Kindergarten & AM/PM Enrichment

THE MAGICAL AGE OF A KINDERGARTNER IS A LIFETIME OF CURIOSITY & ENERGY BEYOND BELIEF

CHILDREN CENTRAL KINDERGARTEN & ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

• Full-Day Kindergarten 9:00AM -3:00PM licensed by the PA. Dept. of Education (See details below)
• Kindergarten Tuition Includes Drop-Off from 8AM and After Care until 6:30PM
• Early Drop off available from 6:30AM
• AM / PM Kindergarten Enrichment Program with a certified teacher and curriculum that meets the PA. learning standards. Includes transportation to and from local elementary schools. (See details below).
• The Kindergarten and Enrichment programs are located within our school. This enables us to care for children on most days, even when the public schools are closed.

KINDERGARTEN

CHILDREN CENTRAL offers an onsite, full-day Kindergarten program licensed by the State of Pennsylvania Department of Education and is fully accredited. Our teacher has earned a Bachelor’s level of education, which is certified by the State of Pennsylvania. We limit the class to 15 children maximum and our curriculum goals and objectives enable our students to aim higher and exceed what is learned in the public elementary school system.

Our Kindergarten program is full-day from 9:00am to 3:00PM and the tuition includes the After Care Program, which is until close at 6:30PM. Small class size allows for individualized instruction; the children have the opportunity to work in small and large groups. Our curriculum is inclusive of the Pennsylvania State Learning Standards.

What do students learn in the Children Central kindergarten program?

Key Point: Here at Children Central your child will learn up to 100 sight words that will aid in learning how to write. (Local elementary schools teach approximately 25 sight words). Sight words are the foundation to learning how to read. As a result, most children graduate our Kindergarten program reading Level 1 and 2 chapter books!

GROUP LEARNING EXPERIENCES SUMMARY (Please meet with our teacher to discuss curriculum details):

1. Journal Time
Journal time is when your child uses pictures to tell a story. As the school year progresses they will start using “kids writing” or inventive spelling, to explain their pictures.

2. Morning Circle
During circle time we will focus on the calendar, weather, and letter of the week, as well as the theme for the week.

3. Math
The math curriculum is aligned with PA state standards by covering:
- Position and sorting
- Graphing and patterns
- Measurements
- Time and money
- Geometry and fractions
- Readiness for addition and subtraction
- Counting and number patterns to 100

4. Science
Use various sized containers and items such as counters, marbles, bears, etc. to understand the concept of space. Big books, flannel board stories and simple experiments to demonstrate cause and effect. Daily use of the weather chart to observe the weather and learn about different weather forms. Utilize different types of scales, rulers, tape measure, yard stick, yarn to demonstrate different weights and measurements.

5. Social Studies
Social studies include units on families and where we live, friendship, U.S government, community helpers, and geography.

6. Arts & Crafts
Art & crafts are generally related to the letter of the week, theme, or the current holiday.

7. Language Arts
Introduce various hands-on learning activities such as: alphabet flashcards, upper/lowercase bingo, letter games, letter of the week, etc. Teacher will demonstrate how to write upper/lowercase letters and provide paper and pencil/markers for students to experiment. Teacher will model speaking in complete sentences and help students do the same using various story books, class/individual writing. On a daily basis students will be given the opportunity to ask questions and speak with teacher. Activities: morningcircle, show and tell and interaction with others.

8. Physical Educational (Fine & Gross Motor Skills)
The students will be able to learn fine motor skills such as how to hold scissors correctly, use glue, hold a crayon correctly, hold a marker correctly, hold a paint brush correctly, and trace or write correctly with a pencil. The students will be able to lace string and sew items. Students will be able to complete puzzles. Gross motor skills include the students learning to identify body awareness, body part identification, movement of specific body parts, and controlled movement of a body as a unit. The students will be able to balance by walking along a straight line forward and backwards and learn how to skip. Students will be able to catch, throw and kick a medium ball without losing balance.

9. Music Activities
Students will be able to listen to CD and follow directions on what to do. (Pretend to be a monkey, lion, or to hop up and down 5 times). Students will be able to play on instruments. Students will be able to listen or watch the teacher give a verbal direction for the students to follow.

10. Dramatic Play
The students will be able to discuss and examine the importance of pretend that includes dolls, pretend food and dishes, tools, puppets, dress-up and theme related items. They will express their creativity while exploring the work bench and tools. The students will be able to role-play different members of their family, while pretending to cook a meal. Puppets will allow the students to express their feelings or role play from people to animals. The dress-up clothes will allow the students to convey their creativity and imagination.

11. Health & Safety / Nutrition
The students will be able to recognize and demonstrate different ways to stay healthy and understand proper nutrition. Students will understand safety rules at home and at school.

12. Art
Students will be able to express their creativity through painting, watercolors, play dough, as well as with markers and crayons.

13. Playground Time
Students will have free and structured time on the Children Central newly renovated playground with synthetic grass surface. The grass surface dries very quickly, which means that even after a hard rain, the students can use the playground soon afterwards.

Most importantly, your child will have gained the fundamentals and foundation to be thoroughly prepared to excel in the 1st grade with continued educational success.

MORNING / AFTERNOON KINDERGARTEN ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

For the 2010-2011 school year, Children Central has developed an AM and PM Kindergarten Enrichment Program for students attending neighboring half-day district kindergarten. The local elementary schools serviced will be determined annually by need and by transportation timetables, as our school vans will be responsible for pick-up and drop-off. Each enrichment session will run for 3 ½ hours and will include time for lunch and snack. The morning program will run from 8am to 11:30am and the afternoon session will run from 12:00pm to 3:30pm. Early drop-off is available from 6:30AM and your child can stay until close at 6:30PM. Below is a listing of the academic skills/objectives that will be introduced to the children attending the enrichment program. Program space is limited and is offered on a first come-first served basis.

Curriculum:

With our commitment to Keystone Stars, it is essential to incorporate a curriculum for our Enrichment program that meets the PA. learning standards. We also believe it is important to be sure that the curriculum is flexible enough to allow for the teacher to customize the daily activities based on the individual needs of his/her students. High Reach Curriculum was chosen because it meets our goals and objectives. It is an integrated curriculum that allows for both teacher-guided and child-guided activities.

Specifically, High Reach Curriculum for Fives was incorporated into our program because it was designed based on the development of typical five-year-olds.

From the High Reach website:

“Expand on the skills and independent learning of five-year-olds. With learning objectives derived from a cross-analysis of state requirements, Curriculum for Fives features a systematic phonics approach that gives children the skills to become strong readers. Hands-on activities for language arts, science, math, and social studies provide extended opportunities for discovery.“

Sampling of Skills Covered in Curriculum for Fives

Language Development - Cause and Effect - Social/Emotional Development - Approaches to Learning - Creative Arts and Expression - Large/Small Muscle Skills - Color Concepts - Shape Concepts - Problem Solving - Letter & Sound Recognition - Number Concepts - Sequencing, Predicting, and Graphing