It is most beneficial for a child’s first school experiences to be robust, stimulating, and individualized to best develop their imagination, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, social relationships, empathy, and a life-long passion for learning.
Moravian Academy’s teachers embrace the great task of nurturing a student's interests while offering tangible experiences that promote competency and build skills in the context of daily routines, play, planned lessons, and guided exploration. These learning opportunities positively impact the whole child. Therefore, cognitive development, social and emotional development, language development, and physical development are nurtured daily.
The curriculum for three-year-olds introduces all core subjects taught starting in prekindergarten including language arts, math, science and social studies. The learning is presented to children using a variety of sensory experiences that are blended throughout their daily experiences. Since young children learn by doing, playing, building, listening, and imaginative exploration, art and music are the primary mediums through which students explore all subjects, learning about themselves and others in the process.
Thematic units are used to expose children to concepts including seasons, calendar, numerical understanding, the world around them and cultures beyond. Most of the goals of this program represent process rather than isolated skills, therefore, mastery is reflected along a continuum of growth. This allows children the opportunity to experience satisfaction with their own developmental ability and builds a foundation of self-confidence and success for their futures.
Our youngest students engage in art experiences on a daily basis. Developing fine and gross motor skills while engaging their imaginative nature is what drives the art expression. Students will use a wide variety of artistic medium including watercolor and tempera paints, shaving cream, sand, collage paper, string, and much, much more.
While enjoying a variety of stories, our prekindergarten students strengthen their listening skills and become familiar with basic library vocabulary. They learn to be responsible library users as they practice good library manner like the use of book sticks, check-out routines, and quiet reading and sharing time. Each student selects a book to take back to the classroom each week.
Our three year olds enjoy music every day with the classroom teacher! A special music teacher also comes to class two days a week, and the children learn to sing simple songs together as a group. They march, hop, and creatively move to music as they learn about rhythmic patterns, tempo and dynamics. Students are also introduced to different types of instruments including percussion, wind and string instruments. They enjoy playing many of these instruments. Ultimately, music is a tool that guides learning and fun throughout the day, from opening and closing songs, through transition times, and as a way to build friendships.
In Moravian’s program for three year olds, children are exposed to the language on a daily basis with a Spanish teacher that comes to the classroom. The teacher has the students explore Spanish through songs, games, dance, coloring activities, creative movement, finger-play, videos and other interactive means. Curriculum content includes counting to ten, meeting and greeting, colors, and weather reports. With our native Spanish-speaking teacher, culture and tradition are embedded into the daily lessons.