Dear Families,
Welcome to our bi-weekly preschool newsletter!
At Coronado Preschool, we believe that every child is a natural-born explorer. Our classroom is a place where curiosity is celebrated, every child’s unique identity is honored, and a strong sense of belonging lays the foundation for all learning.
We are delighted to share that our program implements The Creative Curriculum for Preschool. The curriculum is designed to build each child’s confidence, creativity, and critical thinking skills through hands-on, project-based learning and focused, daily opportunities to build essential foundational skills in literacy and math.
Here are a few of the things that make The Creative Curriculum the right choice for children, teachers, and families:
- Build classroom community: First and foremost, we want everyone at our school to feel safe, happy, valued, and included.
- Develop children’s important skills through play: The curriculum is designed to build each child’s reading and math skills, while also helping children discover that learning is empowering and school is fun.
- Guide interesting, long-term project learning: The curriculum helps us dive deeply into science and social studies concepts through hands-on “studies” of interesting topics, using everyday materials in ways that maximize children’s natural curiosity and eagerness to grow.
- Pay attention to each child’s strengths, needs, and interests: The curriculum’s daily resources help us make sure each child is gently challenged but not frustrated.
- Offer many ways for families to be involved: We want every child’s family to be our partners in guiding children’s development and learning and building a solid foundation for future success in school and in life.
- Celebrate children’s learning: Together, we will honor the excitement of learning and the joy of growing up.
What to Expect: Creative Curriculum Studies
Rather than traditional brief themes, our learning is structured around in-depth “Studies” that typically last 4 to 6 weeks. These long-term investigations allow children to explore real-world topics deeply, test ideas, make predictions, and integrate math, science, art, and literacy into every activity.
How a Study Unit Works:
- Exploring & Asking Questions: We begin by tapping into what children already know and discovering what they are curious about.
- Hands-On Investigation: Children experiment with physical objects, interview classroom “experts” (or family visitors), gather data, and record observations through drawings, charts, and emergent writing.
- Celebrating & Sharing: At the end of a study, children compile their work to share their discoveries with their classmates and families.
Units We Explore Throughout the Year:
- Beginning of the Year: Building routines, creating class rules, and establishing a safe, welcoming community where every child belongs.
- Balls, Motion & Forces: Investigating how different objects roll, bounce, slide, and move, weaving physical science concepts directly into play.
- Trees & Nature: Investigating the parts of trees, animals that live in them, and how nature changes across seasons.
- Clothes: Investigating different fabrics, fasteners (buttons, zippers, snaps), patterns, how clothing is made and cared for, and how weather or special jobs determine what people wear.
- Buildings & Construction: Exploring building materials, architectural shapes, tools, and the roles of people in our community who build.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Learning how trash is managed, exploring ways to reuse everyday items creatively, and caring for our environment.
- Water: Discovering the properties of liquid, absorption, floating versus sinking, where water comes from, and how living things use water every day.
- Exercise: Exploring how our bodies move, keep healthy, and stay strong through games, balance, heart rate tracking, and physical activity.
Additional Key Programs in Our Classroom
In addition to The Creative Curriculum, we integrate two specialized programs into our daily routines to nurture social-emotional growth and foundational literacy:
Second Step Social-Emotional Learning
- What it is: A research-based program designed to nurture social skills, emotional management, and self-confidence.
- Key Focus: Through weekly interactive lessons, puppets, and role-play, children learn listening skills, empathy, emotion management (such as calming down strong feelings), and problem-solving strategies with peers.
Heggerty Phonemic Awareness
- What it is: A fast-paced, spoken-word curriculum that builds early reading readiness.
- Key Focus: In 8 to 10 minutes of daily oral games, children practice recognizing and manipulating sounds in spoken language through rhyming, blending word parts, segmenting words, and isolating initial and final sounds.
We will continue to share important information with you about your child’s learning as the year progresses. We look forward to learning and growing together this year!
Sincerely,
Annie