The primary purpose of Westwood Nursery School is to increase the social awareness and adaptability of each child by developing his/her self confidence and sense of worth as an individual.  To accomplish this, the school provides a dynamic learning experience based on a developmentally appropriate curriculum and environment.  Emphasis is placed on the whole child – the social, emotional, intellectual and physical.

Preschool: 3 & 4 Year Old Program Curriculum Guidelines

Social/Emotional Skills:

  • Assist children in separating from parents.
  • Help children negotiate problems with others using conflict resolution.
  • Teach children to share and take turns.
  • Help children to learn to respect others.

 

Literacy/Language Arts:

  • Provide literacy through stories, daily poems, independent story c.d.’s, name cards, labels and recipes.
  • Picture walking and drawing with dictation to adults and making class books.
  • Arrange events in order when dictating a story.
  • Provide children with daily writing opportunities.
  • Listen to others and follow directions.

 

Math/Science:

  • Name shapes.
  • Use senses to identify, describe and compare objects.
  • Create simple patterns with children.
  • Provide math and science exploration through a variety of activities including; sink and float, magnet testing, color mixing, cooking and counting.
  • Use puzzles, pegboards, geo boards, sequencing and sorting materials and connecting counters.
  • Sing songs and fingerplays with reference to numbers.

 

Art/Sensory:

  • Children will be provided with a variety of art mediums to explore with. This will include; painting, using glue, chalk, fat and thin crayons, markers, hole puncher and scissors.
  • The easel will be open daily with paint, paper and crayons.
  • Sensory activities include; water/sand play, finger paint, play dough, clay and shaving cream painting.

 

Fine/Gross Motor:

  • Activities for fine motor development include: puzzles, pegboards, clay, tracing, writing, lacing and cutting.
  • Provide indoor and outdoor gross motor activities (yoga, balancing, movement, running, climbing).
  • Monthly Yoga classes.

 

Dramatic Play:

  • Area with a variety of themes (post office, house, pizza shop, hospital).
  • Work centers with blocks, play people, cars, trucks, castles and animals.
  • Oral language and communication skills will be developed.

 

Music:

  • Children learn with rhymes, fingerplays and action songs daily.
  • Musical instruments are provided.
  • Monthly musician visits.

 

Work Skills:

  • Learn to take care of school materials and tools.
  • Learn the school routine (daily schedule).
  • Ability to express needs verbally.
  • Demonstrate increasing independence.
  • Follow 2 to 3 step directions.

 

Pre-K:5 Year Old Program Curriculum Guidelines

The Pre-k curriculum is built on the preschool objectives along with these Kindergarten readiness skills. All children in the class will be entering Kindergarten the next year.

 

Literacy/Language Arts:

  • Show appropriate sitting behavior during a group discussion.
  • Identify and use rhyme words.
  • Contribute to a list of questions about specific person/topic during class discussion.
  • Make a prediction about a story.
  • Identify upper and lower case letters.
  • Identify the letter sounds.
  • Sequence 4 pictures and tell what is happening.
  • Draw a picture and tell a story or provide information.
  • Create class and individual books.
  • Vocabulary and concept development.
  • Directionality of print.

 

Math/Science:

  • Identify numerals -10
  • Count verbally from 0-20
  • Count by 10’s from 10-100.
  • Recite information with numbers (birthdays, address,phone)
  • Understand more and less.
  • Sort by same color, size, shape, and other attributes.
  • Reproduce patterns.
  • Extend observations using hand lens, scale or other tool.
  • Categorize and classify through discussions, drawings and graphs.
  • Counting correspondence.

 

Fine/Gross Motor:

  • Children will be introduced to letter and number formation daily.
  • Children will have weekly opportunities to make books.
  • Several step art projects will be completed daily.
  • Gross motor activities will be provided on a daily basis.