"Prickley Floofs" (4-5 years) ~ Hedgehogs

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Nearing the graduation of preschool, these students are embarking on what it truly means to be a Rowdy Rascal. This class perfects their skills through reasoning, language skills, mathematics, expressive arts, design, imagination, understanding, movements, self-awareness, feelings, behaviors, and knowledge of the realm around them. They can sing, memorize, rhyme, recognize, discover, improve, and set goals independently. While still learning to express their feelings appropriately, our teachers are readily available to support and encourage the children as they continue to build on these important lifelong skills. The kids are coming of age where naps are gradually fading out, and they learn to adapt to a new, more structured classroom environment as they prepare for kindergarten. Assessments and testing, unfortunately, have become more and more necessary to regulate the children for their upcoming transition into a new school. These Rascals have a higher sense of responsibility and are given tasks to complete with a deadline. They do worksheets and are sent home with homework once a week to ready them for their upcoming tasks when they arrive at grade school. Writing their names has become a regular, as well as sight words and other nonsense words they are learning to sound out when speaking and spelling. By now, these unbelievable Rascals can start to put their learnings to the test and can even take turns running circle time, leading their friends to success. Through the years, they have learned in circle time alone, every day, how to begin by taking attendance (there is a pocket chart with the child’s name and picture. This helps the child and their friends learn to recognize and spell their names). Next, we do the Pledge of Allegiance. Then, we start teaching the upper-case and lower-case alphabet in English and sign language. When teaching the alphabet, we work on phonics (letter sounds). This is key to successful reading habits. We then cover our letter and letter sound of the week. Then, we go over our sight words for the week. We move forward to teaching the days of the week and months of the year (each has a fun song). Next, we move to our daily calendar, where we learn the month, number of the month, day, day of the week, year, day’s weather, temperature, and what to wear for the weather/temperature. Afterward, the Rascals are excited to learn numbers 1-25 (written and numerical, also in sign language). We will count forwards and backward. We then count to the number of the day in several ways, followed by skip counting to 100 in several ways. Moving forward in math skills for the day, we recognize 2d shapes (in English and Spanish, 15 of them) and 3d shapes (also in English and Spanish, 15 as well), colors (in English, Spanish, and sign language. 12 basics for the younger students, more for the older students). We cover essential paper/coin money recognition and how many of these coins equals that coin. We will then include our weekly topic here, such as learning measurements and lengths, ordering by size, patterns, sharing and dividing, etc. For geography, we cover the fifty nifty United States (we teach each state and its location on the map. We even cover state capitals), the seven continents, and what animals come from them. Moving into some science, we teach about our galaxy and the planets in our solar system. We go over body parts, bones, muscles, and even systems. Depending on the theme for the month or the topics for the week, we include those as well. This can include life cycles, cause and effect, engineering, the five senses, etc. Now, we move into our feelings chart. Making a circle, we allow each student to retrieve their attendance stick and place it into our feelings pocket chart. We go over each child’s feelings, why they feel that way, and if needed, how we can help them feel better. Once everyone has had the chance to share their feelings, we cover them for the month in social-emotional skills (kindness, goals, being friendly, etc.). We usually have reading time and will choose a book and do a little role-play with the class to help them better understand the topic if needed. We then move on to the literacy focus. Here we cover weekly topics (predictions, parts of a book, rhymes, opposites, etc.). We will read a second book sometimes, get out flashcards, play a game, or do a puzzle. There are many ways we teach these topics, and when a student volunteers to lead the class, they help choose teaching methods to implement understanding. 

After circle time, we move into creative mode and begin learning life skills. Throughout the year, we continue to follow topics. Still, we will include teaching chores, cooking skills, baking skills, science experiments, art classes with more mediums than you can remember from your school days, writing, reading, and technology classes. We will teach the children to garden with a greenhouse and seeds. Utilizing two gardens, the children learn the difference between growing flowers for our butterfly garden and plants and the other for our second garden containing herbs, fruits, and vegetables. We utilize our butterfly garden yearly to raise monarchs, mealworms, and more. The class can choose what insect they want to raise and release. By the end of the year, we are fully confident our Rowdy Rascals will continue to utilize the skills they have learned from us to continue their path in the future.