St. Mary, Mother of the Church Catholic Parish
Child Development Center

	Karen Williams, Director Address:  1008 Vandora Springs Road, Garner, NC 27529 Phone:  772-0009 Email:  smgprek@bellsouth.net Information Sheet Registration Form
Preschool hours:9:30am to 12:30pm

St. Mary’s Child Development Center began operation in 1982 as a part of the Catholic School System Parish Outreach Ministry. 

Our goal is to provide a safe, caring, developmentally appropriate learning environment for children ages 3 to 5 years.

 Philosophy
Children learn through play, repetition, experimentation, role models, and freedom to try and fail without being afraid.  Children will be challenged to think for themselves, explore, and discover the world we live in. We will provide a strong basic foundation upon which all future educational concepts will grow. We will involve each child in meaningful and rewarding educational activities that will foster a positive self-identity.  It is our goal that each child be able to interact appropriately with others and feel confident about their ability to succeed.  All areas of normal child development will be introduced and reinforced in a loving and Christian environment.  The preschool program is designed to allow children to be themselves, by giving them the opportunity to explore and discover the adventure of learning. 

Curriculum
The curriculum to be implemented at St. Mary’s Child Development Center will incorporate the following items listed on the following pages.

I.                   Socialization Skills:

    §         Learning to share
    §         Understanding one’s place within a group
    §         Proper conduct or behavior in various situations
    §         Learning to cooperate with children and adults
    §         Improving attention span
    §         Completing tasks
    §         Showing concern, consideration, and respect for adults, peers, environment, etc.
    §         Following directions
    §         Participating in group activities
    §         Putting things away
    §         Separating from parents
    §         Waiting for turns
    §         Listening while others speak
    §         Developing good working habits
    §         Recognizing accomplishments

II.                 Language Arts
§         Expanding speaking vocabulary
§         Following and understanding directions
§         Developing listening skills
§         Sentence structure
§         Conversational skills
            a) Answer questions
            b) Relating a past event
            c) Imaginative and creative thinking (fiction)
            d) Spontaneous responses
            e) Relating or retelling stories
            f) Verbalizing opinion
§         Calendar work: seasons, dates, months, weeks, weather
§         Home address, telephone number, birthday
§         Developing concentration and memory powers
§         Dramatizing
§         Interpreting pictures and predicting what might happen next

III.              Gross Motor Skills
§         Rolling, crawling, jumping, hopping, walking, skipping, running, scooting & improving balance
§         Ball activities:  throwing, catching, rolling, bouncing
§         Movement through rhythm
§         Simple exercise and aerobics
§         Indoor and outdoor playground skills

IV.              Fine Motor Skills
§         Building and stacking with blocks
§         Puzzles
§         Pegboard activities
§         Lacing and stringing beads
§         Scissors activities
§         Gluing and pasting
§         Work with pencils, crayons, markers, paints
§         Folding paper
§         Sorting (size, shape, texture, color)
§         Pouring (liquid, dry)
§         Closures: zippers, buckles, ties, knots, bows, buttons

V.                Writing Readiness Skills
§         Connecting vertical and horizontal dots
§         Free expression
§         Holding pencil correctly
§         Making shapes
§         Writing name

VI.              Reading Readiness
§         Awareness and interest in books
§         Recognition of left and right progression
§         Visual and auditory discrimination
§         Matching shapes, pictures, letters, numbers, colors
§         Same and different
§         Word  opposites
§         Rhyming words
§         Picture sequence
§         Picture classification and categorizing

VII.           Math Skills
§         Matching number symbols
§         Recognition of number sequence
§         Recognition of number concept
§         Recognition of number symbols
§         One to one matching
§         Understanding simple concept of addition and subtraction
§         Measurements
§         Simple concepts of money
§         Greater than, less than questions
§         Patterns of shapes

VIII.         Science and Social Studies
§         Animals: identification, habitat, diet, purpose, sounds, etc.
§         Plants and leaves: watching them grow
§         Weather
§         Magnets
§         Sky and air
§         Rocks
§         Sea shells and water
§         Experiments
§         Sense: touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste
§         Work and transportation
§         Body image: constructing body parts, locating body and facial parts, care of body
        (combing hair, brushing teeth, washing, etc.)
§         Working with holidays

IX.              Religious Education
§         Love of God
§         Love of family
§         Respect for oneself
§         Discovery of God through the senses
§         Discovery of God through nature
§         Respect and care for all God’s living creations

X.                Music and Art
§         Music and art will be a major component of the total program and will be present in
        the daily activities

XI.              Lifetime Skill Areas
§         Creativity                    
§         Reasoning
§         Perception
§         Love of God
§         Work and study skills
§         Understanding the world
§         Communication
§         Self-confidence
§         Initiative
§         Self-respect