Pre-K Program
Pre-K Program
For children ages 4 to 6Half Day: 8:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Full Day: 6:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Polka Dot Dragon Preschool is a place where your
child will fall in love with learning. We work to help your child build
confidence in themselves and acquire necessary self-help skills. Your child
will be in a safe, secure environment where they can thrive while being
surrounded by teachers that truly care about them and are invested in their
success. Our goal is to provide your child with a fun-filled experience that
will excite them into bringing their newly mastered skills home to share with
you.
Our curriculum for our Pre-K program has been
expertly developed by Polka Dot Dragon’s owner and director Miss Wendy. Miss
Wendy has over 30 years of experience in the classroom and she utilized that
experience to craft a program that incorporates both old school and new
learning techniques. This program directly builds off of our Preschool Program
to solidify previously-taught skills while introducing new ones. It involves a
mix of whole class and small group learning activities to prepare each child
for kindergarten.
Fine motor skills are first introduced in our
Preschool Program and are fine-tuned in our Pre-K Program. Your child will
practice writing upper and lowercase letters and cutting both easy and complex
shapes. Your child will also gain more experience and independence with using
media such as glue and paint for crafts.
A key aspect of the Pre-K Program is mastering pre-reading
skills. These skills include letter identification of both upper and lowercase
letters and learning letter sounds; the skills are taught with flash cards and
our Letter People program that is introduced in our Preschool class. In the
Letter People Program, each letter is introduced with a different character and
a catchy song to help your child commit it to memory.
At Polka Dot Dragon Preschool, your child will be
introduced to over 30 sight words which, once acquired, will aid them in moving
on to independent reading. The sight words are posted in the classroom to allow
the children to gain familiarity with them and we also encourage parents to put
them up at home to continue their learning outside the classroom. They are used
in our Little Readers (level 1 books) and reviewed daily.
The Polka Dot Dragon’s Pre-K class practice
their pre-reading skills every day. Our students have independent reading time
where they spread out in the classroom to read for 15 minutes. We allow the
children to familiarize themselves with and grow their love for books
while helping them to put their sight words and knowledge of letter sounds
to use. The teachers will often read as well, modeling the skills for the
children to see. Along with reading, your child will have the freedom to
exercise their creativity by making their own stories during this time. Our
goal at Polka Dot Dragon Preschool is to provide a fun-filled experience paired
with learning so that your child will be excited to learn and reach skill
mastery.
Math skills are taught with the “Math Their Way”
curriculum. While learning to count is important, we also want your child to
have the knowledge of one-to-one correspondence, place value, and
graphing. Each day begins with a calendar review where your child will
learn number order and be encouraged to predict what numbers will come next.
The class also uses a number line to easily identify numbers and their
places. Additionally, we keep a 100-day chart, adding each day we have
been in attendance until we reach the 100th day of school. Basic addition and
subtraction will be introduced as the class progresses. By the end of the
program, the children will be able to identify numbers 1-20, but many of our
children leave the Pre-K program having a solid understanding of numbers up to
100.
Graphs are used weekly to add value to
numbers. We create the graph topics to go along with our weekly themes.
Examples of graph topics include how many girls are in the class compared to
how many boys, what each child’s favorite season is, and how many children are
afraid of spiders compared to how many aren’t afraid. The graph subjects are
designed to be more personalized to add value in your child’s eyes when they
see that they are included as a part of each graph.
Every week a new theme is introduced and learning
is focused on that specific topic. An assessment of prior knowledge on
the subject is held at the beginning of that week through discussion. All
activities and lessons during the week (art, math, reading, songs, graphs,
games, etc.) are related to the theme and aim to increase your child’s
knowledge in that area. Many of our themes focus on science and social studies
topics. The themes include: apples, transportation, American Indians, rain
forests, Chinese New Year, and much more. Each Friday ends with a fun
theme-related activity for the week which could include a related snack, nature
walk, or special guest. Every week brings a new opportunity for the children to
become excited about and discover new aspects of the world around them.
Pre-K students strive to be independent and here
at Polka Dot Dragon Preschool, we make sure to always be encouraging while also
providing support whenever needed. We recognize that self-help skills are key
for a smooth transition into a kindergarten classroom. We help your child
learn how to handle their bathroom needs, dress for the outdoors, open snack
packaging, and display appropriate manners independently. A discipline
system is set up in the classroom to help monitor your child’s behaviors and
information on how well they are doing will be made available for you
daily.
Self-control and sharing adult attention are put
into practice every day and manners play a big part in our classroom
setting. Children are expected to treat each other and adults with
respect. We help the children become empathetic to each other’s needs,
learn the importance of citizenship (we say the pledge daily and sing “My
Country Tis of Thee”), find value in taking care of the environment, and learn
to be a role model for others. We find that our Polka Dot kids challenge
themselves to meet these expectations and become the best that they can be.
Music & Movement is an integral part of each
day in our classroom and acts as motivation for our students. There are songs
for every weekly theme; your child will learn new dances and be involved in
many activities that will get them moving and having lots of fun. Art activities are also an important part of
each day. Theme-related art projects are completed daily and focus on being a
creative outlet while also teaching the children how to follow directions. Your
child will paint, cut, color, and build in our classroom. The children are also
able to let their imaginations and creativity flow freely in drama lessons,
acting out folktales and nursery rhymes. A nursery rhyme is discussed and
memorized each week which will allow your child to increase their vocabulary
and rhyming skills while opening opportunities for fun discussions within the
classroom.
Polka Dot Dragon students are encouraged to be independent
thinkers. Classroom discussions help the child become more self-confident
in developing their own thoughts and responses. Socialization
is a must for children of this age. Your child will work in small groups,
large groups, and with partners so that they can gain essential social skills
and learn to adapt. Friendships are developed, but kindness is expected for
everyone. The children enjoy free-time experiences to build on their peer
relationships. Outside the school, play dates with their peers and
birthday parties become an important part of their social development.
The classroom setting is divided into learning
areas. These areas include science/math center with plenty of STEM
activities available for your child to use including learning tools such as
microscopes and balance scales. There is a block area that includes many
varieties of blocks to build with, the usual favorite being our Lego
collection. There is a library section with over 500 books to choose from and a
dramatic play area that changes every season (can be a beauty shop, a vet
clinic, or a flower shop).
Typical Daily Schedule
6:30-8:30Open free time where children can cooperatively play
8:30-11:15
Class begins at 8:30 with teacher-directed circle time. This includes morning welcome, the Pledge of Allegiance, calendar time, flashcard review, theme introductions, pre-reading activities, an art activity, and story time. The class then has a nutritious morning snack, whole group library time, small group STEM activities, free choice center time, outside recess, and small motor writing practice
Lunch is served
12:30 – 2:30
The children have nap time followed by an afternoon snack
2:30 – 4:00
Class resumes with puzzles and math games and an afternoon teacher-directed circle time. During circle time, the children will review the lessons for the day, have additional flashcard practice, and enjoy story time
Outside recess and free exploration time until pick-up
All children who meet the 4-6 age requirement,
have basic self-help skills, and are potty trained may enroll in our Pre-K
program. The class is designed to expand on basic skills, so your child will be
assessed for what basic skills they have prior to entering our class. We
guarantee your child will be well prepared for kindergarten, not only with the
acquisition of basic skills, but above and beyond. They will be ready to start
reading, have better self-confidence, and have found a love for learning that
will motivate them in school.
The Polka Dot Dragon Pre-K program is led by our very own director Miss Wendy as well as a few
assistant and student teachers. Miss Wendy has been teaching for 30 years and
has owned & directed Polka Dot Dragon Preschool for 22 years. She
loves to read, travel, and cook. She has two grown children who grew up
attending and working at the preschool. Miss Wendy loves all her students and
is grateful that her job includes giving them the skills to set them up for
success in their lives. One of her favorite things is seeing Polka Dot
Preschool alumni around town, and the joy in their faces when she addresses
them by their name (even years later).
Contact Us
Contact Us Today to Schedule a Tour!