Curriculum for 4-year old Pre-schoolers

RELIGION	The children begin to learn more about God this year. They will learn that not only does God watch over them personally, but the whole world as well. The children begin to feel more thankful to God as they learn more prayers, the sign of the cross, as well as basic biblical names. They will also learn about a few historic biblical moments, such as the birth of Jesus, to help them understand that God belongs to our present, past and especially our future. To help the children learn this, we use the book “Discovering God’s World” written by Sadlier.
MATHEMATICS	This year, the children will learn how to identify, write and count from numbers one through twenty. They will do this through interaction. They will be able to play jumping games where they will jump from one number to the next, number writing on the board. The children will also learn counting skills through file folder games, and circle time activities. The children will learn how to identify a number as well as a numeric symbol. For example, the child will be able to place the number five next to the object with five dots. The children will also learn how to identify and create their own patterns.
SCIENCE	The children will learn science through exploration this year. The students will take part in fun, interactive hands-on activities that are more student-centered. The children will also be able to make hypothesis that they will later be able to prove. The children will still use many of the ideas that the Pre-3 class is doing, however, the Pre-4’s will be doing many more student-structured activities, that are more teacher guided and student doing. The students will be learning about science in accordance to the weekly theme.
LANGUAGE ARTS	By the end of this year, the children will be able to recognize the sights and sounds of the letters in the alphabet, as well as being able to write each letter. The children will be able to achieve this by reading stories, singing songs, as well as other hands-on activities. The children will also be able to read and write simple one – three letter words. The children will learn to do this through interactive games and songs. By the end of the year, the children will also be asked to spell simple words such as I, a, cat, hat, pig, etc.
HISTORY SOCIAL STUDIES	The children will still be learning social studies through integrated activities just as the Pre-3 class is, however, they will also be learning social studies in a broader sense. They will be learning about the world around them, as well as where certain things are. The students will also be learning a cultural understanding of the world, as we bring a cultural background into weekly themes.
GROSS MOTOR	The children will learn to do many different gross motor skills this year. The children will learn about understanding how their body works. They will learn their left from their right, as well as how to use their left and right side. The children will also learn a broader sense of balance this year.
FINE MOTOR	This year, the students will learn how to write their names with a pencil, how to color in the lines, as well as how to cut on the lines. The children will get to practice these skills throughout the year.