School Grounds

The total environment of St. Thomas the Apostle preschool reflects our philosophy. The set up is especially designed to be child friendly and facilitate an active learning environment. The classrooms are arranged so that children can independently navigate themselves throughout the classroom making their own choices. Each classroom has several centers that offer specific activities that promote independent learning. Some of the centers you will find in the classrooms and why they are important are:

Sensory Table

The sensory center helps your child to experiment with textures and properties of different substances. This center offers extensive pre-math and pre-science foundation. The use of cups, bowls, measuring tools, shovel and funnels are just a few ways children begin to experience “how much” can fit. In addition, the simple feel of shaving cream or goop is a tremendous way for children to begin to understand texture, such as solid vs. liquid.

Finally, the sensory table is a great way to enhance the theme of the month. For example, “fishing in the Sea of Galilee” or building a desert environment with plastic animals and cactus in a sandy desert region.

Blocks/Building

The block center helps your child to experience with different concepts such as shape and size discrimination, spatial relationships, classification, number skills, balance organization, cause and effect. It also encourages children to learn to share ideas and work together developing problem solving and communication skills. Finally, this area allows children to improve their small motor skills and hand eye coordination.

Science

The science center stimulates the child to explore and experiment with a variety of materials and objects. This center gives children as opportunity to develop skills in using the scientific method of problem solving – observing, identifying problems, predicting, testing prediction and generalizing. Their ability to manipulate various objects and materials gives them the ability to move from concrete to abstract thinking. In sharing discoveries with others children begin to develop an appreciation and respect of nature and the world around them. Animals that the children are responsible to take care of are crucial for a child’s developing awareness of stewardship.

Writing Center

The writing center is a center where your child can make writing interesting, meaningful and most importantly fun. The writing center is a great place to build confidence in self-expression. It not only allows but encourages children to experiment with different uses of writing (signs, mail, posters, labels, text, drawings.)

By providing a variety of paper and writing tools children have the opportunity to “write” in meaningful and real life settings. For example, sign in sheets are out every day, graphs, classroom books, signs for class projects and items make writing meaningful to the children.

Art/Creativity Center

The art center provides a medium of expression and enables your child to…..
Art allows children to communicate through visual expressions, learn how to use symbols to represent objects and receive sensory pleasure. In addition, working with a variety of materials helps to reinforce fine-motor and hand-eye coordination skills. This center also helps concept development in areas such as colors, shapes, and size relationships. Finally, the art center enables the child to control the use of materials to foster independence. The emphasis is always on the process not the product.

Math

The math center offers a broad range of opportunities for the child to explore numbers, patterning, sequencing and classifying with concrete materials. Children use a variety of materials to weigh, measure and graph. These opportunities give children a chance to develop a foundation of knowledge that will facilitate math concepts in future learning.

Pretend Corner

The pretend corner helps your child to engage in child-centered pretending, role-playing, imaginative play and to construct the world as she/he sees it. This center allows the children to act our feelings and emotions in a comfortable setting. Children are able to practice using social and communication skills to resolve conflicts, express their individuality and explore their creativity. They are also able to role-play characters from stories, real life situations and integrate what they learn and experience into reality.

Library Center

The library center is a relaxing center that allows the child to develop an appreciation and enjoyment of literature. Children begin “reading” picture books and telling the stories that they remember from circle time. This center offers the children a place to develop listening skills, express ideas and read for pleasure. This is the foundation for future reading and comprehension of literature. This center offers a quite place where children can go to spend some private time.

Religion

The religion center offers children a place to practice, explore and understand the concepts that are taught through out the day in preschool. It is simple an area that allows children to focus on God, Jesus, traditions and stories of our faith. It gives them a place that they can go to be quiet with books or other hands on materials to enhance their knowledge of their religion. Religion is taught on going throughout every day experiences. Teachers use conflicts, unique situations and children’s questions to develop the faith concepts so important to Catholicism.

Circle Time

This is a crucial part of the preschool day. Children are able to share with other children and teachers. Children develop a sense of belonging to a group, they are able to develop a sense of time and their environment (calendar, weather, etc.) and this time is used to develop the theme of the month through literature, songs, games, and discussion.

Snack

The snack center provides a perfect opportunity for the children to…..
Practice their independence in a challenging and safe environment. Children are responsible for a set of procedures that helps with memory and sequential thinking. They need to wash their hands, “read” the snack menu, get the napkin and cup, count out the snack, pour the drink and clean up their space. This is a gradual process with lots of spills, however as the children become independent in this area it is easy to watch the growth of their self-esteem.

The church and the chapel

The church and chapel are visited on a regular basis. The children become familiar with the layout and the formal names used, such as the alter, the Saints, the baptismal font and the pews. They are taught that these places are special and are used for pray and community gatherings. We worship as a school once a month and the children take an active part in the service.

Many of these centers will also be found on the playground as we believe that the outside choice time is simply an extension of the classroom. Learning continues for the preschool child where ever they are. In addition to these centers the children are able to plant in our garden, ride bikes, enjoy our climber, and learn to play group games.

The sand box offers an opportunity for the children to use their imagination in an endless number of ways. Finally, the children have water days in September and May. These have become a tradition at St. Thomas preschool! This is a time when we turn the playground into a water park. The children can experience shaving cream, goop, the water slide, sprinkler and lots of mud.