Kindergarten Readiness
Kindergarten Readiness
At Big Blue Marble Academy, we make getting ready for school fun. Our teachers combine a research-based curriculum with engaging instruction that helps to grow curiosity and confidence in our students. Our curriculum aligns with state standards in early childhood education to ensure students have developed key skills while also fostering a love of learning. Our teachers model and instill higher-level thinking so children can approach new challenges from a problem-solving perspective. Some areas of growth for our preschool students include:
Physical Development
Getting school ready means developing the strength and stamina for extended time both indoors and outdoors. Coordinating more complicated movements, such as riding a tricycle or bicycle, and being aware of one’s body in relation to others and objects, are important and where we offer plenty of practice. Developing fine motor skills is also key, which is why students are encouraged to scoop, pour, and use tweezers to increase their abilities.
Language and Literacy Development
Our children learn through concrete, meaningful experiences that extend beyond simple memorization. Early literacy is introduced through storytelling and in context with other lessons, so letters and words have more relevance and greater meaning.
Cognitive Development
Our teachers help children to start thinking about how they think – metacognition – which is essential for cognitive development and school readiness. For example, when a child builds a tower out of blocks, our teacher may ask not just why they built a tower, but why they chose the blocks they did and why they put the larger blocks on the bottom.
Social and Emotional Development
By this age, children are developing peer relationships. Our teachers and curriculum help to further this social development through experiences that encourage problem-solving and discovering how to get needs met in an age-appropriate manner. Experiences with our service-learning Heart Projects, character education, and exploring other cultures and languages also offer more opportunities for students to learn life skills, such as respect, responsibility, and compassion.
Approaches to Play and Learning
Play is the spark that ignites a lifelong love of learning. Through play, we give children the opportunity to explore what it means to try new things, how to persist despite facing an obstacle, and how to make meaning from prior experiences to anticipate what happens next.
