Everyday living

The purpose of Everyday living activities is to help normalize the child. Normalization is a process, which eventually leads the child to a state of being comfortable with himself and his abilities. Order is very important, and most activities meet his goal by following certain steps for completion. The shelves, the works, the classroom and the teacher express order, as physical order brings about order within the child. Concentration develops as a child chooses what he will do and manipulates the work.

Coordination develops through using one’s body to complete the work. The sequence of Everyday living activities allows for the refinement of motor skills. Independence is also encouraged in this area. Activities are prepared that allow the child to do the work himself with success, leading to greater self-confidence, independence and a sense of order.

The preschool years are a period of rapid physical development and a time whereby much is assimilated through sensory activity. Children at this age have a great interest in manipulating objects, and through this manipulation they become aware of the characteristics of objects, for example; roughness, emptiness, size color, etc.

Sensory education prepares directly for the intellectual education perfecting the organs of sense and the nerve paths of projection and association. Indirectly, sensory education facilitates the adaptation of the individual to his/her environment.

Math

The objectives for the math curriculum include a sense of order, concentration, coordination, independence, predictability, exactness, concreteness, logic and reasoning, problem solving, decision-making, and the development of a mathematical mind.

There are six sub-areas of math in the classroom:

• numeration
• the base ten system
• linear counting
• the four operations
• materials leading to abstraction
• memorization

In the preschool classroom the first three areas are integrated in a variety of activities. Each area blends together to give the child a clearer understanding of mathematical concepts.

Language

The preschool years are a sensitive period for language. The child must develop good listening skills.

The child is given many opportunities to use and experiment with language in the classroom. In addition, many activities incorporate early reading and writing skills. The placement of materials on our rugs beginning at the top left of the rug introduces the child to left-to –right sequence used in reading. Sorting exercises help to refine the fine motor skills necessary to hold and write with a pencil. Sorting also helps the child differentiate between likenesses and differences- a skill necessary to the recognition of letters and words. Through the repetition and refinement of language skills, the child discovers the world of written language through the written and printed word.