Our adopted reading series is Let's Begin with the Letter People and our first unit of study will be"At Home." During this theme the letters Nn with Mr. N, W with Ms. W, Pp with Ms. P and Hh with Mr. H will be introduced. We will read many books and poems on what we do at home. Math, Science and Social studies is integrated during each unit of study. During the Home study the children will learn topics such as..What's My name; What will I Wear; My Body and I'm Healthy. Throughout the school year we will be exposed to many different kinds of learning experiences through the use of Children's Literature and Poetry.  Both of these play a big role in my classroom, building the foundation in learning through rhythm, repetition and patterns of sounds in language. This is the foundation of phonemic awareness, which is the understanding that words are made up of individual sounds.  Phonemic awareness is one of the key components of beginning reading readiness in PreK and Kindergarten. I strive to give each child a love of reading and books.  We will make and illustrate several class books throughout the year.  Along with making books, the children will be introduced to journal writing. This means that each child will write at the developmental stage of writing where they are at.  It may start out scribble writing, go into drawing a picture, from there to writing one word to describe the picture and then, through modeling and direction it will blossom into letters and words to make sentences.  Later in the year, we will make some individual books in which the children use phonetic spelling.  We will also do interactive writing in which we "share the pen."

Sounds and Letters

Around the first of September, when we introduce the Letter people, we will begin having a "Letter of the Week" during which we will explore the letters with many fun activities and books by recognizing it, exploring words that begin with the letter sound.  We will focus on a letter of the week, but all of the letters will be reviewed and used throughout the school year.  We will make fun snacks from time to time where we make snacks that beging with the letter of the week. We would also love for you to bring in something that begins with the letter of the week when it is your week to bring snack in. Another fun activity is on Thursday's we will make an "ABC booklet ". Each week the children will add a page to their book by making a page for each letter of the week.

Math

Math will be integrated throughout our Reading series. But the children will learn math skills through out the year by "hands-on" learning.  We have many different manipulatives we use each day while learning a new skill. Skills we will learn are Positional Words,Colors and Shapes; Sorting, Patterns, One to one Correspondence, Estimation, Graphing, Calendars, Numbers 0-20, Counting, Measurement, Introduction to Time and Money.

Handwriting Without Tears

As a part of the Pre-k curriculum we will have Handwriting Without Tears. This is one of the best programs I have ever had the opportunity to use. It is just what it says in the title; an informal handwriting program that prepares children to hold a crayon, color and draw, and imitate a few capital letters and numbers while having fun. Preschoolers are not ready for formal writing where they have paper/pencil lessons or worksheets. They need an informal readiness program that is developmentally appropriate for their age and abilities. The program uses music, multisensory learning materials and the "crayon only" get set for school Workbook. As the year progresses, new activities will be introduced. We will read books about "Mat Man" as we build him on the floor with wood pieces, draw pictures of him and learn about the lines of his body: big line, small line, big curve and small curve.  We also learn that these are the same lines that make up our letters and numbers. We will make capital letters and numbers using sponges, chalk, play dough,and wood pieces. Music is an important part of this curriculum as we dance and make imaginary letters and numbers in the air while singing songs. While building, singing and drawing the children are developing their fine motor skills without knowing it and having fun without tears and frustration! The children will learn important pre-writing and alphabet skills.

Word Workshop

About a month into the school year, Vocabulary will be added to the pre-K curriculum. Vocabulary knowledge relates strongly to reading comprehension and a child's overall academic success. For children to become strong readers and get the strongest possible benefit from their school education, their vocabulary and oral language development must be fostered during their early years. To go along with the Letter People we will have Ms. W's Word Workshop 2 to 3 times a week. The children will learn a variety of words through fun, theme relate word play, poems or songs designed to promote word consiousness and phonological awareness. The children will have props and plays to act out the words they use for each related theme.

Religion

We use the curriculum "Stories of God's Love " in religion. The children learn about God's love and all he has made us. The year begins with the children learning about: We Gather As the Friends of Jesus. We will learn about Jesus' special Friends and then talk about how we are friends. Each unit involves the family with take home pages that has activities for the entire family.