Four Year Olds

Four Year Olds have a huge burst in cognitive skills to keep up with.  They begin to realize how much control they can have with language and thought.   Just as they are developing strong cognitive and language skills, social dynamics become much more challenging, and this is often a large focus for four year olds.  Our objectives take into account the great need for cognitive challenge as well as the time and attention needed to form strong social skills and a foundation for elementary education.

Curriculum Objectives

  1. Sense of Self
    • Demonstrates ability to adjust to new situations and follow routines
    • Shows trust in adults; listens to parents and teachers and trusts them to keep child safe
    • Functions with relative independence at school
    • Recognizes the difference between adults who can help (family, friends, teachers) and those who may not (strangers)
    • Identifies and labels feelings in self and others
    • Is able to offer help to friends in need
    • Demonstrates ability to use conflict resolution with peers
    • Stands up for one’s own rights and asserts them verbally
    • Begins to take actions to avoid possible disputes and can make suggestions of how to change a situation to avoid a dispute
  2. Gross Motor
      • Demonstrates basic locomotor skills (running, jumping, hopping, galloping)
      • Climbs up and down comfortably
      • Demonstrates balancing skills
      • Throws and catches a ball
      • Runs with ease
      • Begins to express self through body
      • Can work cooperatively on a physical task
    • Cognitive Skills
      • Observes and examines objects
      • Demonstrates problem solving skills: uses a variety of methods to answer a question, observation, asking someone, research, looks for alternative solutions to a problem
      • Observes attentively and seeks new information
      • Demonstrates ability to compare and measure using multi-faceted levels of comparison
      • Can identify item in a series, can arrange objects in a continuum according to two or more features
      • Continues to work on a task even when experiencing difficulties
      • Works on a task or project over time.  Has multi staged plans and implements them over a series of days or weeks.
      • Creates and decodes  extensive patterns
      • Can translate representations to a drawing or building. 
      • Uses drawings or buildings to represent something specific
      • Demonstrates understanding of time in space.  May discuss concepts of today, yesterday, tomorrow.
      • Uses one-to-one correspondence as a way to compare sets of items
      • Uses numbers and counting.  Can count to 20 and can identify numbers written.
      • Recognizes that numbers have different meanings and add up to a new number
      • Engages in elaborate and sustained role play
    • Language Skills
      • Hears and repeats individual sounds in words
      • Uses understanding of different parts and sounds of words to create new words
      • Can express self using words in more complex sentences
      • Can communicate with full sentences (several words and more then one thought in one sentence)
      • Understands and follows verbal directions with two or more steps
      • Answers questions with a complete thought (more then yes or no)
      • Asks questions with purpose of furthering own understanding
      • Understands rules and structure of conversation, and participates in conversation
      • Initiates or elaborates on conversation
      • Develops a joy for reading
      • Demonstrates an understanding of print concepts (recognizes that print carries meaning, that each word can be written down or read)
      • Demonstrates knowledge of the alphabet: recognizes most letters by name and sound
    • Fine Motor
      • Demonstrates self help skills such as feeding self, removing socks, shoes, washes hands
      • Manipulates objects with hands with increasing control
      • Performs simple manipulations (holding scissors in one hand, grasping small items, dropping small items into a container)
      • Begins to make recognizable shapes, including letters, faces or other representational drawings
      • Coordinates eye-hand movement
      • Manipulates materials in a intentional way, planning and following through with a plan
    • Self Care/Responsibility for self
      • Chooses and becomes involved in one activity out of several options
      • Keeps track of personal belongings while at school
      • Demonstrates respect and care for classroom and materials
      • Participates in clean up, making own plan and following through
      • Participates in group activities
      • Follows classroom routines without adult assistance
      • Creates and completes tasks with little adult assistance
      • Demonstrates understanding of classroom rules and follows them without guidance
    • Social Behavior
      • Works and plays cooperatively with one other child as well as in a small group
      • Maintains an on-going friendship with at least one child
      • Recognizes what others might be feeling or might need
      • Defends another child’s rights
      • Engages in the negotiation process to reach a resolution
      • Seeks adult assistance when needed
      • Suggests a solution to a problem
      • Accepts compromise when negotiated with a friend