Preschoolers
The Preschool curriculum prepares children for entry into Junior Kindergarten by expanding their learning through more group activities; fine motor manipulation and broader social skills. We concentrate on a solid foundation for reading, with strong emphasis on letters, numbers and basic words. They will practice math and number concepts using age-appropriate materials to organize, sort, count, build, and sequence. Stimulating activities introduce the children to science and geography. They enjoy books, stories, games, projects, and songs based on curricular themes that are introduced in a whole-group setting, and then extended to small-group work and individual lessons. A print-rich environment and a love of reading are fostered to allow the children to practice literacy skills in real-life situations.
Our children begin to develop a rich vocabulary and use language on a daily basis through informal conversations with their teachers and peers. They discover new ways to express themselves through words, simple sentences, and ideas. This helps to further increase their social skills. In addition to the core developmental domains, the children continue to learn through dramatic play, arts and crafts, water/sand sensory stations, building centres, learning circles, and challenging cognitive activities. Daily learning circles provide the children an opportunity to engage in music, singing, games, and story time. During this time, teachers provide the children with opportunities to learn and ask questions about materials/subjects presented. The children’s learning progresses without pressure and is developed through self-motivation and encouragement. We also give a special thanks to God through our daily grace before meals prayer.
Here at Shining Faces we give children the opportunity to engage in the use of technology. We have Apple iPads in every classroom that are placed in a protective customized computer desk. All iPads are loaded with educational apps that are designed to further increase children’s cognitive skills such as sorting, matching, and letter recognition. For example, by playing a recycling game on the iPad, the children can begin to develop the understanding of what items would go in recycling and what goes in the garbage.
