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Hansel and Gretel Nursery School in Middletown, NY

 

Hansel and Gretel Nursery School in Middletown NY


Our Curriculum

A visit from the Howells Fire DepartmentThree-Year-Old Program and Pre-Kindergarten Program

Separate lessons and materials are presented in the three-year-old and pre-kindergarten classes. This is in keeping with the developmental level of the children in each group. Generally, more advanced materials and concepts are incorporated into the pre-kindergarten program, but individual enrichment is given to each child in accordance with his or her interests and abilities.

A few minutes will be set aside each day for 'show and tell' if any of the children have brought in items of interest from home. In addition, trips to the fire house, dairy farm, apple orchard, music store, bakery, etc. are arranged throughout the school year. Special visitors such as a police officer and nurse are also incorporated into the regular school program.

 The children also learn by participating in special educational projects throughout the school year:
  • Making applesauce and apple muffins
  • Finding star consolations including the big and little dippers
  • Halloween projects and costume party
  • Making a Number Book, learning numbers and counting in Spanish
  • Foreign languages - learning words and phrases in Spanish, Italian and Chinese
  • Writing stories using Indian pictographs
  • How holidays are celebrated by cultures around the world
  • Making a gingerbread house and decorating it
  • Chinese New Year projects and party
  • Unit on nutrition including a salad bar, fruit and vegetable store in class
  • Unit on dinosaurs including digging for dinosaur bones, how to make a volcano erupt
  • Easter, Passover projects, games and party
  • Planting seeds to take home, planting in the nursery school garden
  • Making gifts for Mother's Day and Father's Day
  • Learning to recite telephone number and address
  • Incubation of chicken eggs in class (Students watch as chicks hatch in class)

  Educational Activities Period:  Set up around various interest centers

Dramatic Play Center:

Purpose:
Opportunity for role playing, sharing, making conversation with peers, outlet of emotions.

 

Materials:
Children's sink, range, dishes, other housekeeping equipment, dress up clothing, full length mirror. 		Dramatic play opens the imagination.

Quiet Play Center:
Purpose:
Opportunity to work alone or in pairs for social contacts, experience with spatial relationships, following directions, seeing likeness and differences, colors, patterns, counting, letter recognition, small motor development. 		Materials:
Books, puzzles, beads for stringing, sewing cards, lotto games, pegs and pegboards, other manipulative materials.

Active Play Center:
Purpose:
Development of large motor control, gain physical skills, develop concepts of over, under, up, down, high, low, in, out, imagination development, social interaction. 		Materials:
Rocking boat, stairs, balls, large riding wooden tractor, trailer, and trucks.

Block Center:
Purpose:
Development of large and small muscle control, finger and eye-hand coordination, opportunity for dramatic play, sharing, spatial relationships. 		Materials:
Large and small blocks of various shapes, trucks, cars, train, gas station, wooden barn and animals.

Science Center:
Purpose:
Responsibility for feeding animals, watering plants, keener awareness of how things grow, desire to learn more about nature. 		Materials:
Small live animals, display of rocks, eggs, seeds, magnifying glass, stethoscope, plants, simple experiments, etc.

Computer Center:
Purpose:
Use of computer and mouse, eye-hand coordination, taking turns, skills development with numbers, spatial relationships, alphabet, beginning reading, learning about geography, social studies, history, animal and plant kingdoms. 		Materials:
Wide variety of educational computer software programs.

Art Center:
Purpose:
Opportunity for self-expression, and for trying new media, development of small motor control, learning about shapes, colors, textures, sizes, letters, sharing, etc. 		Materials:
Easels, paint, brushes, scissors, paste, crayons, clay, construction paper, various creative art projects.

Clean-Up Period

Purpose:
Responsibility for putting materials away, pride in achievement, cooperation. 		Materials:
All toys and materials used by the children during free play.

Music Period

Purpose:
Opportunity to enjoy music through listening, singing, and rhythmic movements, creative expressions, concepts of high, low, soft, loud, fast, slow. 		Materials:
Records, rhythm instruments, songs, finger plays.

Current Events

Purpose:
Discussion of days of the week, months, seasons, holidays, birthdays, field trips. Keener awareness of weather and time. 		Materials:
Large calendar, weather signs, clock, flannel board and teaching aids.

Snack Period

Purpose:
Opportunity to be refreshed, to count, to converse, socialize, learn to pour, discover new foods. 		Materials:
Napkins, cups, juice, milk, crackers, various nutritional foods such as carrots, celery, and many fruits.

Story Period

Purpose:
Opportunity to experience different visual and auditory stimulation, reading readiness, language development, sharing, develop listening skills, care of books. 		Materials:
Books, filmstrips, record player and records.

Readiness Development Period

Purpose:
1. Reading readiness - an activity approach to provide practice in visual discrimination skills, picture interpretation skills, classifying and letter recognition.
2. Mathematics readiness - practice in recognizing and identifying shapes, size concepts, counting, matching numbers, volume.
3. Discussion of background information related to field trips. 		Materials:
Flannel board, flannel board aids, counting blocks, chalkboard, ingredients to make simple foods, puppets, nature study materials, various other teaching aids.

Outdoor Play: (if weather permits)

Purpose:
Development of large muscle control, dramatic play, sharing, group games, discovering natural environment, seeing things grow, caring for animals.

Materials:
Sand and box, trucks, shovels, pails, swing set, children's log cabin, garden for children to plant and harvest, pet rabbit, large fenced outdoor playground on 1.5 acres.

Outdoor play contributes to calm when learning fine motor skills and reading readiness indoors.

Indoor Group Activities: (if weather is inclement)

Purpose:
Development of large and small muscle control, reading readiness, mathematics skills, learning to make and taste simple foods, sharing, listening skills. 		Materials:
Flannel board, flannel board aids, educational cards, play dough, cooking utensils, record player, records, science projects.


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