The three-year-old pre-kindergarten classroom is hands-on and arranged in a way that promotes interactive learning and encourages children to experiment with new learning activities. In the classroom, students are encouraged to develop social skills that will enable them to become successful learners. Active exploration and creativity are encouraged while developmentally appropriate subject matter is integrated into the work to introduce phonological awareness and number concepts. Weekly and monthly themes promote social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth and are planned with the child’s interests in mind. Each child’s own personal rate of development is accepted and expected. Independence is encouraged in a safe and nurturing environment. The positive learning environment provides the opportunity for each child to reach his/her maximum growth potential during the course of the year. Students in our three-year-old program must be three years old by October 1 and must be potty-trained. Riverhill’s Pre K3 class is fully licensed by the Alabama State Department of Human Resources.
Curriculum Summary
Basic Skills
- Button/zip
- Cut/glue
- Recognize full name
- Recognize and name colors: Red, blue, yellow, orange, pink, green, purple, black, brown, white
- Recognize and name shapes: Circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, star, diamond
- Know days, months, year
Reading Readiness
- Author/illustrator
- Story Comprehension
- Re-tell stories
- Nursery rhymes
- Environmental Print
- Listen to stories–maintain attention
- Enjoy listening to stories
- Recognize name in print
- Sequence events in a story
Word Readiness
- Recognize upper and lower case letters
- Understand words for how things feel: Hard, soft, hot, cold, rough, smooth
Social Skills
- Social Skills
- Take turns
- Share
- Listen quietly for short periods of time
- Follow simple directions
- Respect adults and other children
- Respect feelings and rights of others
- Adjust to school
- Play quietly in group setting
- Take care of school tools
Knowledge of Self
- Full name
- Age
- Gender
- Basic body parts: hands, head, toes, hip, feet, shoulder
Motor Skills
- Hop, leap, skip, jump, gallop
- Glue things on paper
- Mold with clay, paint, draw
- Stack and build with blocks
- Put simple puzzles together
- Cut with safety scissors
- Hand/eye coordination (catch ball when it is bounced)
- Kick–soccer/kickball
- Run
- Climb stairs
- Stand on one foot; Hop on one foot
Mathematics
- Count objects to 20
- Recognize numbers to 20
- Geoboards
- Unifix cubes
- Pattern (by color)
- Arrange objects in groups
- Concepts: Big, little
- Compare/contrast
- Whole, half
- Penny, nickel, dime, quarter value
- Measure inches
- Calendar
- Concept of zero
Science
- Explore inside of an apple
- Float paper boats
- Concepts: Light, dark; Full, empty; Heavy, light
- Weight
- Magnets
- Magnifying glasses
- Fall leaves/color change
- Five senses
- Metamorphosis (butterfly)
Units of Study
- Getting to know myself
- My family
- Seasons
- Animals: Zoo, Farm, Ocean
- Friends
- Pumpkins, Apples
- The First Thanksgiving (Pilgrims, Native Americans)
- Winter Holiday Celebrations
- Valentine’s Day
- Community Helpers
- Weather
- Wind
- St. Patrick’s Day, Shamrocks
- Planting seeds and how they grow
- Plants and Flowers
- Mother’s Day, Father’s Day
- Butterflies
- The beach
- Thomas Edison
- State of Alabama
- Christopher Columbus
- Johnny Appleseed
- Community Helpers
- Groundhog’s Day
- Good Citizens