Activity and Curriculum Areas
At Coronado Prep Preschool caring for the individual needs of each child is our passion. Our programs are structured in small age ranges so that the teachers are deeply attuned to the developmental stages and temperament of every child. Please take a peek at a preview of how we work to scaffold development as children grow from infants through kindergarten.
We are child focused and child directed. At every step of the way, we work through children’s play to support their cognitive, language, social, emotional, and physical development.
The Goals of Our Curriculum
The most important goal of our early childhood curriculum is to help children become enthusiastic learners. This means encouraging children to be active and creative explorers who are not afraid to try out their ideas and to think their own thoughts. Our goal is to help children become independent, self-confident, inquisitive learners.
Our curriculum identifies goals in all areas of development:
Social – help children feel comfortable in school, trust their new environment, make friends and feel they are part of a group.
Emotional – help children experience pride and self-confidence, develop independence and self-control and have a positive attitude toward life.
Cognitive – help children become confident learners by letting them test their own ideas and acquire learning skills, such as the ability to solve problems, ask questions and use words to describe their thoughts and feelings.
Physical – help children increase their large and small muscle skills and feel confident about what their bodies can do.
What Children Learn at Home
Our curriculum works best when teachers and parents work together. Each of us has something valuable to contribute. The in-depth knowledge you provide about your child’s learning process is a valuable resource for teachers. We can support your child through positive and difficult experiences through reassuring stories, soothing art activities, imaginative dramatic play and extra love and attention.
You are your child’s first and most important teacher. We work with parents to create a sense of security by providing consistency for your child between school and home. Children are more likely to experiment, explore and learn.
ABC’s and 123’s: Earlier Is Not Better
Many parents are concerned when their children are not learning letters and numbers. They believe ditto sheets and homework in preschool programs will better prepare their children for elementary school.
Children who are rushed into reading and writing miss important steps in learning and will suffer later on because they lack the foundation needed for using language. Children who are taught to read in preschool may be able to sound out and recognize words, but they may have little understanding of what they are reading.
Activities such as stringing beads, fastening buttons, cutting and drawing are valuable because they develop the small muscle skills needed for writing.
Math involves more than memorizing facts. To acquire a foundation for logical thinking, children need many opportunities to count objects, sort them into piles, add some to a pile and take some away. By playing games like these, they will come to truly understand addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.
When children are rushed into academic subjects too soon they may lose their enthusiasm for learning. Memorization trains students to become passive, dependent learners. Independent learning and playtime help children see themselves as explorers, discoverers and problem-solvers.
Benefits of a High-Quality Early Childhood Program
Children…
- are better prepared to adjust to kindergarten and elementary school
- demonstrate greater skills on tests of cognitive ability and language development
- are more likely to pursue post-secondary education
- show greater motivation for learning and commitment to schooling
- demonstrate greater social competency in kindergarten, primary and later school years
- are considered to be friendlier and more sociable by parents and peers
- are rated by their teachers as more considerate and task-oriented
Families…
- report pride in the quality of their family unity a decade after program participation
- report that participation helped them improve their child-rearing practices and cope with family crises.
