We learn at our finest when we are actively exploring, seeking, and discovering new ideas.  Children, unknowingly, utilize such an inquiry approach to learning through daily play.  This is why I cherish the relevance of “play” in education.  Unfortunately, as our children grow, the element of play is too often removed from our educational system.  It is our mission to bridge the gap between an environment of play and an environment of structured learning.  I think that a balance of indirect explorations and direct teachings are needed to help our children excel. 

Each week we will focus on specific letter of the alphabet and intertwine a theme.  Theme and letter selection will be based upon pertinent holidays, celebrations, seasons, nature, and the environment.  Daily projects will be centered on our letter and topic of interest for the week.  Our program focuses a plethora of areas including:  self- help skills, social skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and academic skills.

I will be performing mid-term and end of the year evaluations on all children.  This will be especially beneficial to those who will be entering kindergarten the following year.  Parents will also be welcome to schedule a conference at those times.

These are some of the areas that will be discussed: 

*independence with most self-help skills (washing hands, bathroom, manipulating fasteners)

*recognition of uppercase and lowercase letters

*sound recognition of letter

*counting (at least to 10)

* recognition of shapes/colors

*knowledge of themes we have covered (ex.: 5 senses, recycling, magnets)

*pattern recognition

*gross motor skills (jumping, galloping, skipping, throwing ball)

*oral language (rhyming, listening/speaking vocabularies)

*ability to follow one-step and two-step directions

Please Click here is you would like to view the Virginia Standards of Learning.