The goal of our curriculum is to help children become creative thinkers, self-confident, and independent. The activities that we plan, the way we arrange each classroom, and the way the staff interacts with the children are all designed to accomplish the goals of our curriculum. Each classroom is set up with a variety of "interest centers" such as blocks/construction, dramatic play, books/music, art, water/sand tables, and large muscle. A typical day at the center revolves around small group activities; circle time; letter of the week activities; interest centers, and outside play. Even meal times are a time for learning, as children are taught to self-serve, pass the food on to their friends, and use their manners.
Our curriculum begins right in the infant room, where teachers plan activities based on each child's developmental stage. Even before our babies can sit up by themselves, we involve them in Circle Time, where teachers sing songs and read books. We start teaching sign language in the infant room, so that before they even have verbal language skills, our babies can use simple sign language to communicate their needs. The older babies also participate in art projects, and water play during the summer.
The toddler room is a very busy place, besides working very seriously on potty training, we have lots of activities going on. Circle Time includes singing,reading stories, learning to count and recognize written numbers, singing the alphabet and recognizing written letters, and recognizing colors and shapes. You'll see lots of art projects happening in the toddler room, as well as dramatic play, sensory, and large motor activities (to exercise those fast growing large muscles). We are learning table manners at meal times, as well as learning to recognize our written names by finding them at the table. At this age we work a lot on social skills, helping our toddlers learn to share, and teaching appropriate ways of handling emotions. We continue to work on our sign language with the addition of a new sign each week.
Three year olds spend a lot of time observing and imitating. They need to explore, tryout, and actively discover their world, along with their place in it. At Highlands Academy they will have the opportunity to learn through hands-on experiences. Through Circle Time and planned activities based around weekly themes we will help your child develop in the following areas:
| Reading Readiness | |||||||||||||
| *Know the oral aplhabet | |||||||||||||
| *Introduction to the written alphabet | |||||||||||||
| *Learn to recognize their written first name | |||||||||||||
| *Listen attentatively to short stories and books | |||||||||||||
| *Begin to tell simple stories from pictures and books | |||||||||||||
| Math Readiness | |||||||||||||
| *Introduction to numbers through flannel board activities, songs, and the calendar | |||||||||||||
| *Begin to count objects | |||||||||||||
| * Match and sort objects by size, shape, and color | |||||||||||||
| *Able to identify their age | |||||||||||||
| *Stacking blocks and other objects | |||||||||||||
| Social | |||||||||||||
| *To be part of a group | |||||||||||||
| *To wait and take turns | |||||||||||||
| *To follow simple directions | |||||||||||||
*To begin to recognize their own feelings as well as the feelings of others
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| Reading Readiness | |||
| *Identify the written alphabet | |||
| *Know the sounds of the letters | |||
| *Learn to write their own name | |||
| *Learn left and right | |||
| *Learn to view a page from left to right, and top to bottom | |||
| *Trace lines | |||
| *See likeness and differences in things | |||
| *Understand terms like: behind, in front of, over, under, etc. | |||
| *Hear and recognize rhyming words | |||
| Math Readiness | |||
| *Recognize and write numbers 1 - 10 | |||
| *Count orally as far as possible | |||
| *Count by 10's to 100 | |||
| *Recognize the basic shapes | |||
*Understand concepts of size, number, height, weight, and time
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