All Day 4K Excellence in Education

4K Prep Academy aligns with the following organizations:

4K Prep Academy will implement Creative Curriculum®

• Philosophy: “Young children learn best by doing.” • Teacher-guided instruction. • Large and small settings. • Interest areas:

• Blocks • Dramatic Play • Toys and Games • Music/Movement • Sand and Water • Discovery

• Cooking • Computers • Outdoors • Art • Library

“Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood... ...for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.”

- Friedrich Froebel founder of the concept of

Kindergarten

Blocks… Children are learning to: • Put blocks in trucks and dump them out. • Understand size, weight, and number concepts (Math & Science). • Balance one large block on top of another. • Recreate the world around them (Geography & Social Skills). • Control and coordinate muscles (Physical Coordination).

Dramatic Play… Children are learning to: • Put on dress-up clothes. • Use their small muscle skills (Self-Help & Writing). • Understand experiences better (Abstract Thinking). • Pretend to be grown-ups. • Group objects in categories (Math).

“Dramatic play permits children to fit the reality of the world... …into their own interests and knowledge.”

Toys and Games…

Children are learning to: • Coordinate the actions of their

eyes and hands (Reading & Writing Readiness).

• Sort pictures that are the same. • Finish a puzzle. • Put pegs in a pegboard. • Complete a task (Study Habits &

Self-Esteem). • Match and classify (Math).

Art… Children are learning to: • Make play-dough. • Recognize how materials change (Science). • Gather paper, scissors, and glue for a project. • Use symbols (Reading & Writing Readiness). • Plan and carry out a task (Study Habits & Independence).

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” -Mary Lou Cook

Library/Writing… Children are learning to: • Turn pages of a book from beginning to end. • Scribble on paper. • Read a book from left to right (Reading & Writing Readiness). • Use writing as a means of communication (Reading & Writing Readiness). • Listen to a story and talk about what happen. • Love books, remember details, and express ideas (Language Development).

Discovery… Children are learning to: • Children learn by exploring the world around them. • They learn to observe, classify, measure, and infer all

of which promote the development of thinking skills. • Scientific facts are important but how children them

put together into meaningful ideas are most significant.

Sand and Water Table… Children are learning to: • Recognize cause and effect (Science & Logical Thinking). • Make boats sink. • Play beside other children. • Get along with others (Social Skills). • Pour without spilling. • Use their small muscle skills (Physical Coordination).

Music and Movement… Children are learning to: • Create different sounds by putting more (or fewer) beans in cans and shaking them. • Explore cause and effect (Science & Logical Thinking). • Sing or do a finger play with the other children and the teacher. • Participate cooperatively in a group (Social Skills). • Find ways of moving across the rug without their feet touching it. • Think creatively to solve problems (Independence & Problem Solving).

Cooking…

Children are learning to: • Understand that foods can change their physical state

(Science). • Follow directions in a recipe that call for adding

ingredients by teaspoons, cups, etc. • Understanding measurement (Math Skills). • Take pride in their accomplishments (Self-Esteem).

Technology/Computers… Children are learning to: • Try out a computer program together with

another child. • Share and play cooperatively with others

(Social Skills). • Respond to a program feedback. • Follow directions, apply old leanings to new

situations, and understand cause and effect (Thinking Skills).

• Operate a computer mouse, put a disc in the computer, and turn on the printer.

• Improve their coordination skills (Physical Development).

Outdoor Play… Children are learning to: • Catch and throw balls. • Talk about changes in plants, people, and things

outside as seasons change. • Sharpen observation skills (Science). • Use their bodies in challenging tasks (Self-Esteem,

Reading & Writing Readiness).

Friendships…

The language of friendship is not words, but meanings. ~Henry David Thoreau