At Bright Beginnings, we want to provide your child with all the necessary skills for children to transition from preschool to Kindergarten successfully. It is essential that what we provide is appropriate for each child’s age, development level, and particular needs. Our learning environment helps promote participation, engagement, and learning for all children. We also ensure that our school environment fosters all development areas, including the intellectual, language, physical, and social/emotional aspects. Our Kindergarten-readiness program provides the challenge for children to learn according to their individual growth patterns.
As childhood educators, we believe that children learn best when they learn at their own pace. The learning material we incorporate allows children to interact and cooperate as they engage in cooperative, hands-on learning concerning daily life experiences. In implementing our activities, we follow a balance of teacher-directed and child-initiated facets. Hence, we often give our children the freedom to choose various activities to perform and achieve.
Parents can expect their children to learn about the following academic concepts once they decide to enroll with us:
My Kindergarten Readiness Program
I provide a curriculum that builds upon what children already know and are able to connect new concepts and skills.
I provide themes of interest that integrate and teach across all areas of the core curriculum (e.g., foreign languages, language arts including reading, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, etc.).
I provide a literacy-rich environment arranged in all areas. Each child will have a variety of activities to choose from on their own each day.
I provide exposure to a wide variety of information and literacy experiences.
I provide a safe environment designed for the developmental needs of various age groups, served and implemented with attention to the requirements and differences of the individual children.
I provide an active climate in which children interact with each other and materials while engaging in cooperative, hands-on learning with day-to-day life experiences.
I provide a balance of classroom activities that are teacher-directed and child-initiated. These activities may be active or quiet, performed individually or in large and small groups.
I provide an environment that is sensitive to cultural, language, and learning differences among all children.
During their early years at Bright Beginnings, children will explore the below concepts but are not required to master them before entering Kindergarten. Children learn these concepts at their own pace. The list below is not complete, but a short version of the Kindergarten readiness program we provide once your child enrolls. If 2 or 3 years of age, each child will still be exposed to many of these concepts while participating in them at their own level. By the time your child reaches four years old and has been exposed to these concepts early on, the concepts below will be easier to master.
Math
- Numerals: 1-100
- Counting objects to 31
- One-to-one correspondence of objects
- Sorting by various attributes: colors, shapes, and sizes
- Patterns: AB, AABB, ABC
- Sizes: small, medium, large
- Shapes: square, rectangle, circle, triangle, diamond, hexagon, pentagon, crescent, oval, pyramid, etc.
- Matching: symbols, shapes, patterns, etc.
- Similarities and Differences
- More, Less, or Same
- Light and Heavy
- Tall and Short
- Money: quarter, dime, penny, and nickel
- Time: Day and Night
Literacy
- Alphabet exposure: learning to recognize all the letters, print upper and lower case
- Recognize, spell, and write one’s first and last name
- Hold a pencil, marker, colored pencil, and crayon correctly
- Retell familiar stories
- Draw pictures and dictate sentences about stories and experiences
- Answer questions about stories
- Repeat simple nursery rhymes and fingerplays
- Concepts of print: left-to-right direction, holding a book right-side-up
- Build new vocabulary
- Build listening skills
- Strengthen visual discrimination
- Sequencing
- Develop fine motor skills: playdough, scissors, writing utensils, Legos, etc.
Science
- Explore science tools: magnets, prisms, magnifying glasses, etc.
- Experience the world through nature walks, gardening, and other explorations
- Observe insect life
- Observe plant growth
- Observe weather and plant life during each season
- Measure and mix ingredients in cooking activities
- Identify primary colors and explore color mixing
- Make observational drawings and dictation
- Explores the world with the five senses
- Investigate animals, their homes, and the food they eat
Creative Arts
- Explore a variety of art processes: painting, drawing, sculpture, weaving, collage, etc.
- Use various art materials: crayons, tempera paint, watercolor paint, colored pencils, markers, art chalk, clay, pastels, etc.
- Experiment with mixing paint colors
- Sing traditional songs and songs that enhance the curriculum
- Participate in movement songs and dances
- Use scarves, rhythm sticks, ribbons, and bean bags to practice rhythms
- Use a variety of children’s instruments
- Participate in dramatic play
- Dramatize familiar stories
- Act out the movements and sounds of animals
Social Skills
- Practice problem-solving skills in social situations
- Work in groups or with a partner on a variety of projects
- Share classroom materials with the group
- Practice using manners: saying please, thank you, and excuse me, and following table manners
- Communicate their needs
- Attend to their own basic needs: cleaning up, fastening clothing, using tissue as needed, toileting on their own, etc.
- State personal information: first and last name, age, city, state, country, school name
- Explore the type of work and workers
- Explore modes of transportation
During the Summer Months
Children can explore technology using our computers. They can:
- Use computer programs to create picture stories
- Use a computer mouse: click, click and drag
Progress Reports
Bright Beginnings will give a detailed progress report upon graduation as an added support for our children. This report can be handed out to your child’s Kindergarten teacher before or when school officially begins in September. Each teacher will appreciate this information since this will give them an idea about your child’s preschool background and accomplishments before entering Kindergarten.
Not all parents realize the difference a preschool can make in their child’s readiness for Kindergarten. If you know someone who is seeking the aid of preschool programs to improve their child’s skills, refer them to us via our online, Please call us at 541-757-9884 or e-mail me at teacherpatty47@hotmail.com. We offer exciting incentives for parents whose referrals end up as permanent enrollees. Don’t miss out on your chance today.
Graduation Rites
Bright Beginnings Preschool will provide a special graduation ceremony, complete with a cap, gown, and luncheon with fellow graduates and parents. We ensure that our graduates will feel special and appreciated on that day. Graduates will work together or individually to demonstrate what they have learned throughout their years with us. Check out the photo album for a special peek of our graduation day. We only have four graduates in some years, while other years have up to 10 or 12 kids graduating simultaneously. However many the graduates may be, the numbers don’t change how all of them are headed towards the exciting and promising school life they deserve. If you wish to learn valuable information about the Pre-K standards, you may read about this topic by visiting our Pre-K Standards page.