What do we do in Preschool?
Olentangy Schools follow the Ohio Department of Education Early Learning and Development Standards and have adopted the AEPS (Assessment, Evaluation Progaramming System) curriculum. This curriculum measures progress in six areas: fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, adaptive, social-communication and communication development.
The Olentangy Special Needs Preschool Program is based on the belief that children are unique, special individuals who learn through play and who grow in a developmental sequence.
The preschool's prepared environment of active play is designed to stimulate and challenge various developmental levels. Children with identified disabilities develop along side typical peers. A strong early childhood program is blended with specialized approaches and related services as appropriate.
developmentally appropriate activities that children participate in daily in our classes
- Literacy development helps children build an understanding of language and literature. It includes listening, speaking, reading and writing activities. These activities help build skills in areas such as communication, vocabulary, letter recognition and comprehension. Story time is designed to help preschoolers develop an appreciation and enjoyment of literature.
- Math activities include hands-on and real life experiences. These activities also help youngsters develop an awareness of numbers, geometry, patterns, measurement and graphs.
- Manipulative activities help students improve visual perception, hand-‐eye coordination, as well as problem solving and social skills.
- Circle time is a group gathering during which the day’s plans, ideas and observations are shared. Circle activities are designed to stimulate thinking, enrich social skills and expand attention span.
- Art activities help preschoolers creatively express their thoughts and feelings. It also helps reinforce fine motor skills and concept development in areas such as colors, shapes and size relationships.
- Dramatic play activities help children express themselves, practice life skills, improve social skills, increase self-‐esteem, build vocabulary and solve problems. Dramatic play is just plain FUN!
- Music activities promote listening skills, creative expression and social skills. In music children can explore sound, volume, tempo and rhythm.
- Science activities offer children many hands-on opportunities for observation, exploration, investigation, making predictions and experimentation.
- Sand and water activities allow preschools to experiment with textures and the properties of different substances. These activities also promote the development of other skills such as math, science and language.
- Block play gives children experience with many different concepts such as shape and size discrimination, spatial relationships, number skills, balance, organization, cause and effect and classification. Cooperative play skills, problem solving and creativity are also promoted in block play.
- Gross motor activities give children the opportunity to use their muscles as well as their imaginations as they engage in fun, healthy exercises such as running, jumping and climbing.
- Fine motor activities help improve small muscle development and hand eye coordination. Some common items that can be used in developing these skills include puzzles, laces, pegboards and crayons.