Pre-K Curriculum and Philosophy
Philosophy
Early childhood curriculum should address the development of skills and knowledge in the following areas:
- Physical
- Social
- Emotional
- Intellectual
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 Pre-K 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 HCPSS pre-kindergarten curriculum is 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 (including alignment to the Common Core State Standards).
Curriculum
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 ways to apply new learning, thus fostering efficient learning on the part of the student. Through this development, students acquire confidence, persistence, and enhanced interest and curiosity.
What Your Child Will Learn Guides
What Your Child Will Learn guides provide an overview of the instructional program for your child’s grade, as well as student goals and expectations. The guides include information to help parents monitor and support their child’s progress during the school year.
The guides are available online only; print versions are no longer distributed. Specific guide webpages may be printed from the website.