Learning How To Learn
Pre-K is a great opportunity for children to become accustomed to being in a classroom setting. That way, when they reach kindergarten, they hit the ground running and ready to learn. While we focus on educational activities at all age groups in our Chicago daycare, pre-K is where we focus on solidifying our knowledge of the alphabet, numbers, counting, name-writing, and essential social skills.
What Your Child Will Learn In Pre-Kindergarten
- Alphabet and letter recognition
- Numbers and counting
- Foundational literacy and math skills
- Basic science such as planets and weather
- Basic social studies such as cultural holidays
- And much more!
The kindergarten prep classroom at Toddler Town in Chicago welcomes new and exciting adventures every day!
In our classroom we do things a little differently than the other classes in our center. The Koalas class consists of the oldest children in the center and therefore prepares them for their next educational experience.
As part of our kindergarten preparation based curriculum, we start off the year by ensuring that all children are fluent in their knowledge of basic skills such as alphabet and number recognition, name writing, counting, and some positive social skills.
As the months pass by and the children are more fluent in their basic skills we begin introducing more complex skills. The set of Dolch Words are introduced to the children in sets of 5.
Beginning math facts are also introduced around this time. In addition to math and reading, we also introduce lots of science and social studies to the children.
We discuss and learn about Black History Month, Holidays Around the World, Space, The Oceans, and the Weather to name just a few.
The interests of the children are taken into consideration when planning throughout the year. Therefore, if the children seem to be highly interested in a certain topic/theme we expand on it longer.
It is with great expectations that by the end of the year in our kindergarten prep classroom, the children are ready and empowered to begin the next adventure of 1st grade!
What Will My Child Be Learning?
Physcial Development
Social/Emotional Development
Thinking/Intellectual Development
Communication/Language Development
Weather permitting, there will be time allocated twice per day for outside activities and freeplay. During freeplay at our Chicago and Evanston daycare centers, each child will be exposed to: dramatic play, block play, sand and water play, reading and drawing materials.
During outdoor play, our shade structure is “designed to block up to 90 percent of the sun’s harmful UV rays and keep playground temperatures up to 30 degrees cooler.” We believe that children should be safe and enjoy themselves while playing outdoors. Our shade structure was purchased through the chocolate sale fundraiser. Thank you to all that participated and helped us remain one of the best preschools in Chicago!
Storytime plays an important role in introducing children to reading and the magic of books. Although it is never too late to start, it’s is always wise to begin reading books to our children when they are very small, even before they can walk and talk.
That is why at Toddler Town we set aside a portion of our daycare’s budget to constantly purchase new books for our library.
Toddler Town Daycare is now using Ages & Stages Questionnaires
Toddler Town Daycare uses the Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Third Edition and Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional screenings. Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) is a screening process used for children from one month to 5 ½ years of age. ASQ uses parents/guardians knowledge about their children to find strengths and/or possible concerns that might help or hinder their learning at our educational preschools. This lets us tailor our teaching practices to each child's needs.
The screening process happens in a few easy steps.
First, the parent/guardian will fill out the questionnaire for the specific age of their child. This can either be done online through an invitation through the daycare center or through a hard copy screening form.
Next, the teacher and the parent/guardian will compare the scores in each area to the cutoff points on the scoring sheet. Lastly, the teacher will review the results and suggest follow-up resources or further assessment, if necessary.
Toddler Town will start this screening within 3 months of the child’s enrollment at the center. The screening will also take place frequently throughout the child’s education at Toddler Town. Teachers will then have a conference with the parent/guardian about the results. This ensures that our parent/teacher conferences are more than simply, “Your child is a joy to have in class.” You can rest assured knowing that your child’s social, emotional, mental, and physical development is being monitored to ensure they do not fall behind.
If you have any questions about ASQ or how it works, please do not hesitate to ask one of our staff members or the director. Please feel free to view more information about the ASQ Screening Instrument at http://agesandstages.com/
Development Learning Reports
Sample Child Progress Reports
Child Progress & Planning Report #1
Child Progress & Planning Report #2
Child Progress & Planning Report #3
Child Progress & Planning Report #4
Lesson Plan Examples
Toddler Town Day Care uses the Teaching Strategies GOLD© Assessment System.