Pre-kindergarten

Pre-K Education for 4-5 year olds

KinderCare Early Foundations^® Prekindergarten Program

Pre-kindergarten children are preparing for the adventure of a lifetime — kindergarten! And our Early Foundations Pre-kindergarten program is designed to get them ready by teaching letters and words, math concepts, and valuable social skills.

With small group instruction, independent play in an organized atmosphere, and large-group activities, children will have all the right skills to hop, skip, and jump into kindergarten.

Everything we do is designed for pre-kindergarten learning.

Our Pre-Kindergarten Program Features

Small-group lessons in mathematics and literacy (reading and writing) every day
Hands-on experiences that encourage independent, creative learning
Activities and lessons that help prepare your child for kindergarten and school success
Whole-group activities that help your child build an awareness of others and a sense of community
Classroom activities and design features that help your pre-k child build literacy and numeracy skills
Regular teacher-family communication, including daily updates to keep you informed

Your child's pre-kindergarten education at KinderCare

Our five areas of focus give your pre-k child endless opportunities to learn and grow.

Communicating With Others
KinderCare helps your child improve important language skills.
We use daily journal activities to practice writing skills; help your child's early reading skills by connecting sounds to letters through picture and word collages; teach basic sight words in fun and engaging ways; and develop phonemic awareness through literacy-based games, books, and puzzles.

Building Brain Power
KinderCare prepares your pre-k child to reason and analyze.
We encourage the use of the senses to explore different materials; create opportunities to ask and answer open-ended questions; experiment with spatial relationships; and promote an understanding of sequencing such as first, next, and last.

Making New Friends
KinderCare provide opportunities for your prekindergartener to practice social and emotional skills.
We use character-building activities to help identify emotions; have group discussions to practice sharing ideas, thoughts, and feelings; and provide opportunities to cooperate, negotiate, problem-solve, and make independent choices.

Growing a Healthy Body
KinderCare helps your child strengthen physical abilities.
We help to refine fine-motor skills through the use of scissors, stencils, lacing cards, and drawing tools; promote large-motor development with obstacle courses, balancing activities, and bikes; and encourage awareness of physical well-being and healthy eating habits.

Nurturing Creativity
KinderCare encourages your pre-k child to think and create.
We provide numerous opportunities for your child to represent ideas through drawing and writing stories; invent unique dance moves; use props to dramatize stories; and express independent thinking and expression through art and music.

Your Prekindergartner’s day

Open to 9 a.m.	Arrival and Breakfast: Children participate in quiet activities and eat breakfast. As children finish breakfast, they can visit learning centers or participate in individual or small-group activities until most children have arrived or are finished eating.
9 a.m. to 9:25 a.m.	Group Time: Teacher brings the group together for morning routines, calendar, sharing, featured activity, literacy-building, and discussion of the day’s activities.
9:25 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.	Learning Centers and Small-Group Activities: Children choose from activities in the literacy, library, math, blocks, science, sensory, dramatic play, manipulatives, and creative arts learning centers. Teachers implement small-group activities with a few children at a time, focusing on literacy and mathematics skill-building activities and observational assessment.
11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.	Group Time: Children come together to listen to a daily read-aloud and/or to finish or repeat activities from the early morning group time.
11:15 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.	Outdoor Play: Children select from a variety of outdoor activities.
11:50 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.	Lunch: Children wash hands, help set the tables, and prepare and eat lunch.
12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.	Group Time: Teachers read aloud to the children as they prepare for rest time.
12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.	Rest Time and Quiet Work Time: Most children nap or rest quietly. As children wake from rest time, they can select from a variety of quiet choices, such as manipulatives, drawing and writing, books, or the listening center.
2:15 p.m. to 3 p.m.	Learning Centers: Children choose from activities in the literacy, library, math, blocks, science, sensory, dramatic play, manipulatives, and creative arts learning centers. Teachers implement small-group activities with a few children at a time, focusing on literacy and mathematics skill-building activities and observational assessment.
3 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.	Group Time: Children come together for an afternoon featured activity and closing routine.
3:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.	Snack
3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.	Outdoor Play: Children select from a variety of outdoor activities.
4:15 p.m. to Close	Learning Centers or Small-Group Activities: Children select from a variety of activities that are easy to clean up, such as books, listening center, and manipulatives.