Curriculum

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Curriculum Overview

CK's Little Red Schoolhouse is a traditional, private, Catholic, half-day preschool serving, children between the ages of 3 and 6 years in Oklahoma City, OK.   The school is housed in Greystone Presbyterian Church (www.gpcokc.com), although we are an early childhood branch of Christ the King Catholic School (www.ckschool.com).  The school is a Montessori-based preschool with a blended educational philosophy incorporating various early childhood theories from Piaget, Vygotsky, Kamii, Elkind and others.  The school has been at its current location for the past 25 years with a seven-member staff, most of whom have taught at the school for at least 15 years.

CK's Little Red Schoolhouse is designed for the individual child.  We are a small school with a low student/teacher ratio allowing for plenty of one-on-one instruction.  CK's Little Red offers each child a hands-on, child-centered curriculum covering academic areas of math, literacy, fine motor, large motor, science, social studies, sensorial (education of the senses), music, religion and art.  Our children are instructed according to their respective individual levels and rates of learning.  This method of teaching challenges our students but also serves our students who may require more time and attention.

The atmosphere is always positive, happy and accepting.  The teacher's foremost goal is showing warmth and encouragement to the child.  We feel the child's first learning experience must be fun and successful.  A good self-image and "I can do it" perspective is a vital attitude to instill in a preschool child.

Teachers

Our team of certified teachers at Little Red are highly qualified and have had years of teaching experience.  Four of the nine teachers have a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, one is a Montessori certified teacher and one has a specialization in reading.  As teachers we love working with children.  We are committed to excellence in our profession and we are dedicated to bridging the way from home to elementary school with a strong foundation of social and academic skills.

Curriculum Design

Below you will find a description of the main components of our curriculum at CK's Little Red Schoolhouse.

Mathematics

CK's Little Red Schoolhouse follows a primarily Montessorian math curriculum.  Maria Montessori believed that the "hand is the instrument of the brain," and thus, our children learn through manipulation of the materials with their hands.  We move from the concrete to the abstract, ensuring that all children have a strong understanding of symbol and quantity before moving on to more complex concepts.  However, we also use a variety of non-Montessori materials and activities to teach math concepts, as students have a variety of learning styles.  For example, skip counting by 10's and concepts of money are taught through songs.  Additionally, number recognition and the sequence of numbers can be taught through kinesthetic activities such as "number jumping."  As an A+ school, we believe material should be covered in a variety of ways to ensure that all children learn these concepts. 

Literacy

CK's Little Red Schoolhouse has designed its own phonics-based literacy instruction method that has been very successful for the past 25 years.  Like our math program, our phonics-based instruction begins with many pre-literacy activities and games such as matching, categorizing, and sequencing.  Once a firm foundation has been established, phonetic sounds are introduced and eventually phonetic blending and reading are added.  Letter recognition is emphasized throughout our program in various activities, games, and classroom materials.  Our literacy program uses concrete materials to provide a firm literacy foundation and gradually progresses towards more abstract concepts.  As with the mathematics curriculum, we utilize song, movement, art and the "Peabody Language Skills Program" to help reinforce literacy concepts with our children.  Moreover, quality children's literature is read daily during our circle time.  The books are placed in our "Rainbow Reading Corner" for the children to peruse during their worktime. 

Practical Life/Fine Motor

This area of the classroom is a Montessori component that develops the young child's fine motor skills.  As the name "Practical Life" implies, these materials consist of everyday activities that children enjoy doing and that they see first-hand in their homes.  Transferring, tweezing, pouring, spooning, lacing, stringing, sorting, categorizing, polishing, sweeping, cleaning, snapping, buttoning, zipping and folding are just some of the fine motor activities covered in this area of the classroom.  The materials are changed every few weeks and the children are naturally drawn to this area of the classroom.  All of these activities help to develop the young child's pencil grip and writing skills.   These activities also help to foster concentration, independence, dexterity, coordination, self-control and intelligence.

Sensorial

This is a Montessori area of the classroom wherein the materials help to develop the young child's senses.  Grading blocks from tallest to shortest, thickest to thinnest and largest to smallest help to sharpen one's visual sense.  We have sound cylinders where the children grade the cylinders from loudest to softest, developing the children's auditory sense.  Children learn to discriminate and grade sizes, colors, sounds, textures, and scents in this area of the classroom.  We have a wide variety of puzzles, which aid in the development of the child's spatial sense.  Many of the sensorial materials teach higher levels of learning such as sequencing and categorizing.     

Religion

CK's Little Red incoporates time for daily prayer and some religious content each day.  We believe religious education is vital to the emotional, moral and spirital growth of young children.  Thus, the content is very appropriate and hands-on, where the children can truly explore and deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith.  A more in depth description of our religious curriculum may be viewed at the Archdiocesan website at www.catharchioceseokc.org (see Catholic Education-Schools-Curriculum (Early Childhood)).   

Art

Children experience a wonderful assortment of art projects daily at Little Red.  Painting, drawing, coloring and cutting are, of course, part of the curriculum.  Children are also encouraged to use a variety of art mediums such as play dough and clay.  Our Pre-K class even has the opportunity to learn to sew!  Art is an enjoyable and social part of the children's day and their creativity and individuality is encouraged and celebrated. 

Music

Children experience music first hand each day as the music teacher plays the guitar.  Children have many opportunities to use instruments and they learn basic music concepts such as rhythm.  Our songs tie in with our monthly themes and help to reinforce academic components learned during the units.  Music is the children's favorite time of day and we have had many requests for the lyrics from parents so they can sing along with their children at home.

Science

We have a science area of the classroom where the children have a chance to look at our classroom fish, insect collection, shells, rocks, feathers, and other interesting items.  We also devote the entire month of April and part of May to "Spring Science" where the children witness caterpillars forming chrysalises and then changing into beautiful butterflies.  We have also successfully raised tadpoles into frogs.  Science is an enjoyable subject to teach these naturally curious little children and we are constantly amazed at their enthusiastic interest and ability to retain the information.

Social Studies

Children are no doubt learning to be social beings while in preschool.  Areas of the classroom including the block area, building materials area, dramatic play area and a multitude of game-like materials, all promote play and social interaction with the other children.

However, we have many other social studies components of our curriculum.  Patriotic songs are sung each day as well as played using the classroom bells.  We say the pledge of allegiance each day and all national holidays are discussed and read about with the children.  We also have developed a unit called "My Own Backyard and Beyond" wherein the children learn basic geographical principles such as parts of the earth, directions, the equator, habitats and the animals that inhabit them as well as information relating to maps.  The children become little "cartographers" as they make maps of their own backyards.  As with science, the children are naturally curious about this subject and tend to learn social studies information easily at this age.

Social and Emotional Development

We know that preschool is often the first social place many children encounter on a regular basis.  Thus, we understand the importance of modeling and fostering positive social and emotional skills.  To develop these skills, we have a variety of activities that are both enjoyable and engaging to the children.  For example, during teacher table time, we will often pair children to work through a problem to scenario together.  Research has shown that peer work helps to develop language, leadership, confidence and social skills.  We also promote team projects wherein children are grouped together in small groups and encouraged to design and build something as a group.  This is a tall order as many children are still very egocentric and have difficulties incorporating other's perspectives into their own thinking.  We also use puppets to illustrate social scenarios the children may encounter and ways they can deal appropriately with the situations. 

The students and teachers at CK's Little Red enjoy a harmonious, happy and warm classroom.  We believe that providing our students with a strong foundation of positive social and emotional skills helps to establish and maintain the unique environment we have at our school.    

Gross/Large Motor

An outdoor playtime is part of our everyday schedule at CK's Little Red, barring any bad weather.  During recess, the kids climb, run, jump, skip, hang, and swing, all of which helps to develop their large motor skills.  However, CK's Little Red also incorporates many gross motor skills into our circle time class activities.  Children jump numbers sequentially, walk heel to toe on a line, dance, move and wiggle with sheer enjoyment.  We have a large assortment of music and activities that encourage and develops movement in young children.     

A+ Curriculum

 In 2008, CK's Little Red was selected to be a part of the Oklahoma A+ Schools Network (www.aplusok.org).  As part of the A+ Network, we believe that an arts-integrated curriculum best serves all students.  We know that learning styles are highly individualized, and that children have multiple intelligences, so we have designed our curriculum to accommodate all types of students. 

Show and Tell

Every Thursday the children get to bring one item from home that they would like to share with the entire class.  The children become accustomed to standing in front of the class and describing their "show and tell" item.  We think this activity develops self-confidence, speech, vocabulary, concentration and listening skills.  If asked, many children can recite what each child in the class brought for show and tell that day!

Special Activities

  • Holiday parties
  • Birthday parties
  • Furry friend day
  • Legend and Lore game day
  • Firemen day
  • Captain Super Tooth
  • Spring water day 
  • Bike and Trike rally
  • End-of-the-year program/Pre-K Graduation

Parent Education Seminars

CK's Little Red offers two free educational seminars to our parents each year.  The seminars cover pertinent topics for parents of young children such as modern day stressors to young children, the impact of television and video games on the young brain, and the importance of play.  The seminars are held during school hours, usually right after parents drop off their kids.  Information regarding the topics and dates are distributed to the parents in the monthly newsletter.   

Rave Reviews

"The teacher's use of song and art in every facet of their education fosters an early love of music, creativity and artistic expression in its preschool students.  In fact, this education seems so natural and effortless as it is taking place that it is easy to take for granted."

 

- Julie & Jeremy Tubb (parents of three Little Red children)