PreSchool
Preschool
Preschool goes from K1 to K3 (ages from 3 to 6). It´s considered to be the early Childhood education in the USA. The first two years K1 to K2 we provide a well-rounded curriculum that fosters whole-child growth and encourages children to communicate, collaborate, create and think critically.
K3 is mainly focused on teaching them about school routines. Learning process and focus, and developing social skills as a way to make friends. It’s an essential year for the development of the fundamentals of learning.
Reasons why we do learning centers at Atlas American School
Learning centers allow children to relax. Playing reduces tension because children don´t have to worry about expectations.
Learning centers allow children to see things through another person´s point of view by working together to create, construct, and build.
Learning centers allow children to be and express themselves. They become more open and engaged, more comfortable with their surroundings, and more natural.
Learning centers allow children to investigate, explore, and discover things that are new to them and make connections with things that they already know.
Learning centers allow children to take risks without fear of failure. Focus is on process rather than on product.
Learning centers allow children to be self-disciplined by exploring in their way and intentionally directing their learning
Why they are important
15 min. in one center & rotate to next center
Focusing on their skills contributes positively to the learning experience
Individualized instruction provide meaningful and prompt feedback and guarantees a better evaluation of the student progress
Curiosity & Motivation
Experiment, Investigate & Explore
Interactive Experiences
Open-ended Activities, Hands-on exercises & Sensorial Creativity
Theme-Oriented
Focus by subject, Engagement & Guided Play
Cognitive Development
Comprehension, Memory & Application
Strategy & Skills
Planning, Problem-solving & Decision-making
A DAY IN PRESCHOOL
– Arrival
– Morning Activities/Learning centers
– Morning snack and recess
– Activities
– Lunch
– Resting Time
– Afternoon Activities
– Afternoon snack and recess
– Flexible dismissal (16:15 to 16:45)
*Activities: Learning centers, Art, Physical Education, Music
LEARNING CENTERS
During Learning Centers your child will have a chance to learn independently, one-on-one with the teacher, or as a group. Our centers are play-based activities focused on the standards we are working on at that moment.
The teacher will explain and guide these activities while your children learn new concepts as they work on social skills, learn how to get along with others, and share and interact in small groups.
OUR CURRICULUM
Atlas ASM follows an American curriculum that focuses on age-appropriate challenging content. The Preschool sequence provides model guidelines of fundamental competencies to build coherent foundations for later learning in higher grades and beyond. It outlines a cumulative progression of knowledge and skills in all areas and integrates developmentally appropriate practices for both content and instruction.
REPORT CARDS
We divide the school year into 2 Semesters. You will get a full report on your child’s progress every semester and besides, we will send a progress report every 7 to 9 weeks. On these reports, we will be showing you your child’s scores based on continuous evaluation. You can talk about these results or your child’s progress, in general, at any moment with your Homeroom teacher. We will let you know of any areas your child needs to work on at that time and give you tools to help with the process.
PARENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION
You will be receiving a newsletter at the beginning of the month informing you of upcoming events and activities we did that week and things you can do at home with your child to better enhance their learning. We have an online agenda to inform daily about your child’s school experiences by sharing what’s being learned in the classroom through photos, videos, and messages. With the app, we can also share interactive games, activities, and teacher-designed videos explaining concepts.
RECESS
At Atlas ASM we believe that recess allows growth not only academically but emotionally and socially. Giving children a chance to play freely helps them internalize new information as well as compare and contrast what they’re learning with what they already know. It also provides them with the chance to interact with their peers in a more natural setting and to solve problems on their own. In Preschool, children will have two recess times, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
SNACKS AND LUNCH
Each day your child will receive a piece of fruit at snack time in the morning, then an early lunch will be served at 11:50. The school makes sure the lunch is balanced and healthy. If your children have any allergies they will have a
special place at the table, letting him/her enjoy the company his/her peers. In addition to this, the school will provide a variety of snacks for the afternoon, such as sandwiches, fruit, and yogurt.
NAP AND QUIET TIME
After lunch, kids in K1 and K2 will enjoy some time-off learning. Rest time is important for little minds to take a break and just calm down. The students are not required to take a nap but they are asked to sit/lie down quietly while listening to a book read aloud or to soft music.
K3 students will engage in calm and quiet activities such as reading books
ALLERGY-FREE CLASSROOMS
To avoid allergies, in Preschool we do not allow food in our classes that does not come from our kitchen. If we do involve food in our celebrations, it will always be checked by our Nurse beforehand. For student birthdays you can send a little something (pencils, yo-yo, bouncing balls…) for your child’s friends that we will give out in the afternoon or you can donate a book for the classroom’s library in your child’s name.
