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Pre-K Program Philosophy
Early childhood curriculum should
address the development of skills and knowledge in the areas of
physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth. One goal
of preschool education is to develop in children a sense of
competence and positive feelings about learning in order to
establish a base for life-long learning. The preschool program
provides a wide range of experiences and opportunities to
familiarize students with the school environment and build on
the child’s understanding of his or her world, while developing
a readiness for school. The Howard County Public School System’s
pre-kindergarten curriculum was written based on recommended
practices from the National Association for the Education of
Young Children (NAEYC) and guidelines for early childhood
education from the Maryland State Department of Education. In
addition, the Work Sampling System Developmental Checklist was
used as many of the PK4 level indicators are foundational for
successful participation in kindergarten.
Curriculum
Curriculum is organized around broad
goal areas. All files are in PDF format.
Within each broad goal area,
objectives are included that provide guidance in planning
purposeful instruction. Daily experiences should be planned
which will assist the students in forming basic understandings
about language, mathematical concepts, and other content
knowledge. The curriculum is designed to enable children to
acquire knowledge, skills and processes and apply them in
meaningful real-world ways. Thus, objectives reflect children’s
immediate environment such as school and home.
Young children learn best through
developmentally appropriate, thematically based activities,
projects, and experiences. These opportunities should be
structured in such as way that exposure to language, thinking
processes, mathematical concepts, social interactions, and other
essential learning are integrated naturally. It is the intention
that instruction for the goal areas and objectives contained in
this document be integrated and revisited throughout the school
year so that the students have repeated experiences with
concepts and skills. Cognitive skills and metacognitive thinking
are facilitated through discussions with students. The role of
the teacher is to help students become aware of their thinking
processes and way to apply new learning, thus fostering
efficient learning on the part of the student. Students
developing in these ways acquire confidence, persistence, and
enhanced interest and curiosity.
Contact:
Tracy
Jones, Program Coordinator |
