Preschool I

3-4 years:

In Preschool 1, there is increased structure in daily routine to include whole group, small group, and independent activities. Circle time is expanded to include review of calendar, weather, songs, goals for the day. A second Circle time is added in the afternoon, so children can review their day. The Learning Centers are expanded to include fine motor manipulatives, language arts, and construction. Classroom “helpers” graduate to jobs (ex: line leader, weather watcher), and verbal skills are encourage to manage conflict. Teachers introduce pre-reading and pre-math activities, including letter and number concepts.

The teacher-to-child ratio is this classroom is 1 to 12 at Children First, and 1 to 10 at Heritage. Differences in West Virginia and Virginia Licensing Standards dictate each program’s classroom ratios.

Sample Lesson Plan

Each week’s lesson plan is thoughtfully prepared by the lead teacher in accordance with the CHEERS standards in learning, age appropriate activities and the individual needs of the students and is designed to both stimulate and educate. Children learn best when they’re having fun in a welcoming environment! Download a sample Preschool I lesson plan.

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Preschool I Goals:

1. Gross motor - accurate ball toss, runs smoothly with pivot, stands on one foot, jumps on one foot
2. Fine Motor - manipulates clothing fasteners, draws circles and squares, writes name with scattered letters
3. Language skills - speaks clearly, sings songs completely
4. Cognitive - 1-1 correspondence, asks Why?, gives names to artwork
5. Social/emotional-follows rules, works in small groups, helpful, shows empathy
6. Routine/self help-washes hands without playing, pours own milk, cleans up with little assistance
7. Pre-reading-recognizes capital letters, continues simple patterns, read book from front to back
8. Pre math-seriates 10 objects, can identify 3-5 objects

CHEERS School Family - so much more than daycare!