Lower School Curriculum Guide

Pre-kindergarten lays the foundation upon which a student’s future language-based skills are built. Our goal is to have children develop a positive attitude toward reading and writing. Language arts activities for pre-kindergartners foster and promote growth in receptive and expressive language, provide exposure to the written word, and provide the tools for early literacy. Children begin to investigate letter recognition, letter sound correspondence, and sight words through literature, environmental print, and other fun, age-appropriate games and activities. “Share Time” is an important part of the program where children practice expressive language as they present their ideas to their peers. Teachers use the Handwriting Without Tears program to help begin the process of writing with the proper grip.

Math is woven throughout the day as children explore the properties of manipulatives, and immerse themselves in mathematical investigations. The math challenges are presented through a play-based curriculum, as well as through group activities and routines such as the calendar, weather chart, and attendance. Some of the many math skills and concepts that are emphasized in the pre-kindergarten curriculum include number exploration and identification, one-to-one correspondence, counting, sorting, working with shapes, graphing, measuring, classifying, comparing, and patterning.

In the beginning of the year, the pre-kindergarten child begins with a study of self and family. As the children learn more about themselves, their friends and their families, they share their findings with each other in a celebratory manner. In addition, through various activities and age-appropriate literature, we honor the diverse world both in and beyond our classroom. The teachers cover the many holidays that the children’s families celebrate as well as: Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Presidents’ Day, and students learn about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Character building begins when the pre-kindergartners become increasingly independent through the expectations of the daily routine and become responsible for simple self-care. In using the Responsive Classroom approach, our program recognizes the inherent value and importance of modeling and teaching pre-kindergarten students appropriate social/emotional skills to become happy and engaged learners. Teachers guide students’ growth in social problem solving and in developing emotional strength. Integral to the pre-kindergarten program is practice in the development of personal skills in the area of cooperation, building friendships, sharing, working together, and taking turns. Children begin to make connections to the larger school community through their scheduled activities as they participate in the fourth grade buddy program, attend the Lower School meetings, and work with special area teachers. The pre-kindergarten students also interact with Upper School students in activities such as composting pumpkins and studying the life cycle of butterflies with Middle School science students.

The Lower School art room is a space for exploration of materials and processes for pre-kindergartners. Students visit the art room once every six days in half-groups where they have opportunities to try new materials, to experiment with different ways of making marks on paper, and to learn to communicate their ideas through art. The focus is on the learning process rather than a finished product.

Throughout the year, during their lessons and while exploring the materials, students are guided in their awareness of the basic elements of art: color, line, shape and form. Each art class starts with a brief introduction to a material, technique, or element of art. Students can choose to try something new or continue on a project they were working on during the last class. There are a variety of activities to investigate, which include: drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, and exploring the light box, to name a few. We end the lesson with a time for students to show and talk about what they made or a process they tried.

Children are active throughout the day in ways that engage large and small muscle groups. Outdoor play provides opportunities to use the climbing structure, bikes, and a setting for ball play and running around. Indoor opportunities include the use of big and small blocks, music, and movement. Our physical environment allows for freedom and movement throughout the day. Small muscle groups and eye-hand coordination are strengthened through the use of manipulatives, art materials, and writing implements. Our full day program allows us to specifically explore locomotor skills (i.e. running, hopping, jumping, skipping), ball-handling skills, and the students are learning to function as a team in their physical education class.

In computer, each student will have the opportunity to experiment with various technologies and learn foundational concepts of computational thinking to build confidence as young learners. They will learn by analyzing an object and making inquiries as to its construction and how it functions. We will experiment with robots to test ways we can make variations to patterns to replicate a desired outcome. The pre-kindergartners will develop their maker skills as they design games and other creations to teach some of the new ideas they are learning in their classrooms and from our trips to the Rye Nature Center. They will also learn how to collect data from an on-site tree and then create graphical representations to learn about change over time. Through frequent team teaching with the science teacher, we strive to show the close relationship of the two subject areas.  

The Lower School library is a place of inquiry and discovery for all who use it.  Students visit the library on a regular basis so that they can explore their own interests; be introduced to new stories, concepts, information and ideas; and discover who they are as readers and thinkers. Library activities are designed to support the pre-kindergarten curriculum. Often this includes a read-aloud of a story that pertains to a topic being studied in their classroom. This provides pre-kindergartners the opportunity to listen respectfully to a story, think and talk about what they’re learning, and practice engaging in class conversations appropriately. Every library class includes the opportunity for children to use the library independently. During this time, students choose for themselves the books they want to read and/or take home to borrow.

The pre-kindergarten music program has a strong emphasis on vocal and instrumental exploration. The time spent on exploration is an important part of the students’ musical foundation prior to the kindergarten study. Pre-kindergarten students focus on learning how to sing, say, dance and play through collaborative and community building skills, kinesthetic and fine motor development, and exposure to a variety of traditional music from around the world. In the spring, the pre-kindergartners share their progress with family and friends during an informal performance highlighting the skills they have developed over the course of the year.

In physical education class the students learn and practice movement concepts, which include locomotor skills and exploring manipulatives and non-manipulative skills.

The pre-kindergarten science program was developed with the enthusiasm, interests, and developmental abilities of four and five year olds in mind. It touches upon the physical, earth, and life sciences as they apply to young children. In the fall, the children begin learning about themselves and further that understanding by using their five senses to explore the world around them. In the winter, the children learn about fairy tales through their literacy program. As the children read many different versions of fairy tales in their homeroom, such as: The Gingerbread Man, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, and Three Billy Goats Gruff, they begin exploring the reality of these stories in science class. The children become trap builders to catch the gingerbread man, test the tallest structure they can build to compare with a beanstalk, build the three little pig’s homes from straw, wood, and brick, and finally, create bridges that would allow the goats to cross over the troll. Once spring has arrived, the children are actively investigating the pond habitat with butterflies, turtles, ducks, snails, lily pads and insects.