachers, for a 1:8 ratio of
teachers to students
Program Description
Methods/Curriculum
We organize our programs by
using a play-based learning center approach to teaching and learning.
Teachers support the children’s investigations by planning approximately
month-long, open-ended thematic units. The units may be of general interest
to three and four year-olds or they may emerge from specific interests of
the classes. This allows children to draw on previous experiences, to
practice making choices and take initiative. It encourages children to
learn to communicate and cooperate with peers. Some examples of themes
include Me; My Family; Leaves and Trees; Dinosaurs; Snow; Fairy Tales;
Animals in Winter; Spring on the Farm; and Dirt. We also have monthly color
days (i.e. Red Day in September), and we have special days such as
Gingerbread Day and Teddy Bear Day.
Learning centers include
blocks; home living; dramatic play/dress-up; science, puzzles and table
projects; arts and crafts; sensory play (water, sand, rice, etc...);
woodworking; writing; and library. We also consider the outdoors to be part
of our classroom. Children are encouraged to choose from a variety of
activities to play, explore, make discoveries and continue with progress in
learning skills, concepts and attitudes. The teachers assist the children
in making choices, using materials, and in understanding and responding to
their discoveries, needs, ideas and feelings.
A small portion of the
day is devoted to teacher-directed and large group activities. During
directed activities the teachers may read aloud, share music and finger
plays, play cooperative group games, add information about the theme,
introduce a skill, allow a child to “share” with the class, or talk about
the weather and calendar.
When your child is at
Good Shepherd Preschool, he/she is involved in age-level appropriate,
varied play experiences designed to foster overall healthy development of
the whole child (physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally) in the
following ways:
Social/Emotional
Each child . . .
- is
affirmed and encouraged to see himself/herself as good. We
encourage all children to express and value their own cultural and
racial heritage.
- is
encouraged to relate with others in ways that are fair and satisfying
for all.
- is
helped to learn appropriate behavior in a variety of situations.
- has
opportunities to develop gifts and talents individually and gain
independence in work and play.
- has
opportunities to learn to work within a group through informal and
formal small group and large group experiences.
- is
taught classroom routines and expectations and they are given positive
reinforcement for learning to accept limits and routines, which help
them feel capable and lovable.
- is
encouraged to make choices, initiate activities, and remain with an
activity for a reasonable amount of time.
- is
taught appropriate ways of expressing feelings and given positive
reinforcement for practicing these skills.
- is
given encouragement to try new things and adjust to new situations
when necessary or desirable.
- is
helped to share insights, observations, feelings, ideas, and needs
with other children and adults, and they are encouraged to hear and
understand the input of others.
Physical
Each child . . .
- has
the opportunity to develop motor skills through use of age-appropriate
equipment.
- has
opportunities to use and have fun with such large motor skills as running,
hopping, climbing, balancing, swinging, creative movement, and object
handling (catching, bouncing, throwing or kicking balls, bean bags or
other appropriate objects).
- has
opportunities with which to experience and develop eye-hand and
eye-body coordination
- has
opportunities to have fun with and develop small motor skills through
manipulating clay, gluing and pasting, sewing, woodworking, and using
markers, pencils, crayons, and chalk.
- is
encouraged through her/his involvement in daily routines to develop
the skills needed to care for his/her own physical needs such as
eating, drinking, washing, toileting, and dressing.
- is
observed by teachers who encourage, diagnose, and guide the
development of these skills.
- is
encouraged to develop and demonstrate sound health, safety and
nutritional practices by: cooking and serving a variety of nutritional
foods; discussing good nutrition; doing activities which promote
safety awareness at home, school, and in the community; practicing
sound health habits such as hand washing, getting rest and exercise,
brushing teeth and visiting the doctor and dentist.
Intellectual
Each child . . .
- is
encouraged and given the opportunity to explore themselves, others and
the environment.
- is
encouraged to explore a variety of cultures through artistic
activities, celebrations, and literature.
- is
given opportunities to experience children's literature individually,
in small groups, and in large groups through shared book
experiences. Specific books are chosen by the teacher for sharing
with the class to give a sense of the story and its structure, to give
pleasure, to promote sharing of ideas, to stimulate thinking and
imagination, and to experience literary/print conventions.
- is
given experiences to assist him/her in realizing that spoken works can
be written and written words can be read. Big books, song and
poem charts, labels, name tags, journaling and phonemic awareness
activities (rhyming, syllabication, etc.) may be used to enhance
emerging literacy skills.
- will
be involved in activities which promote auditory and visual
discrimination.
- will
hear oral language modeled by teachers in informal play and formal
group activities.
- is
encouraged to practice oral language skills in small and large group
activities.
- has
opportunities to develop important cognitive skills and understandings
such as sequencing, classifying, measuring, patterning, counting,
grouping/making sets, one-to-one correspondence, predicting and use of
charts and graphs.
- has
opportunities to develop an understanding of math concepts and skill
in problem solving through explorations using objects which can be
touched, moved, and manipulated.
- has
experiences in giving, listening to and following directions.
- is
encouraged to use the scientific method of discovery: identify the
problem, set up and test the hypothesis, make predictions, interpret
the findings, reach a conclusion and experiment to test the
conclusion.
- is
assisted in learning his/her own name and information about self and
family.
- hears
new words introduced in a context, which gives meaning and
understanding and allows peer and teacher interaction and
communication for clarification.
Artistic/Creative Expression
Each child . . .
- is
encouraged to enjoy music through listening to and experiencing many kinds
of music.
- is
encouraged to respond to rhythm with instruments, chanting, creative
movement, and relaxation.
- is
encouraged to explore and appreciate creative decision making and the
process of divergent thinking.
- is
given the opportunity to manipulate, explore and create with a variety
of art materials.
- is
encouraged to create from his/her own feelings and observations, not
entirely from a model.
- is
encouraged to engage in dramatic play both informally in learning
centers, and more formally in teacher directed activities.
- has
opportunities to use puppets, costumes and props to identify with
characters, times and places in a make-believe world.
Spiritual
Each child . . .
- will
observe adults modelingl forgiveness, protection, acceptance, and
support.
- is
encouraged to be curious and ask questions about faith.
- receives
positive reinforcement and instruction in learning protection,
acceptance and support.
- is
affirmed in his/her individual expression of faith. Through
exploring the self, others, and the world, each child has
opportunities to grow in understanding the concept that “"God
loves me."”
- is
led through informal and formal instruction to seek what is fair and
satisfying to all in solving a social problem
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