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Curriculum |
Preschool Schedule |
Kindergarten Schedule
| Goals
Little Flower Preschool/Kindergarten is owned and
operated by Diane Geier.
Credentials and Qualifications: Bachelor's
Degree in Child Development; Master's Degree in
Elementary Education; California State Teaching
Credential; Cross-Cultural Language and Academic
Development Certificate; Licensed Family Day Care Home
Experience: Mrs.
Geier is an experienced teacher, having taught 1st and
2nd grades in the California public schools for 11
years. She has also taught chorus and religious
education. She leads a Vacation Bible School program for
over 300 children each year at her church. She is a
mother to 8 children, all of whom are excelling in
school. She was trained in a High Scope Preschool
program through her college years and worked in various
preschools, even training other teachers and setting up
the curriculum. She has run Little Flower Preschool in
her home since 2000.
 Little
Flower Preschool/Kindergarten curriculum: I
took what I saw as the best of the High Scope
philosophy, and combined it with what I found to be the
most successful methods for learning the basic skills
needed for entry into elementary schools. The result is
a unique curriculum that introduces children to many
essential learning skills and enables them to develop
those skills at their own pace, while actively exploring
the world around them and interacting with their
environment in a variety of ways.
All children learn in their own way, some by seeing,
some by hearing, some by doing, some by themselves, some
by interacting with others, some through music, etc. At
Little Flower Preschool/Kindergarten children are given
opportunities to learn in all of these ways. Throughout
the day, students are given opportunities for whole
group learning, individual learning, music and movement,
direct teaching, hands-on activities, discussion and
story telling.
Throughout the year the following themes and skills
are taught.
Preschool: numbers
to 20, all letters-capital and lower case, basic phonics
sounds-consonants and short vowels, sh, ch, th, shapes
(circle, square, triangle, rectangle, diamond, star,
heart, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, and trapezoid),
colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink,
tan, white, brown, and black), odd and even numbers,
blending and spelling basic short vowel words, writing
names, writing letters and numbers, name recognition,
some basic sight words, health, safety, nutrition,
animals, insects, spiders, plants, weather, seasons,
Bible themes, music-rhythm, keeping beats, various
instruments, balancing and coordination, art
techniques-painting with various tools and materials,
collage, stamps and stencils, playdough, etc.
Kindergarten: all
preschool concepts are reinforced and extended to
include numbers to 100, basic addition and subtraction,
telling time to the hour and half-hour, basic money
skills, 3 dimensional shapes (sphere, cylinder, cube,
and pyramid), rainbow spectrum, warm and cool colors,
long vowel sounds, blends (br, bl, cl, dr, fl, fr, gr,
gl, pl, pr, qu, sc, sl, sp, st, str, sw, tr), special
vowel sounds (oo, ou, ow, ar, er, ir, or, ur, oi, oy,
printing skills, 100-150 basic sight words, reading
comprehension skills, and oral language/speaking skills.
Daily Schedule: Preschool
Preschool is offered on a 2-day (Tues/Thurs), or a 3-day
basis (Mon/Wed/Fri), preschoolers are welcome to enroll
for 5 days but will experience repetition of some
activities.
 The program begins at 9:00 AM. As the children arrive
they are invited to explore a selection of puzzles,
books, manipulatives and building materials while they
wait for others to arrive. At 9:15 we clean up the
materials and gather together for morning prayer, Bible
story and song. Then we observe what the weather is like
for the day and we record that on our weather board. We
sing our days of the week song in English and Spanish
and identify the current day of the week, we recall the
current month and may sing our months of the year song
as well. We count the days of the month to find out what
today's date is and the students search for the correct
number to put on the calendar. We take some time to
explore the number patterns we find on our calendar. At
9:30 we discuss our theme of the week and the children
hear about what they will be learning/doing that day. We
read a theme related story and we allow the children to
show and tell about anything they may have brought for
sharing. At 9:45 we move into a larger room for music
and movement activities. During this time we also do our
Zoophonics songs and activities. Children learn all of
the basic phonics sounds right from the start and learn
the individual letter names one at a time throughout the
year. We sing/chant the letter sounds to music each day
and play games that help them associate the sound with
the correct letter. At 10:00 we go outside for play time
with sand/water toys, balls, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk,
easel painting, a climbing structure, bikes, scooters,
and occasional parachute play. At 10:20 we come inside,
wash hands, and have a healthy snack. By 10:40 we begin
a theme related activity, and we do a cutting, coloring
and/or writing activity to reinforce our letter, number
and shape of the week. At 11:15 the children are able to
choose what materials they would like to use for "work
time" that day. They may verbalize or write/draw a plan
to show what they would like to do during that time.
They can choose from a variety of puzzles, blocks,
building materials, books, electronic learning games, or
computers. By 11:45 we clean up and wrap up our day by
recalling what we have learned and done that day and we
end with a story as we wait for parents to pick up the
children. The program ends at 12:00 Noon.
Daily Schedule: Kindergarten
The Kindergarten program is a 5-day (Mon-Fri) program.
 The program begins at 9:00 AM. As the children arrive
they are invited to explore a selection of puzzles,
books, manipulatives and building materials while they
wait for others to arrive. At 9:15 we clean up the
materials and gather together for morning prayer, Bible
story and song. Then we observe what the weather is like
for the day and we record that on our weather board. We
sing our days of the week song in English and Spanish
and identify the current day of the week, we recall the
current month and may sing our months of the year song
as well. We count the days of the month to find out what
today's date is and the students search for the correct
number to put on the calendar. We take some time to
explore the number patterns we find on our calendar. At
9:30 the Kindergarteners will separate from the
preschoolers and do a theme related story and activity
until 10:00. This activity will be a whole group
activity to discuss and explore our learning theme of
the week, usually science or social science related.
Through these themes we will be exploring literature,
writing, reading, math concept development, and music.
At 10:00 we go outside for play time with sand/water
toys, balls, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, easel painting,
a climbing structure, bikes, scooters, and occasional
parachute play. At 10:20 we come inside, wash hands, and
have a healthy snack. By 10:40 the Kindergarteners will
individually explore learning centers which will
reinforce our themes, letters, numbers, math concepts,
following directions, and fine motor skills. There will
be about 10 centers each week for the students to work
their way through, Monday through Thursday. On Fridays,
we will do a cooking activity with the preschoolers
during this time. By 11:30 we will clean up our center
activities and come together to discuss our concepts as
a group, answering any questions that may have come up.
We will end our day with a story and music and movement
activities. The program ends by 12:00 Noon.
Goals for the Teachers:
1)To prepare students for entering elementary school. 2)
To help children learn about the Bible, God, and His
love for us. 3) To introduce children to spontaneous
prayer. 4) To provide a safe, caring, and comfortable
learning environment for all children. 5) To encourage
exploration and natural curiosity. 6) To provide a wide
range of developmentally appropriate materials and
activities to appeal to all styles of learning. 7) To
model appropriate social values and behavior. 8) To
allow children opportunities to explore, think, create,
and experiment.
Goals for the Children:
1) To interact appropriately with others. 2) To
participate in daily activities and prayers. 3) To
develop positive social and problem solving skills. 4)
To explore materials and ask questions freely, enhancing
cognitive development. 5) To choose developmentally
appropriate materials according to their interests and
curiosity. 6) To have fun learning!
Contact Little Flower Preschool/Kindergarten: (951)
371-7522-home, (951) 751-3194-cell,
little_flower_preschool@yahoo.com
*Interested, but not close enough to participate? Let
Little Flower Preschool come to you.
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