Young Preschool Class

What a Day in our Classroom looks like

In our Younger Preschool classroom, we develop our lesson plans from DCP’s core values that we created as a staff. We Value Belonging at DCP. Together we are learning to feel Safe, be Kind and Care for our community. As a collective we believe that these ideas encompass the spirit of DCP. As a classroom we want to highlight these concepts. We also base our curriculum off of the Colorado Early Learning Developmental Guidelines. 

We have seven different areas in the classroom that students can explore during our free choice time. 

  1. Science/Math

  2. Art

  3. Calming Corner

  4. Dramatic Play

  5. Writing/Library

  6. Block Areas

  7. Sensory

Example of Classroom Set up

  • Core Value: Belonging

  • Book of the Week: Swirl by Swirl

  • Science: Examine living snails

  • Art: Spin Art

  • Sensory: Playdough with different patterns to make impressions in the playdough

  • Dramatic Play: House

  • Writing: Write letters to our family

  • Blocks: Build homes for different insects

We begin our day with free choice in the classroom for 90 minutes during this time students are free to explore the classroom at their own pace and follow their unique interests. After we work as a group to clean the space to transition into our 10-minute morning meeting. During our morning meeting we sing our hello song, read our book of the week and have a short discussion. This brings us to snack where we ask the question of the day. After, we transition outside for at least an hour (weather permitting). When we have finished enjoying the beautiful playground we come back into the classroom for lunch and set up the room for nap. Once lunch is finished the students lie down on their napping cots and we read a story. After rest time, the students help pack up their nap bags and stack their cots. We then enjoy our afternoon snack and end our day with our closing circle where we usually read another book and sing our goodbye song.

Key Development Points

In the Younger Preschool class, we believe that the social-emotional growth of children is fundamental for the future growth of children as learners. We also believe that play is a documented necessity for the growth of humans. Play is the pathway that allows children to build executive functioning skills and self-regulation. Our goal is to provide these fundamental skills to our Younger Preschoolers through community focused activities, play based provocations, and confidence building interactions to create meaningful and positive relationships with their peers and teachers. When children feel secure in their community and in their relationships, they feel as if they belong, and they are granted a safe foundation in which they can learn and grow with confidence. We work on developing these skills in Younger Preschool for the future success of our students as learners and members of society.