As parents we have to ask the tough questions when it comes to our students academic success don’t we?
Why is this the best academic preschool for my student? What if my child has never attended preschool? What if my child is academically advanced and I am afraid that they will bored at school?
At Smarty Pants Preschool we have developed a specialized curriculum that meets EVERY student’s academic needs!
Our curriculum focuses on three levels of success, along with eight content areas, which are based on the dimensions of our student’s school readiness.
While learning in these content areas prepares children for later schooling, Smarty Pants Preschool takes the learning process beyond traditional academic subjects by applying methods that promote independence, curiosity, decision-making, cooperation, persistence, creativity, and problem solving in our students.
How does it work?
3 levels of our comprehensive curriculum meet the needs and skill set of all of our students academic needs. We also have a developed a specialized curriculum that we work on individually at school and at home!
We assess our students in the first months of school to see where they fall on our academic scale. We will place each student in one of our specialized curriculum levels where they will feel the most successful amongst their peers! As they graduate and master these skills, they will move up to the appropriate level to help them achieve the highest level of academic success.
What will my student be doing in each level?
Level #1
Students that have not had any academic schooling usually fall in this group where we work to master these skills.
★Improve pencil control by using fingers rather than the whole fist to grasp pencil and stylus.
★ Draws with a variety of tools (crayons, pens, pencils)
★ Scribble-writes in a linear fashion
★Build fine motor skills by cutting, coloring, and writing.
★ Use language building concepts to communicate with others for a variety of purposes (for example, describing something, making requests, greeting someone, etc.)
★ Starts to recognizes the letters of their own name
★ Knows some letter names and sounds
★ Identifies shapes such as circle, square, rectangle, rhombus, and triangle
★Recognizes and matches small quantities to the number words 1, 2 and 3
★ Shows interest in numbers
★ Can count along to 20 with help, although might make mistakes
★ Begin to use a variety of art tools such as crayon, construction paper, scissors, and colored pencils
★ Recognizes colors
★ Drawings have basic resemblance to objects and people
★ Articulates what he/she is drawing
★ Follow rules for simple childhood games (board games and group circle games).
★ Attend and listen to illustrated picture books with simple story lines.
Level #2
Students have mastered all of Level #1 skills fall in this group.
Students will work on mastering these skills in class.
★ Writing their first name with correct letter formation
★ Name the Uppercase Alphabet letters
★ Name the Lowercase Alphabet letters
★ Know most the letter sounds
★ Color inside the lines with a variety of tools
★Cutting out shapes, down lines, and around objects
★Draw a dimensional picture of a person that includes a head (with eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, hair), neck, body, arms (with hands) and legs (with feet)
★Carry out multi-step oral directions that have been accompanied by preliminary demonstration.
★Counting to 50 without help
★After listening to an oral description of a scene, recreate the scene in pictures.
★Memorize and recite independently a simple nursery rhyme, poem or song.
★Attend and listen to picture books with story lines (30 minutes), as well as books of other genres, such as nonfiction (15 minutes).
★Continue a complex, two-color pattern of objects represented by a pattern card.
Level #3-
Students that have mastered Level#1 and Level #2 will move to our specialized reading group.
★ Write their first and last name
★Counting to 100 without help
★ Cut: Use various tools and techniques in completing art projects.
★ Recognize and produce words that rhyme
★ Match some spoken and written words
★ Write letters, numbers, and words
★Recognize some familiar words
★Identify initial, final, and medial (middle) sounds in short words (for example, sit, sun)
★ Decode simple words in isolation (the word with definition) and in context (using the word in a sentence)
★ Retell the main idea, identify details (who, what, when, where, why, how), and arrange story events in sequence
★Sight words and reading books will be used in small group instruction
What Your Child Will Be Doing
Language Activities - circle-time activities allow children to share in discussions of experiences and concepts with which they are familiar, as well as to introduce new ideas.
Large Muscle Activities - these activities help children to develop physically in a setting where fun and cooperation are emphasized, rather than competition.
Number Recognition - and other math concepts, such as size, shape, counting, and one to one correspondence, are introduced.
Listening Skills - our program includes many stories, activities which require following directions, and opportunities for interaction with other children through language and listening.
Creative Art Activities - your child will participate in many activities which provide experience with a wide range of art mediums, such as paints, play dough and other material for sculpting.
Craft Activities - your child will bring home many examples of craft activities. These help children to learn to follow step by step instructions, develop listening skills, and manipulate a wide range of materials. They serve as fun reminders of other activities and concepts learned or used throughout the day. Many of these creations, such as puppets and crafts with moveable parts, offer opportunities for creative play when the craft itself has been assembled.
Music and Rhythm - our program provides many opportunities for your child to learn new songs each month, and for rhythm and creative movement activities. You'll receive copies of the songs on the backs of the activity pages which the children bring home. This will allow you to learn the songs along with your child.
Alphabet Activities - our curriculum offers an excellent alphabet program. Its purpose is to introduce your child to the way that letters are used in words, and the way that words are used in our world. Emphasis is on letter recognition. The program includes many fun activities which help to increase letter recognition and the enthusiasm for books and reading
Cooking units- we offer cooking units to build math skills as well as learn about our 5 senses.
