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Curriculum

Preschool Curriculum

Cross of Christ Preschool is a Christian-based learning center. The preschool’s curriculum is based on developmentally appropriate practices as described by The National Association for the Education of Young Children.  The Creative Curriculum for Preschool (Dodge and Colker), the Colorado Early Learning and Development Guidelines, and the Colorado State Standards make up the curriculum used at Cross of Christ Lutheran Preschool.

The curriculum framework has five components including the following:

  • How Children Learn – Children learn and develop through relationships with responsive adults, through active, hands-on involvement, through meaningful experiences, and through their continually working to make sense of the world around them.
  • What Children Learn – The curriculum instructs teachers how to encourage social, emotional, physical, language, and cognitive growth and development and how to integrate the important areas of literacy, mathematics, science, technology, creative expression and the arts, health and safety, and social studies.
  • The Teacher’s Role – The teachers’ task is to create a caring community of learners, to enhance development and learning, to plan and implement appropriate learning experiences, to assess children’s development and learning, and to develop reciprocal relationships with families.
  • The Physical Environment – The teachers select and arrange materials to support the curriculum and to encourage the achievement for goals for children. The center areas become a laboratory for children’s learning.
  • The Family’s Role – Parents are encouraged to be actively involved and to be an integral part of the preschool program. They are invited to visit and participate in the program.

The curriculum at Cross of Christ Preschool is a planned management of time, materials, and activities that guide children’s learning and development. It is an organized framework where learning is embedded throughout every element of the preschool day, from the time children enter the classroom until they leave. This includes interactions with others, materials and equipment used to implement the curriculum, intentional teaching in both child-initiated experiences and teacher-guided experiences, scheduled time for play, creative expression, large-group and small-group activities, transitions, and the physical arrangement of the room.

Teachers are engaged in an ongoing process of observation, guided learning, and assessment children’s progress. Teachers use Teaching Strategies Gold as a tool to make observations, plan instruction, and assess learning. They interact with children continuously and make decisions about when and how to respond to meet individual and group needs.

Kindergarten Curriculum

Cross of Christ Kindergarten follows the Colorado Department of Education Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies, Science, Music, Art and Physical Education. Visit the Colorado Department of Education for further information regarding academic standards.

READING

  • Demonstrates alphabet knowledge
  • Demonstrates phonemic awareness
  • Demonstrates directionality in print
  • Uses beginning reading strategies
  • Demonstrates comprehension of strategies

WRITING and COMMUNICATION

  • Writes own name accurately
  • Writes effectively for a variety of purposes

MATH, including “Everyday Mathematics”

  • Number Sense
  • Algebraic Concepts
  • Statistics and Probability
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Computation

SCIENCE

  • Scientific investigation
  • Physical Science
  • Life Science
  • Earth and Space Science
  • Technology and Careers
  • Science as a particular way of knowing

SOCIAL SCIENCE

  • History
  • Geography
  • Civics
  • Economics

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

  • Movement Competence
  • Physical and Personal Wellness
  • Emotional and Social Wellness
  • Prevention and Risk Management in Health

VISUAL ARTS

  • Observe and Learn
  • Envision and Critique
  • Invent and Discover
  • Relate and Connect

MUSIC

  • Expression
  • Creation
  • Theory
  • Aesthetic Value

DRAMA

  • Create
  • Perform
  • Critically Respond

DANCE

  • Movement, Technique and Performance
  • Create, Compose and Choreograph
  • Historical and Cultural Context
  • Reflect, Connect and RespondColo