---

Curriculum - Lower School

Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4

Pre-K 3 -Social/Emotional

• Short attention span, but lengthening; easily distracted
• Joins and plays with other children
• Takes turns/shares with encouragement
• Helps with simple chores
• Shows sympathy/concern for others
• Shows enthusiasm for work/play
• Uses toys appropriately
• Prefers more challenging tasks
• Identifies with parents

Pre-K 3 - Cognitive

• Orders graduated containers
• Understands simple opposites
• Sorts by one attribute (color/size)
• Matches pictures of like objects
• Recognizes/matches up to six colors
• Understands simple time concepts
• Understands same/different
• Understands positional concepts
• Identifies real life/pictured absurdities

Pre-K 3 - Communication/Language

• Knows first/last name, age, & sex
• Recites nursery rhymes; sings songs
• Uses 3-5 word sentences
• Tells a simple story
• Recalls elements from story just read
• Names pictures of familiar objects/items
• Follows 2- to 3-step sequenced directions
• Relates personal experiences
• Asks questions for information
• Answers simple logic/reasoning questions
• Describes attributes of objects/observations
• Takes turns in conversation

Pre-K 3 - Speech Milestones

• Produces all vowel sounds
• Consistently produces correct sounds for letters
• May produce sounds in front of mouth that are typically made in back
• May produce simplified consonant blends
• May substitute more easily produced sound for another

Pre-K 3 - Fine Motor Skills

• Builds a 9-10 block tower
• Demonstrates hand preference
• Stabilizes paper with one hand; writes with the other
• Draws vertical line, circle, & cross
• Draws a recognizable picture
• Cuts continuously along a line
• Strings 1/2-inch beads
• Screws on lids
• Completes 5-piece puzzle
• Builds 3 block bridge
• Rolls/shapes play-dough forms

 Pre-K 3 - Gross Motor Skills

• Walks up/down stairs alternating feet
• Walks several steps on tiptoe
• Walks line on floor
• Balances on one foot several seconds
• Throws ball overhead
• Catches bounced ball
• Kicks ball
• Runs around obstacles
• Climbs easy playground ladders/equipment
• Performs consecutive and forward jumps without falling

Pre-K 3 - Self-Help

• Puts on shoes
• Undresses; manipulates simple fasteners
• Unzips front zipper
• Fastens snaps
• Buttons/unbuttons large buttons
• Toilets self
• Washes and dries hands
• Eats independently
• Pours liquid from small pitcher into cup
• Spreads soft foods with a blunt knife
• Uses napkin to wipe mouth
• Serves self from container

Pre-K 3 - Play

• Begins cooperative play
• Organizes/engages in pretend play
• Sequences play to tell a story
• Assigns roles to props (dolls/puppets)
• Creates imaginary characters
• Uses different voices for different play characters

Pre-K 3 - Reading Readiness

• Recognizes own name
• Recognizes name of some friends
• Recognizes some letters
• Associates correct sound with some letters
• Uses rhyming words
• Retells story, including essential elements

Pre-K 3 - Pre-Math/Math

• Recognizes simple shapes
• Copies and creates simple patterns
• Shares graphed information
• Recognizes numbers 0-5
• Counts 1-10
• Experiments with measurement

Pre-K 4 -Social/Emotional

• Plays and shares cooperatively with peers
• Accepts and responds to teacher's authority
• Expresses emotions in appropriate ways
• Accepts responsibility for own actions
• Participates willingly in group work/play
• Shows repsect and concern for people and things

Pre-K 4 - Cognitive

• Recognizes/matches up to six colors
• Matches/identifies simple shapes
• Sequences three pictures to tell story
• Has expanded knowledge of time concepts
• Understands directional concepts
• Understands comparative
• Predicts outcome of story/event
• Draws person with up to six recognizable parts

Pre-K 4 - Communication/Language

• Plays with rhymes, repetitions, & nonsense words
• Asks and gives meanings to new words
• Uses up to eight-word sentences
• Answers content questions about story
• Retells stories with main ideas in logical order
• Follows three unrelated commands in order
• Asks variety of questions
• Describes past events
• Describes objects by shape, size, & color
• Uses quantity terms

Pre-K 4 - Speech Milestones

• Consistently produces correct sounds for letters
• Produces consonant blends

Pre-K 4 - Fine Motor Skills

• Uses mature grasp on pencil
• Copies simple shapes
• Draws stick figures
• Uses strokes to copy letters/numbers
• Creases paper
• Puts paper clip on paper
• Cuts out circle and other simple shapes
• Performs simple lacing
• Puts small pegs in pegboard

 Pre-K 4 - Gross Motor Skills

• Walks up/down stairs alternating feet
• Walks tiptoe for up to ten feet
• Walks on balance beam without falling
• Hops on one foot
• Jumps forward up to ten times without falling
• Skips, alternating feet
• Gallops
• Catches a thrown ball
• Kicks a rolling ball
• Pumps legs while swinging

Pre-K 4 - Self-Help

• Knows own street and city
• Knows front and back of clothes
• Buttons, snaps, & zips
• Hangs up backpack and coat
• Blows/wipes nose without help
• Toilets self independently
• Uses fork/spoon skillfully
• Gets drink from water fountain
• Puts away personal belongings; cleans up

Pre-K 4 - Work Habits

• Attention span is lengthening
• Listens to directions
• Follows directions to best of ability
• Works independently
• Takes pride in work
• Completes work in a timely manner

Pre-K 4 - Reading/Writing Readiness

• Letter recognition (name and sound) (Letters Aa-Zz)
• Spelling words
• Reads short a words
• Reads short e words
• Reads short i words
• Reads short o words
• Reads short u words
• Reading word lists
• Short vowel books
• Other books
• Stencils and insets
• Name writing
• Creative writing

Pre-K 4 - Pre-Math/Math

• Sorts objects by shape and color
• Classifies objects into categories
• Creates patterns
• Identifies shapes
• Counts from 1 to 10
• Recognizes numbers 0 to 10
• Understands one-to-one correspondence
• Simple addition with counters
• Simple subtraction with counters
• Counts by twos, fives, & tens
• Graphs

Pre-K 4 - Other

• Money (penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar)
• Tells time on the hour
• Continent map