Lower School
Primary Prep: Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten is the first step of the educational journey at Ribét Academy. The curriculum is designed as a tool to support and promote the emotional and social development of our students. Children are challenged with stimulating opportunities to examine, explore, investigate, and internalize across the curriculum using themes such as "dinosaurs" and "creepy crawlies" to create excitement. Academic goals consistent with entrance into our kindergarten program are achieved concurrently with your child's growing social independence and feelings of success.
A large part of the program is active play which makes learning fun while supporting the development of social skills. Play helps with the development of gross motor skills and at the same time the children are learning about Language, Math and Science too. The teachers use observation of this active play as a tool to discover details about each child so they can then merge their interests with the curriculum. This approach retains the child's interest and affords the teachers an avenue for challenge.
The Pre-Kindergarten Curriculum
Our developmentally appropriate curriculum provides for all areas of a child's development: physical, emotional, social, and cognitive.
- Cognitive: Children are provided with many opportunities to see that Reading and Writing are meaningful. Concurrent with this exposure is instruction in letter names, sounds, and beginning “sight “word identification (color words, number words). Children are guided in using pencils correctly to form the alphabet and first and last names when handedness has been established.
Students learn about Math by having many experiences creating order and discovering attributes with concrete materials. As they make discoveries and problem solve while sorting, measuring, patterning, graphing, sequencing and counting, they are exposed to the symbolic language of “numbers” that can be used to represent their findings. - Social-Emotional: Each child is viewed as a unique person deserving the respect and attention of fellow students and staff. Children are provided with the opportunity to feel a measure of success every day. They are given many opportunities to develop social skills such as cooperating, helping, negotiating, and talking with the person involved to solve interpersonal problems. Teachers facilitate the development of these positive social skills at all times.
- Physical: Children have daily opportunities to use large muscles by running, jumping, and balancing. Outdoor activity is planned daily so children develop large muscle skills, learn about outdoor environments, and express themselves freely and loudly. Children are given formal Physical Education instruction by a specialist twice weekly to facilitate this development.
- Art and Music: Children have daily opportunities for self expression through art and music. A variety of media are available for self expression, such as easel and finger painting and clay. Music and rhythm are incorporated into the daily routine. A music specialist meets with the children for further enrichment each week. The children enjoy displaying increased confidence and skill as they perform in two musical programs during the year.
- Spanish: Spanish is taught each day as part of circle time. Children learn songs, vocabulary, simple phrases, and correct pronunciation. Children understand that our world is made up of many cultures which express themselves differently.