Maywood Cooperative Nursery School, Inc.

Inspiring Young Minds
Curriculum
Curriculum
Toddler Class (2 1/2 Year Olds)
Toddler Class (2 1/2 Year Olds)
Social Development
The toddlers primary job is to learn about themselves and others through play. They will be sharing, taking turns and learning how to interact with others. Independence is fostered by encouraging children to dress themselves and by teaching them how to use appropriate health routines such as washing hands, toilet use and proper use of tissues. The children will learn to accept instruction from adults (other than family members) and follow simple directions. Appropriate social behavior is learned through dramatic play. Children enjoy imitating kitchen and house routines, as well as jobs of community workers. Toddlers love the self-expression provided by music. They enjoy learning songs, body movements and using instruments.
Emotional Development
Working towards the ability to separate from family, the children learn to express feelings and concerns by using verbal skills. Kids will learn to trust adults and begin to have friendships.
Physical Development
The toddler enjoys using large muscle skills while playing. Running, jumping, rolling and climbing, as well as kicking and throwing a ball are some favorites. Small muscle skills are developed through the use of manipulation such as puzzles and beads; art mediums such as coloring, painting (finger and brush) and play dough. Eye/hand coordination is developed through the use of both large and small muscle skills.
Intellectual Development
Fall – The toddler loves to explore, look at books and has the ability to listen to short stories. They complete simple puzzles and can follow one set of directions at a time. Through play, conversation and discussions, vocabulary growth is encouraged. The children will begin to identify colors, shapes and common pictures in books and games.
Spring – The toddler now has a longer attention span with an increased interest in stories and more advanced puzzles. The children are now developing better visual discrimination of objects such as recognizing size differences, matching and the concept of spatial relations (how things fit relative to size). The children are now counting two or more consecutive numbers and they can remember simple poems and songs. Due to the rapid growth of language development, there is an increase in general vocabulary, as well as in the identification of colors, shapes and common pictures.
Three Year Old Class
Social Development
Once the three year old is comfortable and adjusts to the school environment they are eager to make new friends and interact with others. They can follow direction and have respect for new adult authority. During the first half of the year, the children will play in small select groups. As the year progresses they will initiate new games and boys and girls interact more together. They now see themselves as part of a group; their community has grown larger than their family.
Emotional Development
Four Year Old / Pre-K Class
Social Development
The four year old interacts enthusiastically with other children and adults. The social skills that they are mastering through play are helping to build a strong foundation for life experiences. They still need practice sharing but have increased patience with self and others.
Vocabulary and language development is rapidly growing and the children can carry on extended conversations. Their ever increasing dialogue enhances playtime and the personal interaction between friends.
The four year old is proud to be independent and may be able to dress themselves using zippers, snaps and buttons. The children are aware of the community to which they belong and are eager to explore the world around them. Four year olds demonstrate a more mature dramatic play and understand that others may be different. Good health manners are still being taught to help reinforce bathroom independence and good dental hygiene.
Emotional Development
The four year olds are more responsible for themselves and their possessions. They feel very comfortable in school and separate easily from Mom and Dad. The children now have the ability to understand the feelings of others and forms lasting friendships. Having a positive pre-school experience with fosters independence and builds self esteem prepares the children for kindergarten.
Physical Development
The children are able to sustain more advance coordination of both large and small muscles. The four year old has better control of pencils, scissors and paint brushes. They can complete intricate puzzles and string small beads. The children enjoy acrobatics and exercise; they now have better control of ball throwing and catching, hopping and bike riding. One of the four year olds favorite activities is self-expression using music, body movements singing and instruments.
Intellectual Development
Fall – The four year old program will continue to review colors and shapes. They will work on numbers and number concepts while increasing problem solving skills and discovering basic math concepts by exploration and experimentation (e.g. games and activities using materials for weighing and measuring). They will use concrete materials to develop abstracts concepts (e.g. numbers, same and different, big and little), make sets and classify/group a variety of objects. The children now have the ability to recall information that was previously taught, they can put pictures in proper sequence and retell stories. The four year old enjoys songs, finger plays and poems. They understand some time concepts such as morning, afternoon and night and try to figure out the days of the week by when they go to school and other daily activities. The children now have good recognition of their first names and some their last. They can recognize some or all letters along with numbers one to twenty (some beyond) in and out of sequence. Most children can count to ten or beyond consecutively. They are exploring their ability to write both numbers and letters. They are able to draw some detailed pictures and like to discuss their artwork.
Spring – The four year old child is eager to learn and is able to retain the information he is taught because of the increase in attention span. The children learn best by working in small groups where they receive individual attention. They are capable of sequencing events and identifying relationships between objects. The children are learning to reason and are developing the ability to make value judgments. The four year old can count to twenty with accuracy and recognition while increasing the amount of letters in the alphabet that they can identify. Many children can write some or all letters, recognize their first and last name and with practice, say their address and phone numbers. The children are beginning to play with words such as rhyming and making up nonsense sentences. The four year old has a great sense of humor.