Our preschool classes are designed for children ages 3 and 4. We offer a full-day program with an option for part-time attendance. We strive to create warm, nurturing environments where little ones can explore, play, and grow. Our caring teachers are dedicated to guiding each child on their unique learning journey, ensuring that every day is an exciting adventure of new experiences and friendships. Each of our classrooms is led by a certified teacher with the support of a classroom aide. We currently offer two classes for Preschool 3 and two classes for Preschool 4. Our preschool classes tend to fill up quickly. Please refer to our Registration page for additional information.
Language and Literacy
At Saint Joan of Arc School, we recognize that play is a vital tool for enhancing verbal skills. Through engaging activities, the students naturally begin to articulate their experiences and share stories. This playful exploration fosters their ability to understand and use more sophisticated vocabulary and sentence structures. Students learn to understand opposites, identify rhyming words, and develop auditory discrimination. Language development also occurs through discussions, listening to stories read aloud, and participating in thoughtfully designed lessons and activities. These building blocks are crucial for establishing a firm foundation in grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension, which will support their future reading endeavors.
Preschoolers also learn the alphabetic principle; letters correspond to the sounds in words. The teachers facilitate exciting connections between sounds and printed letters through diverse, multimodal resources that stimulate various senses. Students will learn to write and identify all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet. In preschool, the children also begin to learn sight words.
Mathematics
Research indicates that early math skills are most effectively nurtured through exploration and guidance from teachers. Our daily math activities are intentionally crafted to engage students in various formats, including whole group, small groups, and individual settings, while encouraging exploration. Students interact with objects to enhance their number sense and learn one-to-one correspondence. Mastering these foundational skills is crucial for grasping more advanced mathematical concepts. At Saint Joan of Arc School, we immerse our young learners in number and counting games. Students engage in calendar activities emphasizing patterns and counting, among other skills. They explore shapes and learn to make comparisons. Additionally, they develop the mathematical vocabulary to describe attributes such as weight, length, height, corners, and sides. Students learn to create both simple and complex patterns by manipulating physical objects. Through hands-on activities guided by teachers, they become familiar with important positional terms (such as above, below, and next to) as well as concepts through teacher-led hands-on activities.
Science and Social Studies
The role of stories, songs, and play in preschool education is profound, particularly in the area of social studies, where young children begin to form their identities and understand their place within various contexts—family, school, and community. By learning about themselves and others, they begin to build a foundation of knowledge and empathy that will serve them throughout their lives.
Science in the preschool classroom is an interdisciplinary approach that nurtures children's natural curiosity through play, observation, and experimentation. By connecting their sensory experiences with scientific concepts, children develop a foundational understanding of the world around them and equips them with critical thinking skills necessary for future academic success.
Religion
The religion curriculum for preschool focuses on introducing young children to fundamental Catholic beliefs, values, and practices in an engaging and age-appropriate way. Children learn that God loves them and created the world. They also learn Jesus Christ is a loving, kind friend. Students are introduced to the Holy Family, the liturgical year, feast days, and the saints. Students also learn basic prayers such as the Sign of the Cross and grace before meals, spontaneous prayer, and songs of praise. Students are encouraged to develop a relationship with Jesus with focused lessons on a Bible story each week. Through instruction and modeling, students learn the virtues during their day-to-day interactions (love, kindness, forgiveness, respect). Preschool children attend Mass each month as well as important holy days.
Social Emotional Learning
Preschool children learn to build relationships, develop self-awareness, identify and manage their emotions, and express their feelings through play-based activities, daily routines, stories, and direct instruction. Social-emotional learning in preschool is a holistic approach to developing children’s emotional intelligence and resilience. By prioritizing SEL, teachers set the stage for children to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.
