Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-K 3 - 3 classes at A.P. Morris & 1 class at Little Bears (provider site)
Pre-K 4 - 10 classes at A.P. Morris. 2 of these classes are inclusive for students with special needs.
The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is an award-winning curriculum for preschool success. Comprising The Foundation, five research-based volumes that provide the knowledge base of the curriculum, and the Daily Resources, which offer step-by-step guidance in the form of Teaching Guides and additional daily teaching tools, The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is fully aligned with The New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning standards.
Using exploration and discovery as a way of learning, The Creative Curriculum for Preschool enables children to develop confidence, creativity, and lifelong critical thinking skills.
The Creative Curriculum for Preschool...
- is based on decades of sound research
- is based on 38 objectives for development and learning, which are fully aligned with state standards.
- presents knowledge-building volumes and daily practice resources in tandem, giving every educator the “what,” “why” and “how” of early childhood education.
- offers daily opportunities to individualize instruction, helping teachers meet the needs of every type of learner.
- addresses all the important areas of learning, from social-emotional and math to technology and the arts, and incorporates them throughout every part of every day.
- offers daily, built-in opportunities for observation, helping teachers and administrators clearly see the strong relationship between curriculum and assessment.
- offers complete support for working with English- and dual-language learners, including detailed guidance that helps to build teachers’ knowledge about best practices.
- contains guidance for working with all learners, including advanced learners and children with disabilities.
We believe that all students can learn and be proud of their accomplishments. We strive to increase knowledge in all areas of development: Cognition, Communication, Social/Emotional, Motor, and Adaptive. We strongly believe that all our students can come together and develop a strong sense of community within our classroom and positive behavior supports for all students are essential.
We also believe that our program is only as strong as our family’s involvement and encourage participation in all aspects of our classroom from volunteering within the classroom (perhaps, reading a book), to preparing classroom materials (cutting supplies), to assisting with a class field trip or party. Whatever your participation level - we want you to be involved!
In our classrooms, we have seven main interest areas from which learning emerges. Through these areas, we support and build each child’s love of exploration, experiences, and knowledge.
During center time, children:
- Build language and literacy skills through sounds and words, books and stories, and writing.
- Discover mathematical relationships through number and size, patterns, objects, and shapes.
- Learn through play experiences by imitating and pretending, build imagination, engage in social interactions, and children gain a better understanding of daily routines and events.
- Connect with music and movement, which transforms moods and motivates children to move their bodies.
- Create art by using different materials and explore how to use materials, according to their interests.
- Explore sand, water and various science concepts. These explorations lead to discoveries, develops fine motor skills and promotes pretend play as children create things like sand castles and magnet towers.
We encourage children to observe, take things apart, build and see what they can find out. The more active children are in their work, the more they learn and remember. As children play, we watch how they use materials. We listen. We talk with them to find out what they are thinking and trying to do. We observe what they do and take note. Through those notes, we can plan activities that interest them but still teach skill building within the four stages.
SCREENING
The Easy Screening Inventory Third Edition (ESI™-3) is a screening instrument given to each student individually by their classroom teacher after several weeks into the school year. The screening provides an overview of a child’s development in three major areas: visual-motor/adaptive, language and cognition and gross motor. The screening takes approximately 15 - 20 minutes to complete. Based on this state-approved screener students may score as follows:
- OK - The child is developing at expected targets.
- Rescreen - The child should be screened again in 8 to 10 weeks to determine if further action is needed.
- Refer- Children may be at risk for delay/disability. A referral to the Preschool Intervention & Referral Team (PIRT) for an in-depth assessment is warranted.
ASSESSMENT
To support student development we utilize GOLD® from Teaching Strategies. This assessment tool is grounded in 38 research-based objectives for development and learning. It allows teachers and families to see what their children know, what they are able to do, and to then plan targeted learning experiences. The GOLD® tool allows staff to record observations and provide comprehensive reports to families to on their progress. Progress reports will be sent home each trimester as the report card for preschool 3 & 4 students.
GOLD® Website - https://teachingstrategies.com/solutions/assess/gold/
GOLD® Objectives - https://teachingstrategies.com/our-approach/our-38-objectives/
GROW NJ Kids:
Grow NJ Kids is New Jersey’s Quality Rating Improvement System for child care and early learning centers throughout the state of New Jersey. For families it provides information on selecting quality care and ratings. As part of our participation in this program the staff at A.P. Morris Early Childhood Center is provided opportunities to participate in various trainings. We also use a rubric provided to self-assess our program and develop a Quality Improvement Plan to continually improve the services provided. We are working towards receiving an official rating from The NJ Center for Quality Ratings at William Paterson. Ratings are based on “STAR” levels of 3, 4 or 5.
Self-Assessment and rating are based on the following categories:
Category 1: Safe, Health Learning Environment
Category 2: Curriculum and Learning Environment
Category 3: Family and Community Engagement
Category 4: Workforce/Professional Development
Category 5: Administration and Management
Grow NJ Kids Website: http://www.grownjkids.gov
