How SNS Prepares Children for Kindergarten
How does SNS prepare their students for Kindergarten?
We focus heavily on development of social skills and language development in the two and three year old classes. Conflict resolution, expressive language, empathy, self-regulation and adaptive skills are the foundation. After these concepts are introduced and become familiar, children’s interests expand. Early literacy and math skills are taught in a hands-on, meaningful way. Children need creative, hands-on and imaginative strategies, offered in a developmentally appropriate way, to pique their interest.
The levels of development vary widely and teachers observe each child on a regular basis, to best individualize the curriculum to be inclusive. Numeracy and one-to-one correspondence is introduced in a tantalizing way. The Writing Center is a staple in all classrooms, inviting children to experiment with different implements and begin formation of letters and sight words. The scientific method is fostered through prediction, graphing and hypothesis. The science cart magnetizes children and encourages them to take on imaginative roles and explore.
Our philosophy is first and foremost to nurture our students and guide them along each and every one of their levels of development. We scaffold our instruction to meet each child’s needs. Every one needs to feel self-confident in order to master the social and academic skills that will serve them well as they grow.
The Office of Early Childhood and the CT Department of Education cooperatively developed the Connecticut Early Learning Development Standards (CTELDS). We use this framework as our curriculum model. It allows us to prepare our students academically and socially/emotionally for Kindergarten. The model dovetails nicely into the Common Core Curriculum the elementary schools adhere to.
The ELDS guide us as to how we, at Saugatuck Nursery School offer our students meaningful experiences that foster growth in eight domains of learning; Cognition, Social & Emotional, Physical Health, Language & Literacy, Creative Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. These skill sets are taught in a play-based context which enhances children’s ability to understand concepts in and be successful now and in the future in our ever-changing world.
What do today’s children need to do this?
To be creative thinkers
To be flexible
To be problem-solvers
To have the ability to generate innovative ideas
We at SNS work diligently to instill these life skills that well prepare our students to move through the transition from preschool to Kindergarten.
