Preschool

Preschool is our licensed program for four-year-olds featuring developmentally appropriate play and learning. Our students enjoy a safe and nurturing environment with our two Early Childhood specialists.

The daily Preschool routine includes circle and story time along with structured opportunities for self-directed play, which includes painting, dancing, singing, dressing up and supervised hands-on activities.

Class Schedule

Monday - Friday
8am - 12pm
Full Day
8am - 3pm

Teachers

The ACDS Preschool is led by an ECE specialist with an aide in the classroom, in addition to regular visits with our full-time librarian and Musical Movement teacher. There is a 9:1 student-to-teacher ratio.

Curriculum

Language Arts

Pre-Reading and Pre-Writing Skills
Letter recognition
Beginning letter-sound recognition
Exposure to rich, age-appropriate literature to develop comprehension skills
Development of fine motor skills for future letter and number printing

Oral Language

Story dictation and retelling
Sharing experiences
Listening and observing
Memorization and recitation
Rhyming

Social Studies

Learning about other cultures through parent presentations and holiday cultural celebrations
Beginning to see the world from another's perspective
Exploring the role of rules in society to develop abilities to play, work, and get along with classmates in a socially acceptable manner and to practice age-level skills in self care
Learning about the United States through patriotic songs and poetry

Math & Science

Math

Beginning numeral recognition
Beginning counting by correspondence
Rote counting
Beginning classification
Beginning pattern recognition
Calendar skills
Beginning math vocabulary concepts: more-than and less-than, under, over, sum of
Ordering objects from smallest to largest

Science

Explore topics in science to develop curiosity and a sense of wonder regarding the world around them
Practice and develop abilities to observe, sequence, classify and describe
Use scientific topics and issues as a basis for practice in solving problems and reaching conclusions

Movement

Fine and gross motor
Develop muscles in fingers and hands to perform tasks and use implements: scissors, pencils, markers, buttoning, and controlling glue
Develop large muscles in arms and legs to ride bikes, climb stairs and ladders, run, hop and skip, plus playground activities and Musical Movement

Musical Movement

Body and space awareness
Non-locomotor and locomotor skills
Manipulative skills (throwing, catching, dribbling, kicking, jumping rope)
Motor memory skills; visual and auditory cues to copy and recall single movements and movement/rhythm patterns
Dramatic expression/creative movement
Self-initiated movement and expression through music, poems and stories
Ability to listen for musical cues as they relate to movement

Art & Music

Art

Develop ability to communicate thoughts and feeling through a variety of art mediums
Develop creativity and self expression through a variety of art mediums and risk taking

Music

Exposure to the Orff music program, which combines movement, instruments, speech and song
Refinement of auditory abilities to discern and discriminate sounds through a variety of music
Begin to discern rhythm
Learn to use voice to sing a song
Gain an appreciation of different kinds of music

Library Visits

Preschool students are able to visit the school library and spend time with our full-time librarian who introduces the students to new authors and allows them to check out books to take home.

Cooking

Students also spend time in the kitchen cooking at least twice a week.

Field Trips

Big Buddy Program

Each Preschool student is paired with a "Big Buddy" from 8th grade. Throughout the year, Big Buddies meet to work, play and learn together in a variety of activities. Big Buddies care for their Little Buddies, and Little Buddies look up to their older friends, forging affectionate connections and lasting memories. The beloved Big Buddy Program is a highlight of the ACDS experience for younger and older children alike.