Blue Room (4s) Program Overview

We want children in the New Beginnings 4s program to feel comfortable and secure, attending class in an atmosphere of love and acceptance that encourages and supports the growth and development of the whole child: physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual.

• Modeled Christian Values will be taught daily through Bible stories, songs, and finger plays.  Four year olds will participate in chapel one to two days per week, and there will be prayer before snack and lunch times.

• Social Skills: Children learn to work in a group, as well as individually. They learn to be respectful of others’ feelings and property. They learn to trust their teachers and to wait their turn when interacting with their peers. They are encouraged to share their own thoughts.

• Arts and Crafts: Children are encouraged to choose an art project every day.  Art centers around themes or the alphabet. Teachers look for a child’s willingness to participate, more than his or her artistic ability.  Participation is encouraged, but not mandatory.

• Listening/Following Direction Skills: Children will learn to listen and follow directions by listening to teacher-directed or audio/video-recorded activities to increase their attention span and to expand their learning comprehension.

• Literature: Teachers introduce children to a varied selection of literature and help them write stories one-on-one.  When the class listens to a story, teachers point out the story’s beginning, middle, and end.  Teachers use the interactive method of storytelling to help develop the children’s attention spans.  Teachers also help the children discuss the story’s outcome to check that they really understand what they hear.  Stories illustrated on felt boards encourage children to re-tell the stories.  

• Motor Skills: Teachers model how to write all letters and the numbers 1-10, hold a pencil correctly, and hold scissors and cut projects out. By the end of the year, children will be able to assemble a 20-piece puzzle and print their first name.  In addition to these fine motor skills, children also practice activities that promote their gross motor development.  Indoor and outdoor play activities help children develop good coordination skills as they learn to jump, hop, run, and skip.

• Readiness Skills: Teachers determine which skills preschoolers need to master in order to be prepared for the kindergarten classroom.  Defined readiness skills include recognizing his/her own printed first and last names, identifying the letters and sounds of at least 20 letters of the alphabet, counting to 20, physically counting up to 10 objects, counting by 2s, 5s and 10s, identifying at least half of the numbers between 0 and 20, know the value of numbers (i.e., greater or lesser), identifying simple shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, hearts, and stars, and ordering the numbers between 1 and 10. Teachers also introduce basic addition and subtraction concepts through games, stories, and finger plays. Children will know the days of the week and months of the year.