Yellow Pre-Kindergarten Room
Greetings Families:
Hello, my name is Mary Devine and this is the beginning of my third year as a teacher at ChildsPlace I am very excited to start the fall off with new friends and new discoveries. I have a BA in sociology from Keene State College and have taken ECE classes at Stratham Technical College. I am looking forward to being part of your children’s lives over the upcoming year. I will strive to provide a safe and nurturing environment where your child will feel comfortable to explore as they begin a year of fun and growth with us.
Hi, my name is Cathy Casagrande and I have been working in the childcare profession for six and a half years. I have my certificate of office childcare services for infants, toddlers and pre-k in M.A. My daughter Mia attends school in the stars room and the teaching staff is always supportive and understanding. As a parent I am completely at ease with my daughter’s daily care and feel I can communicate easily with her teachers. In the yellow room our goal is to provide a nurturing environment to start you child’s early education.
Welcome to the Yellow Room,
Mary and Cathy
CIRCLE TIME
During circle time children have the opportunity to interact socially and strengthen their listening skills. We will begin each day’s circle with music and movement songs to build on such skills as strength, balance and the ability to control the movement oft their bodies and to wiggle out the sillies before settling down for discussion time. Everyday we will discuss what the day’s events will be and offer friends an opportunity to contribute our own ideas to the group. Concepts of the days of the weeks and months of the year will be introduced and reinforced as the children participate in the daily calendar, counting & rhyming games, patterning and letter recognition with a different letter each week. A job chart will be available and the children will be assigned a different job daily or weekly. Story time will close out each day’s circle and will offer an opportunity to highlight special authors and thematic units that are being presented.
ACTIVITY TIME
Weekly themes are reinforced through hands on projects during activity time each day. Each project is designed to broaden the children’s base of experience with the understanding of the weekly theme. New concepts and activities are introduced with an emphasis on the development of listening skills, fine and gross motor skills, creativity, eye-hand coordination and social skills. Science, nature, math, reading, social studies and multicultural concepts are incorporated into our activities.
Teachers and children gather in small groups where they explore and create with a variety of materials. Children are encouraged to let their self- expression and creativity shine! Bulletin boards around the classroom display unique colorful activities that the children have created. Children are excited and proud to show family and friends their masterpieces on the walls each week! Be it painting, cutting, gluing, coloring, building, cooking or designing - you can be assured that activity time is always new, exciting and educational!
DAILY SCHEDULE
| 7:30 - 8:30 - Free Choice - Learning Centers 8:30 - 9:00 - Breakfast Time 9:00 - 9:30 - Playground Time 9:30-10:00 - Circle Time 10:15 – 10:45 - Gym Time 10:45-11:30 - Activity Time/Learning Centers 11:30 - 12:00 - Lunch Time/Morning Goodbyes 12:00 - 12:30 - Story Time / Morning Goodbyes 12:30 - 2:30 - Rest Time/Quiet Activities 2:30-2:45 - Snack Time 2:45-3:30 - Activity Time/Learning Centers 3:30-3:50 - Gym Time 4:00-4:15 - Story Time 4:15-4:45 - Playground Time 4:50-5:30 - Table Choices/Afternoon Goodbyes |
THE ALPHABET
Each week we will explore the alphabet with a “letter of the week”, using Circle Time activities, music & movement, learning center activities, inventive writing and art projects.
CURRICULUM
Our classroom offers an emergent curriculum that focuses on hands-on learning, while challenging children at all levels of readiness. The following is a list of our themes and learning goals we strive to accomplish each month.
September: ALL ABOUT ME
Name of the Day
Get to know each other and build classroom community
SCIENCE: Observe and make discoveries using all senses
MATH : patterning, measuring and time concepts
LITERACY : ABCD, Pre writing/writing skills
OCTOBER: FALL HARVEST, HALLOWEEN
Explore the wonders of the seasons and especially Fall’s gifts;
leaves, pumpkins and apples.
Halloween Creatures: spiders, bats and a costume parade.
MATH: Collect, organize and compare
SCIENCE: Predicting events based on observation
LITERACY: JKLM, Pre writing/ writing skills
NOVEMBER: CREATING FRIENDSHIPS AND BEING THANKFUL
SEASON OF GIVING
Discover how children around the world celebrate the winter holidays
Classroom cookbook
Friendship Feast and Thankful Thoughts
MATH: Developing an understanding of time concepts
SCIENCE: Cooking, discovering relationships of growth and change
LITERACY: MNOP, Pre writing/ writing skills
DECEMBER: CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
Discover how children round the world celebrate the winter holidays
What do animals do in the winter?
Sharing Jan Brett books to explore animal behavior in the winter
MATH: Numerals 1 - 10 (recognition and quantity connection)
LITERACY: MNOP and developing pre-writing, pre-reading
JANUARY: WEATHER STUDY
MUSIC EXPLORATION
Exploring multicultural music and customs Weather observations and documenting
MATH: Matching, comparing and interpreting data
SCIENCE: Observe and make discoveries using our 5 senses
LITERACY: QRST and developing pre-writing, pre-reading
FEBRUARY: AUTHOR STUDY: OLIVIA DUNRAY
Exploring the works of Olivia Dunray and writing our own books
Skin, Vein, Organ study
MATH: Shapes, pattering and measuring
SCIENCE: Describing, graphing and drawing data
LITERACY: UVWX and using pre-writing, pre-reading skills
MARCH: PLACES TO LIVE
ARTIST STUDIES/ART SHOW
Exploring different landscapes and how people live in those regions: foods, hobbies, life styles
Exploring different artists and transforming our classroom into a museum
MATH: Pattering and sorting
SCIENCE: Colors and color mixing
LITERACY: YZ and using pre-writing, pre-reading skills
APRIL: PLANTING AND BUGS
GREEN HOUSE
Seed exploration and planting beans
Learning how bugs are good and to "hurt no living thing"
MATH: Classifying and sorting, Measuring and comparing
SCIENCE: Cause and effect, Growth and Change, Predicting
LITERACY: Letter Review, Pre writing/writing skills
MAY: YOUNG NATURALIST STUDY
BUGS
Nature observation, bug study, journaling
MATH: Making graphs, collecting and comparing
SCIENCE: Observe and make discoveries
LITERACY: Letter Review, Pre writing/writing skills
JUNE: YEAR IN REVIEW
Families, what we remember
MATH: Sorting and Comparing
SCIENCE: Classifying by similarities and differences
LITERACY: Letter Review, Pre writing/writing skills
All Programs
Special Offerings:
- ~ Sports Courts
- ~ Program Studio
- ~ 2 Gymnasiums
- ~ Oversized Classrooms
- ~ 2 Playgrounds
- ~ Enrichment Classes
- ~ In-House Field Trips
- ~ Art Studio