Welcome! Parent Information Night Hancock Preschool Elsie Niklason Jenny Vallera

Stay in touch with your teacher  Watch for s, newsletters, notes, and parent board  How to contact your child’s teacher: is the best way!! Please put the best time and number to reach you at for a return call.  Classroom phones go straight to voic Miss Elsie – Mrs. Vallera –

Classroom Rules Discipline Philosophy:  Be positive, catch them being good!  Distraction and redirection  Time-out  Special behavior plans if needed

Classroom Procedures  Arrival Park in front, enter through front office, make sure to have your lanyard or picture ID Sign in every day at the classroom! (Mrs. Vallera’s class ONLY) (First and Last name) Mrs. Vallera’s door will be open at 7:55am and 12:10pm. Ms. Elsie’s door will open at 8:10am and 12:10pm. Please remember to use the crosswalk

Classroom Procedures  Dismissal Sign out every day at the classroom! (Mrs. Vallera’s class ONLY) (First and Last name) Wait in the hallway until your child is dismissed. Park in front, enter through front office, make sure to have lanyard or picture ID, and exit out the side door. Remember the crosswalk

Classroom Procedures  If you are late, after 8:30 or 12:30, please get a pass from the office. Please be quiet in the hallway.  If you need to speak with the teacher, please wait until all students have been dismissed. Then we are able to give you our complete attention.  Thank you for being on time to school.

Classroom Procedures Attendance  Call if your child will be absent: and/or your teacher  Call Transportation if your child rides the bus: What to wear  Play clothes  Closed shoes

Illness  Please keep your child home if they are ill  Fever-free for 24 hours to return  Please be respectful of others, let’s keep our staff and kids healthy

Birthday Procedures  If you would like invitations passed out please give them to the teacher and she will pass them out.  Treats must be store bought Some suggestions: fruit, donuts, cookies, mini cupcakes, fruit snacks, etc. (NOTHING WITH NUTS!!!)  Please check with the teacher about special allergies

Volunteers  Volunteers are welcome in the classroom.  Please wait until September for more information from your teacher.

Community/Priority Preschool  Our DLM Early Childhood Express curriculum is designed to build a child’s healthy self- concept and positive attitude toward school and learning.  Children develop concrete skills through experiences with music, art, storytelling, and teacher-directed lessons that, in addition to skills development emphasize practice and reflection.

Kindercademy  Kindercademy is a child-centered program that nurtures each child by providing learning experiences that foster social, physical, emotional, cognitive, and language development in a caring and exciting environment. This program emphasizes teaching foundational skills that will help prepare your child for a successful transition into kindergarten. The Houghton Mifflin curriculum emphasizes reading readiness, language, writing, and math.

Fundations  The Fundations Pre-K Activity Set is designed to support students’ emerging understanding of the alphabetic principle of letter-sound associations, and written language skills with manuscript letter formation. Its purpose is to teach pre-k students the names of the letters and the corresponding sounds, as well as teach them the formation of lowercase and uppercase letters. Instruction is divided into two semesters. The focus during the first semester will be on teaching letter- sound correspondence in a whole-group setting. We will introduce and practice 2 letters per week. Second semester, letter-sounds are practiced and letter formations are introduced whole-group and students will practice writing the letters in small groups; lowercase letters will be practiced first.

Areas of development  Assessed by Teaching Strategies GOLD-check website for specific objectives we are assessing.  Assessment will be ongoing.  Data is collected with observations, pictures, and note taking. There is an app that we used on our phone or tablet to collect this data during class time.  Conferences will be held twice a year: August 31 st /September 1st and February 15 th and 16th(Mrs. Vallera’s classes ONLY)

CUSD Preschool Program Philosophy Our goal as early childhood educators is to provide a strong foundation that will help all children become lifelong learners. We believe that children learn through experience and discovery. Our goal is to prepare children to enter kindergarten with a healthy self-concept and a positive attitude toward school and learning. We accomplish this by offering developmentally appropriate curriculum designed to develop social, emotional, physical and cognitive abilities.

CUSD Philosophy Continued… We understand that every child is unique, so we organize our preschool program to allow children to initiate activities to grow from personal interest and intentions. Our preschool students learn through exploration with hands-on developmentally appropriate activities and materials. We facilitate active learning by providing resources, and planning experiences in an environment in which all children can learn.

Preschool Program Overview The curriculum is aligned to the Arizona Early Learning Standards, which have been developed for children 3-5 years of age. The standards help us to provide quality learning experiences and cover a wide range of skill development. Since every child is a unique individual and learns at his/her own readiness level, the standards allow each child to progress through each developmental skill as they become ready.

Arizona Early Learning Standards The standards support each child to learn through positive relationships with teachers and peers and to learn through child-initiated, child-directed and teacher supported play. The standards are categorized into 7 different skill areas.

Social- Emotional

Social Emotional Children develop self awareness by recognizing and expressing feelings, learning to positively interact and cooperate with others, being responsible and respectful for self and others by using self control, approaching learning with curiosity, creativity, confidence and by problem solving.

Cognitive

Children who have positive approaches to learning are more likely to succeed academically and to have more positive interactions with peers. Research has shown that high quality dramatic play is important for learning. The benefits of play include self-regulation, memory development, divergent thinking, problem solving, language development and academic skill development.

Language & Literacy

Language and Literacy Children develop oral language skills by speaking and listening. They develop pre- reading skills from the sounds and rhythms of spoken language, letter knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehending stories. They develop pre- writing skills by writing letters, words, and their name.

Physical – gross and fine motor

Physical Development, Health and Safety Children develop gross motor skills by doing vigorous activities inside and outside the classroom such as dancing, running, hopping, skipping and playing ball. Children develop fine motor skills inside and outside the classroom by drawing, painting, cutting, lacing, singing and writing. Children learn healthy habits and good hygiene. They also learn about safety and how to prevent injuries.

Mathematical Thinking

Mathematics Children develop math skills by learning numbers, counting, patterning, graphing, measuring, and by solving problems.

Social Studies

Children learn about their environment around them, such as home, school, their community, and they learn about different places and people and how those environments compare and contrast to their own.

Scientific Thinking

Science Children learn science skills by observing, asking questions, making predictions, experimenting, making conclusions and communicating answers to each other.

The Arts

Fine Arts Children use their imagination, creativity, and the five senses to create artwork, music and movement, and imaginary play. By doing this, children develop independence, self-esteem and self-expression.

When We Play With Toys and Games We Are…  Demonstrating self-direction and independence.  Learning cooperation.  Gaining self confidence in our abilities.  Refining small muscle skills.  Improving eye-hand coordination.  Expanding math skills such as: counting, ordering, matching, patterning, and classifying.  Developing reading skills such as: left to right progression, visual discrimination, and letter/sound recognition.

When We Do Dramatic Play We Are…  Practicing social skills.  Learning cooperation.  Developing small and large muscles.  Improving eye-hand coordination.  Using our imagination.  Play-acting roles and situations.  Communicating with others.  Sharing ideas and solving problems using language skills.

When We Are In The Library We Are…  Gaining a better understanding of the world around us and the people in it.  Learning to make connections between the story and the things we already know.  Sequencing events.  Recognizing that letters have meaning.  Exploring the sounds and rhythms of language.  Expanding our vocabulary  Learning the use and care of books.  Using our imagination.

When We Do Art We Are…  Expressing our originality and individuality.  Reflecting our thoughts and emotions.  Developing skills in planning and organizing.  Learning about cause and effect.  Exercising small muscle skills.  Enhancing eye-hand coordination.  Expanding our vocabulary.  Developing creativity.

When We Are Building With Blocks We Are…  Learning self-direction and independence.  Learning how to work together and respect each others viewpoints.  Exchanging ideas.  Developing small and large muscles.  Improving eye-hand coordination.  Learning about sizes, shapes, numbers, order, area, length, patterns, and weight.  Exploring cause and effect.  Using our imagination.

When We Are At The Sand And Water Table We Are…  Demonstrating self-direction and independence.  Cooperating with others.  Enhancing fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination.  Exploring, observing, and comparing.  Learning cause and effect.  Learning to ask and answer questions.  Expanding our vocabulary.

When We Are Discovering We Are…  Exploring and investigating the world around us.  Cooperating with others.  Learning to take care of living things.  Observing, predicting, and comparing.  Drawing conclusions.  Developing dexterity and eye-hand coordination.  Practicing motor skills.  Expanding our vocabulary.  Organizing and sharing our learning.

Activities You Can Do at Home  READ to your child at least once a day and have your child retell the story to you.  As you are driving in the car, shopping, or around your home, look for the letter of the week. Also, have your child try to read signs on the road or in the stores.  Practice counting with your child.  Practice colors and shapes with your child.

More Activities  Help your child practice writing his/her name.  Allow your child to do small, simple chores at home. It makes them feel important and gives them a sense of responsibility.  Have your child tell you about their day and what they have learned in school.

Remember, No child has ever been, or will ever be, deeply, personally invested in a worksheet. …that’s why we do hands on activities at preschool!

Forever Friends

Thank You for Coming!  Let’s make this a great year!  Questions and answers  Save specific questions for your child's teacher

Clipart  Cupcake clipart from Free Gifts & AnimationsFree Gifts & Animations  Other clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com  Photo of DLM ECE Express from  Photos: Priority Preschool 06-11