Curriculum

The curriculum of Little Graces Preschool addresses a meaningful combination of the following learning components; emotional, social, creative, physical, cognitive, and spiritual well-being. Together these six areas are key elements to the developmental growth of our children. While some areas target specific age groups, we believe that it is important to find balance, as we introduce our children to each stage of learning.

Children in the two-day Enrichment Program spend their days in exploration and investigation of the world around them. Little Graces provides a safe environment and consistent routine in which they can explore and develop oral language, self-help, social, emotional, coginitive, motor and physical skills. Teachers focus activities around the children's natural curiosity and energy levels and provide enriching, hands-on activities to stimulate their growing minds and help them build self-confidence.

Three and four year olds benefit from a rich environment in which they can demonstrate their own creativity. The 3 day Preschool Program will continue to foster emotional and social growth, while introducing pre-reading, math, science, and social studies skills through an engaging theme-based curriculum. Language will be reinforced through talking and listening. Language play is an important step in prereading so playing with the sounds of language (phonemic awareness) by making up silly words, creating rhymes, and building on their awareness of the different sounds within words is a key.

The Pre-Kindergarten Program will continue to build on the components already targeted in the Preschool Programs with greater emphasis on cognitive experience as the children are prepared for entry into full day, structured, formal learning. Children will be provided a stimulating environment in which they are tempted with exciting possibilities that spark interests in new areas. The use of music, movement, and developmentally appropriate activities that stimulate all areas of the brain, will help our students become active learners as they learn to problem solve, make connections, expand their vocabularies, and practice language play.

Through Big Books, trade books, music, and hands-on learning experiences, the Kindergarten Program will provide a solid foundation of language arts and math skills that will set our students well on their way to a successful educational career. The excitement of reading and writing will open a whole new world of learning opportunities.

Recognizing that play is the medium through which young children explore the world, opportunities for free play in all of our classes is also provided through the use of centers.

Our preschool programs all follow the Virginia Foundation Blocks for Early Learning Standards for Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

Students attend Chapel several days a week. We read stories relating to our monthly virtues, talk about God's love for us and how each of us was made special, sing bible songs, say a prayer, and celebrate birthdays and any other special occasions. Students then blow a kiss for a great day at Little Grace's and give a hug. What a wonderful way to start our day as a family!