Preschool Program

Ages: 33 months to the year before kindergarten

Preschoolers at Jack and Jill Childcare enjoy a curriculum that promotes physical and cognitive development through play and exploration.

Preschoolers are divided into three and four-year-old groups based on the traditional school calendar. Within each classroom, preschoolers are further divided into smaller learning groups for small group activities.

  • Teacher-child ratio: 1:10
  • Maximum group size: 20
  • Small group sizes to better meet the individual needs of the child.
  • Teachers dedicated to the development of trust, security and emotional growth through prompt, nurturing and responsive care
  • A curriculum designed to foster learning through stimulating sights, sounds and physical exploration.
  • Daily reading to all children
  • Daily walks inside or outside (weather permitting)
  • Daily visits to the playground (weather permitting) or visits to indoor large muscle room
  • Detailed individualized reports on each child’s activities provided daily
  • Potty training efforts at child’s own pace
  • Sign language exposure
  • Spanish exposure
  • Bi-annual parent-teacher conferences (additional conference available upon request)
  • Open door policy for parents

Preschool Program Objectives

Learning and creativity are incorporated into free and structured activities during a preschooler’s day. A kindergarten-readiness based curriculum continues to strengthen academic skills while small and large group activities promote the development of social skills.

Physical Development Objectives

  • Balances easily on one foot
  • Can gallop
  • Hops forward on 1 foot
  • Works a ten piece puzzle
  • Cuts along line with scissors
  • Copies a few letters with some accuracy
  • Can lace shoes
  • Draws with purpose and design
  • Manipulates small pieces to make designs

Social/Emotional Development Objectives

  • Enjoys a cooperative group play
  • Engages in “role playing” frequently
  • Enthusiastic, adventurous and eager to please
  • Specialized interests
  • High level of imagination
  • Polite, outgoing, and sometimes boastful
  • Developing jealousy of other children
  • Needs an outlet for aggressive behaviors
  • Begins to exclude specific children from games (varies daily)

Communication/Language Development Objectives

  • Begins to negotiate with peers
  • Uses name calling to feel powerful
  • Most of language is now directed to other children
  • Maintains 20-30 minute conversation
  • Tells “secrets” to friends
  • Enjoys stories with blanks they get to fill in
  • Language becomes exaggerated
  • Vocabulary increasing dramatically

Intellectual Development Objectives

  • Growing interest in letters and numbers
  • Enjoys complex and smaller picture books
  • Able to draw a picture and tell a story about it
  • Likes hearing a story told and imagining it
  • Classifies objects with two or three criteria
  • Enjoys lotto games, matching and sorting
  • Understands simple science and math concepts
  • Developing a conscience
  • Beginning to use “Yesterday” and “Tomorrow” in conversation