Mulberry’s Preschool curriculum encourages children to explore and try new things. Activity centers give children opportunities to play, as it is in play that they develop skills necessary for kindergarten and beyond. The acquisition of skills follows a developmental progression, so each month, children are presented with new activities and experiences that build on skills they have mastered:
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With new experiences, preschoolers’ self-confidence solidifies, their curiosity is stimulated, and their skills grow along with their bodies and brains. It might look like they’re just playing and having fun, but the children are practicing important social skills, stimulating brain development, acquiring important language, motor and cognitive abilities that prepare them for life-long learning.
Cutting with scissors, glueing and pasting, tracing and weaving, all help develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Working with sculpture and structure allows children to build depth perception and visual planning skills. Creating and discovering patterns, and counting, and measuring ingredients during cooking build math skills. Following multi-step picture recipes prepares children for Reading. Observing how heat changes food, playing with magnets, pendulums and ramps, and growing plants are all precursors to science.
Each class has a garden where children plant seeds, water and observe growth. Children pick ripe vegetables which are then used in cooking activities. All classes goes on a train trip from San Jose to Palo Alto and walks from the station to a park to play. We celebrate families and encourage the sharing of traditions and cultures in our diverse classrooms. Diwali, Dia de los Muertos, Chinese Lunar New Year, Norouz are just some of the holidays to which children are exposed.
Children are encouraged to think critically because we let them do the thinking. They are supported in solving problems. We don’t solve problems for them. In math, reading and writing, our low adult-child ratios allow us to we can see where each child is and individually scaffold them to the next level.
For a month by month description of the preschool curriculum:
Preschool Curriculum - (21.61 kB)