1. Welcome Kids & Company Pre-K Parent Night
Kids and Company Prek

2. Tonight’s Agenda
We would like to show you what to expect throughout your child’s school year here at Kids & Company Pre-K.
Give you an opportunity to ask questions about your child’s daily schedule.
Ways you can help your child too.

3. Class Schedule
You should have received a copy of your child’s schedule at the beginning of the school year. If not, your teacher will be glad to give you a copy. Here is a typical day.

4. What are?
Small groups-the class is broken down into four to five small groups so that individualized attention can be given to students.
Large groups-whole class participates in an activity centered around a theme with a pre-reading, math, and/or language component within the activity.
Centers – structured play in designated areas such as home living, construction, writing center, art center, math center, science center, reading center, and listening center.

5. How do we determine what we teach your child?
GELDS = Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards
Gelds are based on a continuum of skills, behaviors, and concepts that children develop during this stage of their lives.
The GELDS are aligned with the Head Start Child Outcome Framework, Georgia Standards of Excellence for K-12, and the Bright from the Start Work Sampling System.
GELDS are taught through research based early learning standards which include five domains.
The Standards are found within the domains that we teach. For example: CLL1.4b Listen and follow multi-step directions.

6. Gelds are broken down into 5 domains:
Physical Development and Motor Skills
Social and Emotional Development
Approaches to Play and Learning
Communication, Language and Literacy
Cognitive and General Development
We are guided by the Gelds- Georgia’s early language and development standards. Which are the standards we teach Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (Bright from the Start) is responsible for meeting the early education needs of Georgia's children and their families.
There are 5 sets of standards under the GELDs domains:
Physical Development and Motor Skills
Social and Emotional Development
Approaches to Play and Learning
Communication, Language and Literacy
Cognitive and General development

7. Domain 1: Physical Development & Motor Skills
Health and well being
Use of Senses
Motor skills
Health and well being – We teach your children about healthy foods and snacks. We act out healthy living in the home living center along with themes we teach throughout the year to promote well being. Ex: include learning about community helpers and how important they are to us and our community.
We discuss good hygiene and occasionally we have guest speakers come in to talk to our students.
Use of Senses – We teach through our senses using scented play dough for example. Recently we peeled apples and made amazing applesauce for everyone to share.
Our centers use visual as well as tactile learning opportunities. Ex: the sensory table allows students to feel sand, water, paper, and other materials as well as use pouring and measure opportunities at the sensory table.
We have magnifying glasses, kaleidoscopes to watch objects.
Fine Motor – we help develop hand and finger strength. Ex: include putting beads on a rope, pullin the caps off markers and putting them back on tightly. Using paintbrushes, crayons, markers, and pencils.
Gross motor skills_ Ex: Riding trikes and using stilts during outside time as well as running and playing on the playground. And playing with the classroom musical instruments during music and movement time.

8. Domain 2: Social and Emotional Development
Developing a sense of self
Self-regulation
Developing a sense of self with others
Developing a sense of self – thru interactions with others. Ex: exchanging ideas at the Art Center and adapting to playground games.
Self regulation or self direction – When a person is intentional about controlling one’s impulses, both to stop doing something if needed and to start doing something if needed. Students learn to recognize their own feelings and those of others. And we work with this each day by differentiating instruction as needed for each student during small group instruction and helping students find what they enjoy doing during center time. Home living, science center, math center, art center, writing center , reading center, block center.
By developing a sense of self with others students learn to recognize their own feelings and those of others.
Playing with whoever is in the dramatic play center rather than only playing with special friends, helping set the table for lunch and breakfast, communicating with another student while building a structure in the blocks center.

9. Domain 3: Approaches to Play and Learning
Initiative and exploration
Attentiveness and Persistence
Play
We here at Kids and Co try to keep it fun for your child. Learning can be fun. We play small group games and large group games that make learning fun, such as ABC bingo, folder games, circle songs and games as well as dramatic role playing. We even incorporate learning during dance and movement.
We encourage your child to be persistent when trying to figure something out and not to give up too easily.

10. Domain 4: Communication, Language, and Literacy
Receptive Language
Expressive Language
Early Reading
Early Writing
Receptive language is basically listening. We use Zoo phonics is a playful and creative way for young children to learn their letter sounds and letters. It incorporates all learning modalities whether your child is a kinesthetic, auditory, visual, or verbal learner. Also your child’s listening skills are being strengthened as we sing songs and chants during story time and transition times. Also during small group instruction while listening to their teacher read a book or give instructions. Ex: listening to recorded stories and showing understanding thru body language or pointing to appropriate pictures when asked to point to the correct picture of the…..
Following 2-3 step directions.
Repeating an instruction to a friend.
Remembering simple, multistep instructions about getting ready for outdoor time. Ex. Go to the restroom, wash your hands, get your jacket and line up please.
Expressive language –
accurately delivering a message from home to the teacher.
Communicating to others so that they can understand.
Early reading or emergent reading is the.
The ability to hear and recognize sounds, syllables and words on a written page which is called phonological awareness. They also learn to combine words to make a compound word and then take away one of the words to make one word. Clapping out the sounds in their names helps children understand syllables.
Early Writing - We use interactive writing where we will start writing a story on chart paper and the kids will tell me how they want the story to end. Then we will have individual students come up to the chart and circle certain letters in the story. We will discuss where capital letters are in the sentence and punctuation.
The writing centers in our classrooms are setup for 1-2 students to use at a time during centers to write letters, notes, make books, and look at class books and the class picture directory.

11. Domain 5: Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Includes:
MATH
Number and Quantity
Measurement and Comparison
Geometry and Spatial Thinking
Mathematical Reasoning

12. Cognitive Development and General Knowledge
Social Studies
Family
People and Community
History and Events

13. Cognitive Development and General Knowledge
Science
Scientific skills and methods
Earth and Space
Living Creatures
Physical Science

14. Cognitive Development and General Knowledge
Science
Interaction with environment

15. Cognitive Development and General Knowledge
Creative Development Strands
Creative Movement and Dance
Visual Arts
Music
Drama

16. Cognitive Development and General Knowledge
Cognitive Processes
Thinking skills
Problem Solving

17. Incorporation of Technology in the classroom
We incorporate technology throughout our day in small group, large group, and independent work.
Your child has access to an iPad and interactive Recordex panel board.
We use applications and games in order to teach your child through technology.

18. We assess your child throughout the year in a variety of ways.
Progress Monitoring
We assess your child throughout the year in a variety of ways.
-Informal assessments: We use assessment data to develop learning goals for students, to differentiate instruction for students, and to document learning.
-PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening): PALS is a way for us to monitor your child’s progress in letter and sound identification, phonological awareness skills, and concepts about print.

19. More on Progress Monitoring
We also gather data using a portfolio based system. -We collect notes through observation, matrices, photos, and work samples in order to determine your child’s understanding of specific standards and domains.

20. How is my child doing?
Your child’s teacher will meet with you twice during the school year. Expect a conference around November/December and April/May.
Communication will come in the form of newsletters, s, and phone reminders.
Check your teacher’s website for reminders and information.
At any time, you may your teacher and ask for a conference or find out how your child is doing.
We would love for you to visit during lunch, free centers, or to read to the class! Please your teacher to schedule a time.

21. Attendance reminders
Attendance is vital in early education for school success.
3 tardies or early checkouts without an excuse will count as 1 unexcused absence.
Parents are only allowed to write 4 excuses for child absences per semester.
Please note: Out of district students attendance can affect admission to CPS.

22. How can I help at home? Read to your child nightly Play board games
Educational websites or APPS
Check out newsletters and website and talk about what is going on in school.
Visit the Library
Talk to your child everywhere you go and ask questions.
“What do you think you do with this?”
“Do you know what section of the grocery store the milk is in?”

23. Educational Apps or online games to use at home
Abcya.com
Epic.com
Starfall.com
Shepardsoftware.com

24. Thank you!
We value our time with your child everyday. Thank you for coming tonight. We hope you have a better understanding of your child’s day at Cartersville Kids and Company Pre-K.