PreKindergarten

What to expect in the Pre-Kindergarten Class

Welcome to Cambridge Preview at The Cambridge School. The classroom teachers work with the Pre-Kindergarten children in partnership with parents to love, encourage, discipline, nurture, and instruct each child. Thank you for your interest in The Cambridge School's early childhood program.

Pre-Kindergarten at The Cambridge School is an opportunity to set a foundation for students for future school experiences. The environment is designed to offer experiences promoting rich social growth within a supportive atmosphere. Both cognitive skills and behavioral skills are addressed. Mr. Barber has outlined some basic objectives.

Cognitive expectations include learning traditional children’s rhymes, fairy tales, and fables through repetition; engaging in creative arts using a variety of materials, memorizing and reciting appropriate Scripture verses, identifying, imitating, and combining into patterns selected geometric shapes; listening to stories, retelling, creating original stories; and listening to and singing a variety of music.

Behavioral objectives include learning to share; learning to encourage one another; learning to express emotions appropriately; learning to build community with other children; appreciating play time as a time for imagination and creativity; enjoying both organized and unorganized activities where there are opportunities to learn about the positive aspects of boundaries, guidelines, and healthy forms of competition; learning appropriate communication skills; and learning to express forgiveness when wronged and to seek forgiveness when wrong. These objectives are included in The Beatitudes of The Cambridge School.

(1) Be Kind. Refrain from taunting, teasing, interrupting, criticizing, fighting or refuting another student or teacher.
(2) Be Prepared. Bring all appropriate materials and assignments to class.
(3) Be unified. Wear appropriate school-issued uniform during school day.
(4) Be considerate. Take care of school property and the property of others.
(5) Be honorable. Display honesty and the highest quality of character.
(6) Be obedient. Promptly follow directions the first time when given.
(7) Be attentive. Practice the habit of focused attention and listen carefully.
(8) Be organized. Display a habit of neatness and orderliness.
(9) Be orderly. Raise your hand before speaking or leaving your seat. Walk in a
quiet, straight line in the halls.
(10) Be pure in speech. Use polite language and refrain from inappropriate
subject matter.

The classroom setting is verbally rich through reading and memorizing Scripture; reading, retelling, and acting out stories; and following daily routines of orienting to the world through such topics as the calendar, weather, numbers, colors, and shapes. Children are also exposed to letters, sounds of letters and diphthongs (introducing a 3-year language program of true phonics), and discrimination of sounds in words as preparation for reading. Spanish is presented informally at opportune times during the week, such as during snack time.

Some topics planned for this year include God’s Creation, healthy bodies/five senses, gardens and farms, Thanksgiving, Christmas, bread making around the world, community helpers, Valentine’s, dinosaurs, cycles of life, wildflowers, Easter, birds, water, oceans and beach. Many coordinated field trips include possible visits to the zoo, the fire department, the garden, the farm, downtown, Kohl’s Children’s Museum, The Children’s Museum, Lake Michigan, Adler Planetarium, a bread company, neighborhoods, the post office, a nature center, a botanical garden, and several parks. Please understand these are general guidelines as the curriculum is still being developed.

Following please note some specific ways parents may help their child during the summer to prepare for Pre-K and Kindergarten.
a) Read aloud to their child.
b) Help with Scripture memory passages.
c) Visit the class and assist.
d) Drive on field trips.
e) Become a classroom mom.
f) Pray with their child.
g) Encourage their child
h) Communicate back to the teacher when their child is frustrated and needs more help.

Again, thank you for your interest in The Cambridge School. If you have any questions please call the school at (773) 924-1200 .