We view our classroom environment as a “third teacher” that provides a wealth of learning opportunities. Our classrooms are fun, stimulating, exciting, nurturing and safe, and they are carefully and thoughtfully  designed to be inviting and encourage creative thinking and expression. Materials in the classroom inspire children to be researchers and thinkers who are rich with wonder and question the world around them. You won’t see plastic, noisy toys,  that tell children what to do or how to think, you will find natural materials and loose parts that encourage resilience, self-confidence, teamwork, problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking. You will find that the “decor” and materials on the walls are focused on student creation rather than premade charts and posters. When children have a role in creating art and displaying learning that is meaningful to them on the walls of their classroom, confidence, self-awareness, and ownership are developed. 

Our 2K program focus is language, cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development for each child. We are helping to build the foundation for our youngest All Saints’ Crusaders to be confident, happy, and excited to be life-long learners! 

Children develop and grow throughout 2K as they learn and practice self-care and life skills, movement (gross and fine motor), and language skills. Teachers encourage and celebrate each child’s curiosity, exploration, and discovery.  Special projects are designed around the child’s interests. The 2K curriculum is embedded in centers in the classroom that include: light table, sand station, reading nook, kitchen, building, solving puzzles that are intentionally set-up for children to accomplish goals at his or her own pace and master skills through play. 

Daily Activities Include:

• Fine and Gross Motor
• Language and Literacy
• Social and Emotional
• Sensory
• Music and Art
• Math
• Inquiry-Based Projects (Science/Discovery) 
• Independence (Self-Care) 

Children do best with a consistent, predictable schedule. The routine provides a sense of security. Daily activities include circle time, special classes (Art, Spanish, PE), snack, outdoor exploration, morning rotation: small group/independent work and centers, discovery project time, and outdoor playground time. 

7:30-8:10 Arrival/Table Discovery 

8:10-8:20 Circle Time/Stories, Songs, Finger Plays

8:20-8:50 Learning Rotation I (centers, small group, independent work) 

8:55-9:15 Specials 

9:15-9:30 Snack/bathroom 

9:30-10:00 Outdoor Play (Recess)

10:00-10:20 Music/Movement

10:20-11:00 Learning Rotation II/Special Projects 

11:00-11:25 Outdoor Exploration 

11:25-11:45 Lunch

11:45-12:00 Dismissal for ½ day children 

12-2:30 Rest time/Quiet activities 

2:30-2:45 Transition to Aftercare

During learning rotations, children move through a variety of centers, such as exploring the sensory center, painting a picture at the easel in the art center, building with blocks, looking through books in the Book Nook, exploring and sorting objects at the light table in the science center, completing a large floor puzzle, cooperative play in the dramatic play center, working independently on a skill, or working with a teacher on a fine-motor skill lesson. Materials in centers are changed regularly in response to children’s need for variety and challenge as they grow and learn. 

•  Sensory Center: Children explore the world with all of the senses and develop fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities through sensory activities. Engaging games and activities help children hone his/her fine and gross motor skills through play and exploration. Sensorial materials are placed in the sensory center and are designed to help children learn about qualities like color, size, shape, length, texture, and sound. Sensorial activities assist children in refining this skill and becoming good observers of the world.
• Art Center: The 2K classroom includes an ever-changing selection of art and creative activities for children. Fine motor practice, color work, and imagination all come into play in the art area. Design, collage and glue, cutting with scissors, hole punching, markers, crayons, paint and playdough are all part of the art section of the room. These activities are introduced with a special emphasis on using and seeing the beauty in natural materials. The process, not the end product is at the heart of our art center.
• Block Center: Block building can change the way children think. Building projects stimulate creativity, and sharpen crucial skills. The block center is designed to encourage and enhance problem solving, motor skills and hand-eye coordination, spatial skills, a capacity for creative thinking, social skills, and language skills. Through block building, children can integrate their own constructions into pretend play scenarios-and complex block-lay is linked with advanced math skills later in life! 
• Math/Science Center: The Math/Science Center houses puzzles and the light table which is used for exploration discovery, and to enhance literacy and math skills. Children are naturally drawn to the gentle glow of the light table and tend to stay there for long periods of time, which is great for stretching their budding attention spans. The Math/Science center also has concrete materials that are used to introduce mathematical concepts such as counting, matching, sorting and other skills to begin building a foundation. 
• Book Nook Center: The Book Nook is enticing to children to just pick up a book and “read” and to look at pictures and begin to tell stories through their own eyes. This literacy exposure begins to foster a love for books and reading. 
• Dramatic Play Center: The dramatic play center is an essential part of the preschool classroom. Dramatic play helps children explore different roles and situations as children play with items and tools adults use in everyday life. Dramatic play allows for children to express themselves and use creativity. It also includes symbolic thinking and encourages cooperation among children. In the dramatic play center, children will often act out behaviors and actions they see in real life (such as shopping at the grocery store) as well as make-believe situations (such as a princess in a castle).

Students participate in special classes including Children's Bible class, PE, art, Spanish and Library one-two times each week.