CURRICULUM

The Preschool Program is designed to offer students rich, varied experiences while building classroom proficiency and social skills.  Our interdisciplinary curriculum provides a powerful and balanced educational experience, including focused teaching in reading readiness, math, social studies, science, and fine arts.    

Preschool students are lovingly supported as they develop responsibility for age-appropriate tasks, promoting a sense of accomplishment and high self-esteem.  Daily routines encourage students to grow socially and exhibit respect for self, others, and materials.  We maintain small classrooms so that our teachers are not strained and students are encouraged to actively participate.

 

Two Year Old Program Overview

• Social and Interpersonal Skills: Listening, cooperating with peers, sharing, turn-taking, self-control, following classroom rules, playing cooperatively

• Fine Motor Skills:  Painting, stacking, tracing, cutting, puzzles, manipulatives

• Classroom Skills:  Following instructions, participating in activities, potty training, hanging bags, cleaning up, walking in line, sitting on the rug

• Reading Readiness: letter identification, story time,  interest in and respect for books, imagination, increased attention span, story recall and retelling, introduction to phonics

• Math Readiness: Shape identification, number identification, number sequencing, counting items, simple patterns, matching

• Social Studies:  Awareness of family, classroom, and community

• Science Skills: Weather, seasons, animals, lifecycles 

• Fine Arts: Music class, participation in holiday programs, exposure to variety of art materials and mediums, color identification

 

Three Year Old Program Overview 

• Social and Interpersonal Skills: Exhibiting respect for self, others, and materials, listening comprehension, following classroom rules, cooperating with peers in play and during work, verbal conflict resolution, self-control

• Fine Motor Skills:  Proficiency in tracing letters, shapes and name, cutting, gluing, puzzles, and manipulatives

• Classroom Skills:  Following instructions, sitting during circle time, participating in activities, hanging bags, cleaning up lunch and activities, walking in line

• Reading Readiness: letter identification, letter-phonic correspondence, syllable counting, story time,  interest in and respect for books, imagination, increased attention span, story recall and retelling

• Math Skills: Shape identification, position identification, number identification, number sequencing, counting items, simple patterns, matching, graphing

• Social Studies: Simple history lessons (examples: Christopher Columbus, pilgrims), simple lessons on national structure and presidents, exposure to cultures through books demonstrating different countries, people, and lifestyles

• Science Skills: Weather, seasons, animals, lifecycles, weight, measurements, balance 

• Fine Arts: Music class, participation in holiday programs, creative expression, hands-on use of variety of art materials and mediums, color identification

 

PRE-KINDERGARTEN  Program Overview 

• Social and Interpersonal Skills:  Effective communication with others, assisting others, cooperation, verbal conflict resolution,  exhibiting respect for self, others, and materials, listening comprehension, following classroom rules, cooperating with peers in play and during work, self-control

• Classroom Proficiency: Motivation to learn, listening, following instruction, participation in activities, focus on task, independence in task completion 

• Reading Skills:  Listening comprehension, oral language skills, expanding vocabulary, letter identification, letter phonic sounds, sight words, simple sentence structure, writing words, consonant/vowel/consonant words, syllable recognition and counting, simple sentence structure, phonemic awareness

• Math Skills: Writing numbers, simple addition and subtraction, ten squares, one-to-one correspondence, graphing, understand relationship between a numeral and set of objects, matching, memory, sorting, number sequencing, understand comparative terms such as big/little, more/less, etc.  Recognize and name geometric shapes, comprehend practical daily uses of numbers (calendars, clocks, money), use of logic

• Social Studies: study of traditions around the world, Simple history lessons (examples: Christopher Columbus, pilgrims, hieroglyphs), simple lessons on national structure and presidents, exposure to cultures through books demonstrating different countries, people, and lifestyles, personal safety and emergency resources

• Science Skills: Introduction to hypothesis, simple science experiments, comparison and classification, ordering, classifying, patterning, length, size, weight and capacity, set recognition and comparison, seasons, life cycles, animal traits, spatial relations, different ecosystems, awareness of environment and interconnection between living things

• Fine Arts: Music class, participation in holiday programs, creative expression, hands-on use of variety of art materials and mediums

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CHAPEL 

St. Thomas Day School is blessed to offer weekly chapel classes for Preschool students each Wednesday.  During chapel, students learn Bible stories, verses, songs of worship, and prayers.  

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MUSIC 

St. Thomas Day School is grateful to have a vibrant bi-weekly music program for Preschool students.  Students learn a wide variety of fun songs, play instruments, and explore concepts of rhythm, sound, and movement.  Our music classes build up to several programs throughout the year.  

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RECESS

In addition to being just plain fun, time outside on the playground develops gross motor skills, increases social development and communication skills, provides opportunities for dramatic play, and is mentally and physically beneficial for children.

Weather permitting, students will engage in outdoor activities on a daily basis.  St. Thomas Day School is grateful for a recent donation of new playground equipment that has enhanced the playground area.  If weather is questionable, the Director makes a school-wide determination.

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S.T.E.P (ST. THOMAS ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS)

St. Thomas Day School offers a wide variety of wonderful enrichment classes for Preschool students.  S.T.E.P is offered once a week and occur immediately after the normal school day from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.  There is usually at least one enrichment class offering each day.  Sign-up sheets are available at the beginning of each semester.  Class offerings vary from Fall to Spring.  Fall enrichment classes begin the day after Labor Day and Spring classes begin the Monday following return from Winter Break. 

Examples of past enrichment classes include zoology, baking, physical education, art, architecture and engineering, cheerleading, dance, music and movement, team sports, and Spanish.