Preschool
What We Believe
Our preschool is a magical place.
Joyful connections with others. A safe space to try new things. Opportunities to become aware of God’s love. A child’s first experience with school can be transformative and we strive every day to ensure our students feel happy, accepted, confident and eager to learn.
Play is powerful.
Whether climbing the outdoor equipment, playing make believe through dress up, sharing classroom toys or singing and dancing together, our students learn about themselves, others and the world around them through directed play. Our teachers exhibit patience and model kindness to guide students as they discover both independence and connectedness. Hands on, constructive activities let children create and imagine, build and pretend. These opportunities to play are rich with chances for discovery about oneself and each other.
Curiosity must be cultivated.
Preschoolers are curious learners who love discovering something new and sharing it with others. Our teachers encourage questions and value each child’s ideas and wonderment. Children’s innate desire to learn more must be met with opportunities to take risks and test things out. At St. Giles, we foster curiosity and let our students explore the possibilities.
What We Teach
- Social and emotional skills: sharing,
making friends, listening and following
directions - Letters, numbers, shapes and colors
- Pre-reading skills: name recognition,
prediction and storytelling - Fine motor skills, including printing, and
gross motor skills, including indoor
and outdoor play - Explore nature and seasons and
God’s creation - Counting and rhyming
- God’s love for us
- Strong sense of self and
independence
St Giles has procured robust proven curricular guides that support cognitive, language, and social emotional development. Our teachers have an almost endless supply of resources and are leaders in the field: They have more than 50 years of combined experience in early childhood education. Many of our teachers have served as mentors and provided opportunities for teacher candidates to learn best practices. They have a proven record of supporting significant growth in all areas of development to prepare their students for the next stage of school.
| Curriculum | Preschool 2 | Preschool 3 | Preschool 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wonders Series | • | • | |
| Heggerty Phonics | • | ||
| Scholastic | • | • | |
| Stories of God’s Love | • | • | • |
| Hands on Standards | • | • | |
| Creative Curriculum | • | • | • |
| Teacher Strategies: For curriculum planning, assessment, linking standards to curriculum, and tracking growth. |
• | • | • |
