The teachers in the 2 ½’s room provide a loving and nurturing environment in which children can learn and grow. We begin the year helping children acclimate to the new experience of preschool and spend much time making sure each child has a positive first school experience. We work hard to design activities around the interests of the children, observing and assessing children weekly to plan for the individual child.In the 2 ½’s room, we introduce the alphabet through Zoo-phonics and begin to learn the sounds and motions of our favorite ‘Zoo Friends’. We read plenty of books and sing many songs. Through weekly Bible stories, we learn how much God loves each one of us. Other activities in the classroom, including art projects, texture table exploration, dramatic play, and math manipulatives, occur in both whole class and small group settings.

Little people who happen to be three years old are one of God’s greatest gifts! They are beginning to understand who they are and what this world is all about. Sometimes, a young three can be hesitant in their new surroundings in the classroom. By the end of the year, they are ready to take on the world and their growth is phenomenal! It is a joy and privilege to be part of this amazing time in their lives. Throughout the year in the 3’s class, we explore God’s wonderful world and the fascinating things in it. We conduct science experiments, make hypotheses, and show graphs to provide the outcomes of our studies. We also observe plants and learn what it takes for a plant to survive. We count, sort and classify all kinds of objects. Music fills our days in the 3’s classroom, and we explore through movement, melodies and lyrics. Every day, we enjoy great books together and discuss what we think about them. This is also the year prewriting skills emerge, so we work on fine motor skills through cutting, coloring, paper ripping, and playing with playdough. We learn how to be a good friend and work through all kinds of problem-solving strategies with each other. We will meet our Zoo Friends and learn their letters and sounds. Our days are filled with learning, dancing and laughter! This third year of life is a vast year of growth, and we feel the best way to learn it all is through playing!

In the 4’s class, we have fun while we learn. Early on, we work on writing, number recognition, and the basics of adding and subtracting. For the rest of the year, we focus on upper case letters, learning the alphabet with Zoo-phonics and Handwriting Without Tears. Throughout the year, children spend time in the “kitchen”, creating cooking activities focused on letter sounds as well as healthy eating choices. One major skill we emphasize and develop as 4’s is independence, which includes learning to be responsible–for your backpack, your snack, your use of time, and your classroom chores–as well as writing your own name. We also foster independence with self-help skills, which include potty needs, taking off and putting on shoes as well as all snow gear. In the 4’s class, we journey beyond our world through learning about the planets in our solar system, especially the moon. We walk to Platt Park each month to observe the trees we adopt. Every day you can find us singing songs, reading stories and acting them out, and learning about each other through daily conversations. We talk about how God loves each one of us; we wonder about His creation and how we can help take good care of ourselves and our earth.

Available for children enrolled in Junior Kindergarten or Tuesday-Thursday 4’s at Platt Park Children’s Center. Class limited to 10 students

Junior Kindergarten at Platt Park Children’s Center serves children desiring an extra year of preschool and/or those who can thrive in an accelerated preschool curriculum. PPCC offers a Junior Kindergarten program, for children who may be age-appropriate for kindergarten but need the gift of time to further enhance their kindergarten readiness skills, both academically and social/emotionally. Children must be 5 years old by December 1 to participate. Our goal for the Junior Kindergarten program is to address the developmental needs and raise the readiness skills of each child to their fullest potential. In this class, children grow their social and emotional foundations, focusing on group work, emotional awareness, and management, and how to form and maintain friendships. Academically, children are immersed in pre-reading and beginning reading skills, math skills, and beginning writing skills necessary for a jump start into kindergarten. All of this is done through play and with encouraging support. We provide a strong learning foundation, where the academic, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of kids are met in a nurturing and play based environment.