City Kids Preschool:

Programme and Structure

Children attend five days a week from 9:00- 12:00. Children in the Reception class attend an additional two afternoons a week from January through June. Our consistent 5-day routine provides a supportive learning environment for our children. The carefully planned sequence balances independent activity with small and large group times, spontaneous play with teacher-directed activities, and quiet choices with active ones. Children take responsibility for choosing many of their specific daily activities; this teaches self-reliance and accommodates individual preferences and learning styles.

Preschool aged children cycle through developmental ages at differing speeds. City Kids places children in groups based on social and cognitive readiness. In this way, teachers are able to present material in a way that most precisely meets the specific interests and abilities of each child. Each of our groups has a maximum class-size of 15. We feel small class size is essential first, in developing positive relationships between teachers and individual children; and second in promoting innate curiosity and lifelong learning.

Our Age Groups

Bumblebees: Our younger students, ages approximately 2.9 to 3.6, enjoy having a space of their own where they can experience the joy of creating art works and playing with play dough, water, sand and other tactile and sensory materials. Initially, separation is a primary focus for many children, and the teacher’s role is to gently guide the children into the social world of preschool. Their confidence levels grow and they become involved in dramatic play and music and movement activities. As the children's attention spans lengthen, discussions and projects become more involved.

Ladybugs: Children in our middle group are ages approximately 3.6 to 4.0. Ladybugs are embarking on an important transition from participating in mostly adult-directed play to self-directed play and exploration. Exploring their own opportunities for learning is a pivotal part of their transition. The teachers play an important role in empowering the children to engage in imaginative play and to explore different materials. As Ladybugs, the children's social skills also bloom, as they learn about sharing, taking turns, and the value of cooperative play. They discover that they are part of a larger world, and that sharing toys and ideas is gratifying.

Butterflies: Children in our oldest group are 4.0- 6.0. Butterflies are becoming skilled organizers and untiring negotiators who appreciate fairness, reason and logic. Much time is spent exploring their wonderful ideas and making sense of the world around them via group discussion and hands-on experiences. Thematic units are longer and more complex, incorporating multiple mediums - and often requiring group planning and cooperation. The curriculum is designed to allow children to express their increasing confidence and independence, while meeting the challenge of their noisy curiosity, energy and endless enthusiasm.

Transition to Primary School (Butterflies January-June)

In the second half of the year, our Butterflies’ cognitive, social, and physical skills are developing at a tremendous rate. Our reception curriculum is designed to keep pace. Through daily discussions and in-depth study we nurture and stimulate that growth, while encouraging self-confidence, enthusiasm for learning, and a respect for others. The aim of this programme is to prepare the children for the transition to primary school so we focus on emergent reading and writing as well as numeracy development

Our Classrooms

Because children best master and integrate information through first-hand experience, play using real materials has a major role at City Kids. Our classrooms are designed to maximize this experience. Each of the three classrooms has a specialty focus and the children move in groups throughout the classrooms over the course of the day. There are specific planning themes and goals for each of the three rooms, and these are further separated out to meet the developmental needs of each of the three age groups. This is different from typical preschools where children stay in one classroom and do all their activities there. The description of the classrooms and opportunities for learning that take place there follows:

The Art Room:

Here children can experience the joy of creating artwork, playing with play dough, water, sand and other tactile and sensory materials. They get involved in numeracy activities, such as exploring spatial relationships, classifying and patterning. Here children participate in literacy activities, from identifying their names to writing ‘letters’ to each other in the play office. They also take part in projects related to themes, such as making rocket ships for our space theme.

The Green Room:

The Green Room has several purposes. First it is our dramatic play space where children can explore themed situations such as a kitchen, post office, doctor’s office, market, and the like. Second it is our place where children can choose activities for play that interest them such as blocks, trains, model animals, and various other construction materials. Third, one corner of the Green Room houses our Science and Nature center with themed materials to explore such as pieces of coral and feathers for a study on textures. Fourth, in this space children engage in creative movement on a daily basis as well as Dance Class once a week. Lastly, as our largest space, our Green Room is our whole class meeting room where our circle times are held.

The Blue Room:

In the Blue Room our two older groups focus on literacy and numeracy. The children participate in both teacher-directed and child-directed activities. An example of a teacher-directed activity would be a phonics lesson or a lesson on creating mathematical patterning. Child-directed activities are those where the children direct their own exploration, such as discovering spatial relationships as part of the numeracy curriculum or exploring books and their own writing as part of the literacy curriculum.

Play Areas:

Aside from the Green Room, We have two different play areas at City Kids. First, adjacent to our classrooms is a large balcony complete with a climbing frame where children play daily, honing gross motor skills, exercising both body and imagination. This is an open air space with a roof, so children can run and play no matter what the weather. Second we have regular access to a custom-designed on site outdoor playground.