Pre-K language arts engages children in a variety of language and literacy activities that include recognition of sound-symbol relationships, phonemic awareness, and narrative storytelling, as well as writing uppercase and lowercase letters, recognizing print in the environment, and reading varied fiction and nonfiction literature to support literacy instruction.

Morning Meeting times are an essential period when children “read” the Message of the Day, with its selected word content. As their literacy skills increase, children begin to “decode.” Every day, time is scheduled for them to “Look at a Book.” Such moments serve as an introductory independent reading period in which children can engage with texts. By the end of the year, Pre-K students have gained significant skills in reading and writing readiness that serve as the foundation for their language and literacy growth in Kindergarten.

Our goal in Pre-Kindergarten is the guided exploration of materials in the art studio. We introduce a variety of media and basic skills to build a strong foundation for artistic growth. Students meet twice a week for 30-minute classes. Lessons include drawing with a variety of materials, collage, painting with tempera and watercolors, printmaking, and sculpting.

Pre-K mathematics includes the use of mathematical language and has children developing number sense; exploring one-to-one correspondence; ordering; comparing; predicting and estimating; sorting; and writing numbers. The students find mathematical experiences within the natural environment: the symmetry of a leaf, the effects of temperature change on water, and other such tangible real-world scenarios.

Pre-Kindergarten music emphasizes cooperative ensemble work. Singing, movement, and instrumental accompaniment are combined with stories, games, improvisation, and each student's imagination to advance musical concepts and appreciation.

In Pre-Kindergarten PE, students are introduced to basic locomotor movements and manipulative skills through carefully structured games that are playful and creative in nature. They are introduced to a wide range of materials, including different types and sizes of balls, beanbags, and balloons, all of which encourage the development of eye-hand and eye-foot coordination skills. These concepts, along with a variety of physical skills, are taught in individual, partner, and group settings. Using both structured activities and guided play, students develop their physical, social, and cognitive skills while being engaged in a fun, safe, and stimulating environment. Pre-K students are also introduced to basic gymnastics skills, moving through progressions in a structured setting, using mats, balance beams, and springboards.

Pre-K students expand their understanding of the natural world through hand-on science explorations both in the classroom and out in Central Park. Each week, students participate in a new science experiment that leads them to ask good questions and use their senses to predict, observe, and document their experience. The experiments are engaging exercises and explorations such as color mixing, taste tests, cause and effect games and structured designs.

Pre-K social studies responds to students’ increased curiosity about their world and focuses on what they know best: their families and homes. It engages children as they learn about commonly shared experiences and how to identify differences. Pre-K students participate in a variety of activities throughout the year that nurture interconnectedness and a sense of place within their families, school, larger communities, and the world. These activities include field trips, group cooking, art projects, and narrative illustrations.

Our Pre-Kindergarten Spanish curriculum teaches vocabulary and phrases related to the book La oruga muy hambrienta (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) by Eric Carle. Therefore, students begin the year learning Spanish greetings and salutations, physical and emotional vocabulary and phrases, simple commands, colors, numbers (0–10), and basic prepositions of place (up and down). As the year progresses, students acquire vocabulary about animal sounds, the numbers 0–20, shapes, colors, and adjectives to describe size, personality, and physical characteristics. All these words and structures are taught within the context of books read in class. Students are taught in a fun and active way with songs, music, rhythm, dance, traditional games, storybooks, art projects, and role-play.