Programs

Pre-kindergarten (Five Year Old)

"On My
    Way"

To prepare your growing five-year-old for the rigors of elementary school, the On My Way curriculum is a literacy-based program of monthly units, further organized into weekly themes, which are explored throughout all subject areas and activity learning centers. School days are filled with fun, challenging activities designed to inspire children to create, move, and interact, while the teacher guides them to make discoveries for themselves. Skills and concepts learned in the Kiddie Academy^® classroom are reinforced and extended throughout the year.

In our community of personal achievement and progress, your child will learn confidence in the classroom and in the world.

Areas of Development

The On My Way curriculum focuses on your five-year-old child’s primary areas of development.

Communication and Language Development: Focusing on high-quality children’s literature, On My Way provides children with many opportunities to increase their language and communication skills. Their vocabulary and appreciation for the written word will grow as they read books such as The Colors of Us by Karen Katz or Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. All early literacy skills, including letter recognition, phonics, and comprehension will be addressed in developmentally appropriate ways.

Social and Emotional Development: On My Way is full of activities created to increase children’s independence, allowing them to become more confident in their abilities. Cooperation becomes a key focus during this year, as five-year-olds are developmentally ready to work together. Caring Kiddie Academy teachers will help ensure that your child is socially ready for elementary school.

Physical Skills: All gross motor skills are addressed in On My Way. Gross motor skills include throwing and catching a ball, hopping, demonstrating balance, jumping rope, and other exercise activities. Fine motor skills, which strengthen the smaller muscle groups, are also a focus of On My Way. Your child will enjoy improving fine motor skills through easel painting, making masks, and drawing with pastels. Five-year-olds will also have the opportunity to produce a class book on a monthly basis, giving them the chance to work on their writing and drawing skills, which are increasingly important as they prepare for elementary school.

Cognitive Development: Cognitive skills are the foundation of learning and knowledge. On My Way focuses on your five-year-old’s increasing understanding of information and concepts. Children will be encouraged to use their problem-solving skills when they encounter new tasks, such as creating artwork using clean, recycled materials. Your child will also be guided to try a task in different ways in order to find a solution.

Math and Science Skills Development: On My Way also focuses on math and science concepts, which are vital elementary school skills. Children will explore the concepts of time, money, and weight, as well as continue to practice classifying, counting, and placing items in a series. The teachers will provide many hands-on opportunities for the children to explore nature, water, animals, and other important science topics. Children will increase their science vocabulary as a Kiddie Academy teacher guides them through simple science experiments.

Character Education: At Kiddie Academy, we believe it is important to reinforce values introduced at home. Each month, a value, such as respect or generosity, is presented to your child through fun, daily activities, enabling him to better understand the society in which we live. For example, to promote generosity, children are encouraged to participate in community-based projects, such as pet food, toy, or clothing drives.