A Preschool Year 

A theme unit is explored every week. Stories and songs at circle times, art activities, field trips and special visitors all work together to enhance weekly theme units. Every year starts with “Getting to know you” and is followed by the classic “Rules to live by”. There are Halloween, Hanukkah and Christmas, and Valentines units, as seasonally appropriate.  Police and fire fighters often visit during the Police and Fire Fighters units.  Theme units provide the frame upon which we can hang many learning opportunities in language development, math concepts, science and pre-literacy skills.

Each class has age appropriate goals that we build towards over the course of the year.  Younger children learn adaptive social behaviors for interacting in groups and with peers while having a rich, sensory environment with many new things to explore.  As the year progresses, structure and behavior expectations are instilled to set the stage for classroom success.  Language and vocabulary development are key to setting the stage for future literacy for very young children.  The classroom atmosphere is nurturing and allows children choice in participation. Children must be comfortable in a classroom atmosphere before they are open to learning.

Older children hone their social skills as they move into associative play modes and begin to experience friendship along with all it's foibles.  Social and emotional skills are a focus along with rudimentary academics for those children who are ready.  Activities are not forced and nurturing continues to be very important for ages 3 to 4. As children continue to progress, they are introduced to a variety of educational techniques both in group and individual situations. Over the year, expectations of classroom behaviors and emotional control are gradually raised so that children develop fundamental classroom learning skills.

Prekindergarten students continue to need a great deal of social guidance as they begin to pursue more complex social groupings.  Groups of 4 to 7 begin to interact in complex games with bartered rules - and who just broke one becomes a hot topic every few minutes.  Sympathy, ethics, humor, and many other social skills are developing that benefit from teacher/parent mentoring.

Prekindergarten students are also asked to begin learning to adjust to a gradual increase in teacher driven activities, along with the beginning of short periods of required participation, in preparation for the more formal learning venue of Kindergarten.  Our goal is for students to gaining skills in the self-directing and self-completing of projects as they progress into their elementary school education.  Activities continue to be fun, engaging, and comfortably challenging for this age group.

At all levels, positive classroom behavior, social skills and successful integration with peers and teachers is emphasized. 

Student Evaluations

While Morning Star students are closely observed during all activities, students are formally evaluated in November and April. Each class age group has different evaluation criteria for the following categories: large motor skills, attention span, problem solving, socialization, communication, self-confidence, fine motor skills, cognitive development and academics. The younger levels are observed in class, while the preks enjoy a one-on-one directed playtime for skills evaluation with their teacher (they forever beg us to do this again, once they get a taste of it). After the observation/interview phase is complete, teachers review each student's evaluation to round out the picture of how each child is doing.

Parents are welcome to schedule a parent/teacher meeting at any time of the year to discuss concerns or evaluation results. We're available as a resource for parents for school/learning/social concerns, or if you are experiencing behaviors at home for which you'd like advice. We believe in the importance of coordinating efforts between home and school to provide continuity and ensure the effective learning of important skills for children both in school and in their personal lives.

Parent Participation

Parent Participation is a very active and integral part of our school that provides the resources and the volunteer efforts that elevate our program from good to great.  There are a variety of opportunities throughout the year to volunteer, donate, interact with other parents, and get involved.

A variety of events is held outside of class hours that provide opportunities for our student's families to meet each other. These include gatherings, fields trips, and classroom activities.  Many of these are dependent on parental donations and/or volunteers to succeed, and we look forward to working with you to create a great environment for all of the students and families enrolled.

Morning Star School is a privately held school and is not a non-profit organization.