VPK
New Horizons uses a curriculum that is based on child development research. This research tells us what to expect of children at a given stage of development so that we can set up an environment and plan experiences that support children’s growth and learning. Our classroom environment is designed to help our prekindergarten students’ progress in their learning and development.
Children learn through their play experiences as a part of our early learning program. Play does not always happen automatically. The environment is well organized and provides children with many ideas and choices to support their play development. Recognizing and supporting play does not mean that all play is “free’’, and the role of the teacher is simply to ensure safety. Careful observations by our teachers help them to add intentionality to their curriculum planning. At New Horizons we follow the VPK Education Standards which are based on what we know about children, including what they should know and be able to do along a continuum of development.
Our curriculum is based on these standards which include:
Oral Language/ Vocabulary Measure – a child’s expressive and receptive languag e- Targets the child’s knowledge of adjectives, verbs, verb tenses, prepositions, and nouns
Print knowledge: Print knowledge is the child’s ability to recognize letters or words, and his/her knowledge of letter names (both upper and lower case) and the sounds they make.
Phonological knowledge: Phonological awareness is the awareness and manipulation of different sounds in words.
Mathematic measure: Mathematic knowledge is the awareness of early numeracy skills such as counting, numerical relations skills and arithmetic reasoning.
At New Horizons our classrooms provide the foundation for children to thrive and afford them the best opportunity leave our prekindergarten ready for success in kindergarten.