4K Academics
Pre-Reading
"Happily Ever After" is our pre-reading skills curriculum. This is published by the same company that our K-2nd grade program uses. It lays a great foundation for the students and provides a continuous flow and progression from one level to the next.
Concepts taught are:
- Vocabulary/Concept Development
- Print and Book Awareness
- Letter Recognition
- Listening for Sounds
- Comprehension
- Listening and Speaking
- Visual Development
- Fine Motor Skills
- Emergent Writing
Math
We use "Hands-On Standards" which uses manipulatives as tools to move children from the concrete to the abstract. It includes step-by-step procedures for children to use in solving a problem that easily links math to their day-to-day lives.
Manipulatives include:
- Attribute Blocks
- Backyard Bugs
- 1" Color Cubes
- Color Tiles
- Link 'N' Learn Links
- Pattern Blocks
- Snap Cubes Sorting Circles
- Three Bear Family Counters
Concepts taught are:
- Number recognition
- One-to-one correspondence
- Patterning
- Sorting
- Graphing
- Measuring with nonstandard units
- Positional words
- Shapes and colors
Religion
Our curriculum is "Discovering God's World." We attend weekly Mass and say spontaneous prayers. Traditional prayers we say are:
- The Sign of the Cross
- Meal Prayer
- Angel of God Prayer
Science/Social Studies
The Scholastic magazine called "My Big World" is used. STEM activities are also used to connect to concepts in science and social studies as well as other subject areas.
Handwriting
We practice writing our names, letters and numbers.
Daily Schedule
The 4K classroom meets Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Each day starts with a Morning Meeting including: attendance, calendar, weather, and Pledge of Allegiance. This is followed by:
- Review of Concepts and Pre-Reading Skills
- Snack
- Recess
- Math
- Lunch
- Rest Time
- Story Time
- Religion/Science
- Centers
- Free Play
- Physical Education, Spanish, and Art are also incorporated into the schedule
School Families
Once a week the students meet in multi-aged “school families.” During this family time the students read together and work on service projects like making Valentines for Veterans or birthday cards for nursing home residents. It is amazing to see the caring and generous nature of the students when they assist another student.