• Lindenwold Preschool

    Lindenwold Public Schools is proud to offer a full-day preschool program that serves children ages three to five.  We use HighScope Curriculum for Preschool, an evidence-based curriculum that emphasizes active learning. HighScope provides students the opportunity to have direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, events, and ideas as they work towards New Jersey’s Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards.  In preschool, we play to learn.  Our program fosters creativity, language development, problem-solving and independence in a setting that is safe both physically and emotionally.  As young children benefit from structure and routine, we work hard to offer new and exciting learning opportunities in the context of a familiar schedule and routine.  

    Each Lindenwold Preschool class  is limited to 15 children with a certified classroom teacher and instructional assistant. The district uses a mixed age delivery and inclusive approach-all classrooms have both 3 and 4 year old students and both General Education and Special Education students. Our  Preschoolers have a 6 hour day from 9:45-3:45 with breakfast, lunch, snack and a rest period of an hour included. 

    INCLUSION: Inclusive education teaches all children teamwork and how to relate and function together with others with different abilities. Students learn to value diversity, see the ability of others to contribute, and inclusion also gives children a sense of unity. Preschool Inclusion teachers work in the classroom to provide special education services to children with disabilities. They collaborate with-and provide strategies to-the regular education teachers to ensure the children’s individual goals are being met. They provide extra support and change the curriculum in order for children with disabilities to function in a general education setting. The Inclusive Teaching Model allows the Preschool teacher to implement classroom activities and lesson plans from the district curriculum and plans with the Inclusion teacher for adaptations and modifications for children with special needs. 

    THE DAILY ROUTINE: Establishing a routine helps provide children with a consistent schedule of events for the day. It also helps our teachers and staff organize their time to ensure challenging learning experiences. “Daily Routine Cards” are posted in each classroom so students can visually see the day. 

    Elements of the HighScope daily routine include: 

    ● Greeting Time/Morning Message (Greeting time provides a smooth transition from home to school and gives teachers the chance to help students get ready for an enjoyable and productive day of learning)

    ● Small Group Time (The class breaks up into two small groups and the children question, experiment, observe, and create based on their own interest or based on a teacher-assigned topic)

    ● Large Group Time (Children and teachers gather together to play games, do reading activities, tell and re-enact stories, sing songs, do finger plays, dance, play musical instruments or re-enact special events. This time is an opportunity for each child to participate in a large group, sharing ideas and learning from the ideas of other)

     ● Planning Time (In their small groups, children indicate what they choose to do during work time . Their teacher will try to understand children’s plans and often try to help children extend their plans)

     ● Work Time (Children will work on their plans in the different interest areas and teachers will observe, support and assist the children as they work, explore, inquire, create, etc.) 

    ● Recall Time (Recall brings closure to the planning work time recall sequence. In their small group, children reflect on, talk about, and/or show what they have done at work time)

    ● Meal Time(s) (Children and teachers eat all meals and snack family style in the classrooms at the tables) 

    ● Outside Time (Children will go outside twice everyday for a total of 45 minutes to engage in outdoor play. Teachers participate in, and support, children’s play outdoors.) 

    ● The daily routine used in our preschool program allows for one hour of rest time per day.