Every classroom at Ashford follows a weekly lesson plan written by the teacher and reviewed by the director. The plan covers the same areas from the infant room through Kindergarten, with goals that change as children grow.
In Pre-K the goals follow the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards, which is what kindergarten teachers in School District 54 expect children to arrive with.
Teachers read aloud in every classroom every day, starting in the infant room. Older children learn letter sounds, write their names, keep journals, and take home a book each week from the classroom library.
Counting, sorting, measuring and patterns show up in blocks, cooking and the sensory table. Science is hands on: ramps and balls, magnets, planting seeds, and watching what happens to ice in the sun.
Children learn to name what they feel, wait for a turn, solve a disagreement with words and comfort a friend. Teachers model it, and the daily routine stays the same so children know what comes next.
Two outdoor play periods a day, weather permitting, on an age-separated playground. Indoors, children thread beads, use scissors, pour their own water and draw, all of which builds the hand strength kindergarten writing needs.
Open-ended art is out every day, not just on Fridays. Children paint, build, sing, dance and play house, restaurant and post office. We care more about the process than the product, and the work goes up on the walls.
Our Pre-K goals follow the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards, the same standards local kindergartens expect children to arrive with. In the spring, Pre-K children practice a longer school day, carry their own folders, and visit a kindergarten classroom.
Aman's final curriculum descriptions and per-age goals will replace this starting text.
Teachers keep a portfolio for each child: photos, work samples and short observations tied to the goals for that age. Twice a year, in the fall and spring, you sit down with the teacher and go through it.
In Pre-K we also do a kindergarten readiness check in the fall and spring using the Illinois standards, and we share the results with you plainly, including anything to practice at home.
Ask to see the current week's plan for your child's room. Teachers are happy to walk you through it.