Pre-K 4 (Mrs. Schaffer)

Welcome to my classroom.  This will be my 8th year teaching at St. Ambrose.  I am very proud to be a teacher here.  We strive to provide a creative and dynamic classroom while considering each child's needs.

I am very excited to be spending this time with your child.

Our program is a 5 day a week full-day program from 8:15 am to 3:00 pm.  After school care is available from 3:00 - 5:30 pm.  Our classroom has one teacher and a full-time teacher aide.  Our program provides a safe, developmentally appropriate educational environment for your child while instilling Christian values to begin the framework for a well-rounded individual.  Different levels of ability and development are expected and accepted.  St. Ambrose Pre-K offers many learning styles to accommodate each child's own uniqueness.  Children are provided many opportunities to develop social skills in order to solve interpersonal skills.

Philosophy
The emphasis of this program is not just on content or school readiness but more importantly on the process of learning.  Children need also to be taught how to learn, think, communicate, love, make decisions, organize thoughts, and to create.

Age Requirement
A child must be 4 years of age by December 1 of the year entering school.  Some parents chose to have their 5-year-old delay the start of Kindergarten and repeat/attend the Pre-K program.  This is especially true when a child has a late birthday.  All children entering Pre-K must be able to use the bathroom independently.

Assessment
Your child's progress will be reported to you through parent/teacher conferences.  There is regular communication between the teacher and parents to build mutual understanding and greater consistency for the children.  Report cards are done four times per year.  A weekly newsletter is sent home that goes over all that was accomplished the prior week and what to expect the next week.

Attendance
Attendance at Pre-K is important.  Each day brings new learning experiences and aids the child in school adjustment.

Calendar 
A calendar will be provided at the beginning of the school year which will indicate the number of school days, half-day sessions and vacations.  An updated calendar is provided to students monthly. Pre-K students follow the school calendar. 
 

Reading Readiness - upper and lower case letters; beginning sounds, introduction to sight words
Sequencing
Classifying
Perception
Matching
Rhyming
Color words

Math Readiness:
Counting/skip counting by 1's, 2's, 5's, 10's, 20's to 100
Number recognition
Shapes
Identifying size differences
Categorizing objects - shapes, color, size, texture

Religion - developing a relationship with Jesus throughout the year through:
Christian atmosphere
Daily prayer and Bible stories
Celebrating Holy Days
Instilling Christian values

Children learn discipline, which is self-control, by being given a few, clear consistent fair rules to follow.  Children are given the opportunity to learn constructively from their mistakes and by being redirected to a more acceptable behavior.  

Some specific techniques that are used are:
Short, clear directives for example chairs are for sitting, blocks are for building.

Time away - a child who is disruptive will be asked to leave the group to have a period of time away, inside the classroom, for reflection and calming down.

If an occasion should occur when your child needs to be dismissed early, a note should be sent to the teacher indicating the time of dismissal.  Your child may be picked up at the office.  Children coming in late must bring a note.  They must stop at the office first before going to the classroom.  A note must be sent if your child has been absent.

Each day we read from our children's bible, talk about the Gospel from Sunday's Mass, practice our prayers - The Our Father, Hail May, Guardian Angel and blessing before meals.