Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00 – 11:15 a.m.
Class size limit is 24 students. The Four’s and Five’s program is taught by our highly qualified Early Childhood Education program director with the assistance of two teacher’s aides. In addition, two co-op parents are scheduled to help in the classroom daily. That means that the adult to student ratio is less than 1 to 5! St. John’s Episcopal Preschool is a parent co-operative preschool which allows for parents to help in the classroom for reduced tuition. There are 13 co-op positions available, and 11 private positions available for the Four’s and Five’s program.
Activities are designed to introduce children to pre-math and pre-reading skills through meaningful experiences. These include but are not limited to listening to stories and poems, taking field trips, dictating stories and having them read, the use of charts and other print in the classroom, dramatic play and other experiences requiring communication, and experimenting with writing by drawing, coloring & painting, sorting, exploring materials, patterning, sequencing and matching.
8:40-9:00 Set Up: Co-op working parents, aides and the teacher work together to prepare for the day’s activities.
9:00 Preschool Begins: The program begins promptly at 9:00 am. Please pin a nametag on your child’s back. The children begin the day meeting with the teacher in the entrance by the double doors. If you are early, please wait with your child until 9:00 am.
9:00-9:20 Opening: Each day will begin with our opening circle. We will use this time to greet each other and discuss what is planned for the day. The children will also get their “job” for the day at this time (including counting how many of their friends are there!). This is a time when wonderful conversation takes place and the children share any “news” they want to tell.
9:20-9:40 Small Group Time: Each day the teacher will plan one small group activity that pertains to the topic of study. Children will work in groups of six or less. Groups will be led by the teacher, the aide(s), and the co-¬op parent(s) and will cover art, literacy, math, science, and motor skills with an emphasis on hands-on discovery, creativity, and just plain fun!
9:40-10:25 Developmental Play: During this time, the children are free to choose their own activities. In the Art Room children will find many supplies to fuel their creative ideas, easels for painting, play dough, and a sand or water table. The Activity Room has games, puzzles, a play kitchen, dress-ups, a reading area, and other fine motor activities. The Block Room has a variety of large and small blocks, wooden trains, large trucks, a slide, a climber and a wooden boat. The Foyer is the place for large motor activity with scooters, balls, tents or tricycles each day. When the weather permits, children may also play outside.
10:25-10:35 Clean-up and Circle Time: After working together to clean up the preschool, the children will meet for circle time. We will look at our calendar, the child with the “Mystery Can” will share, and we will do a game, music and movement, or some other large group activity related to our theme for the day. On Mondays, the child with the Puppet Bag will read their journal from the weekend at this time.
10:35-10:45 Hand Washing: Before snack time, the children will be escorted to the bathroom to wash hands and to use the toilet, if needed. A bathroom is always available in the Foyer during activity time.
10:45-10:55 Snack/Social Time: Small, nutritious snacks are served. The children sit at tables with their peers and adult helpers and enjoy eating and talking together.
10:55-11:05 We will end our day enjoying a story together related to our theme.
11:05-11:15 Line up and Proceed to Curb-side Pick-up: The staff and co-op parents will assist the children in preparing to go home and will escort the children to the “waiting area” where they will be picked up by a parent or guardian.