Welco me to Pr - New York City Department of Education

TMWelcome to Pre-KNEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Early Childhood EducationDepartment ofEducation

Dear Families,Your child is special. The most important goal is to provide acurriculum that recognizes and expands your child’s interests,strengths, and abilities. To do this requires paying carefulattention to the fact that children learn best by being activeand curious.Our prekindergarten program will help prepare your child forschool success in four areas of development:Physical: To increase children’s large muscle skills—balancing,throwing, catching, running, jumping, and climbing—and toincrease small muscle skills in their hands through a variety ofexperiences such as: drawing, painting, stringing beads, creatingpatterns, managing liquids, pouring, cutting, and writing.Social-Emotional: To help children develop a sense of well-beingand independence. To help them learn to make friends, to be amember of a classroom community, and how to follow rules androutines.Cognitive: To increase children’s language skills so that theymay communicate their experiences, ideas, needs, choices andfeelings. To strengthen thinking skills that will help them solveproblems and explore areas related to mathematics, science, andsocial studies.Creative Expression/Aesthetic: To help children use music, movement,dramatic play, and visual arts to reach and explore theircreative potential.What happens in Pre-K matters! And what you do at home iseven more important. Working together, we can give your childthe best start for school!Joel I. KleinChancellor

I can hit it!PhysicalDevelopmentDaily physical activity is important tochildren at the earliest stages of life.Providing opportunities to explore allkinds of movement supports learningand improves healthy physical development.These explorations involvelarge and small muscle activities thatstrengthen coordinated movement.I’m biggerthan everyone!Wheee!I can walk my fingersto my toes.

I feel so special whenI play with my friends.I’m a firefighter!We are mailmen!We eat snacks together.One for you.One for me.

Social & EmotionalDevelopmentSocial and emotional development is importantto the success of the four-year-oldduring the preschool year. It promotes achild’s sense of self, enhances his or herability to make friends, and creates anopenness to learning. A classroom thatsupports social and emotional developmenthas:• A nurturing teaching team• A child-centered curriculum• A safe and healthy learning environment• Meaningful family involvement activitiesthroughout the school yearFill this up!I have a pink hat!Use this one!

Ooh! That tickles!(A hermit crab iscrawling on her hand.)Look at what I built!Sometimes I buildby myself!Sometimes I buildwith a friend!

Once upon a time ...CognitiveDevelopmentCognitive development is essential topromoting growth and school success.For the prekindergarten child the importantcognitive skills are languageand literacy, mathematical thinking,scientific thinking, and social studies.When children use their skills to think,problem solve, and communicate, theyare making meaning out of their world.I get to choosemy own book.We listen to stories.It’s my turn.

See what I made.I like painting.Sometimby myI like drawing.They all fall down.

Creative Expression/Aesthetic Developmentes I playself.Every day the prekindergartenchild-centered curriculum makessure children are involved in music,movement, dramatic play, andart experiences. These open-ended,multi-sensory activities, encouragechildren to develop an appreciationfor the arts and provide many opportunitiesfor children to share theirunique talents.Cut here!Cut there!I did it!

This is my best friend.See! I can write myname on the computer!You make me laugh.I feel special when myteacher reads to me.

Attend:• Family Involvement Workshops and Activities• Parent-Teacher ConferencesTo find out more about Pre-K:Join:• Your school’s Parent-Teacher Association• Your school’s Classroom Volunteer Program• Your District’s Prekindergarten Parent Advisory Committee• Your neighborhood libraryTalk:• To the prekindergarten staff, including the teacher, educationalassistant, family assistant, social worker, and early childhoodinstructional specialist.• To the director, principal, and the parent coordinatorShare:• Information about your child’s interests, strengths, and abilities.• Your interests and talents with the school staff.Read:Head To Toe. Carle, Eric. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1997.De la cabeza a los pies. (Spanish Edition)Hurray for Prekindergarten. Senisi, Ellen B. New York: NY: Harper Collins, 2000.The Kissing Hand. Penn, Audrey. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1993.Wemberly Worried. Henkes, Kevin. New York, NY: Greenwillow. 2001.Other Resources:Einstein Never Used Flashcards. Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy and Michnick Golinkoff. Roberta Rodale Inc. 2003.Prekindergarten Performance Standards. The New York City Department of Education, 2003.Read To Me: Raising Kids Who Love To Read. Cullinan, B.E. New York, NY: Scholastic. 1992.The Read Aloud Handbook. Trelease, J. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1995.Websites:www.famlit.org — National Center for Family Literacywww.pbs.org/parents/ — Public Broadcasting System (PBS)http://schools.nyc.gov/ — New York City Department of Educationhttp://schools.nyc.gov/earlychildhood — Office of Early Childhood EducationThis brochure was produced by the Office of Instructional Publications, Christopher Sgarro, Director.Kim Russell, Graphic Designer, designed and formatted the brochure.Photographers: Nancy Pike and Pam Pollack.

TMNew York City Department of EducationJoel I. KleinChancellorDr. Marcia V. LylesDeputy Chancellor for Teaching and LearningOffice of Early Childhood EducationRecy Dunn, Executive DirectorDepartment ofEducationKathleen A. BurgessEarly Childhood Education AdministratorKathryn Lattimer, Operations ManagerT&I-5669 (Language)