Why Little Treasures at St. John?
We will help your “Little Treasures” grow and develop!
Love Learning New Things. Our teachers encourage laughter and sharing while children develop a love for learning that we believe endures for years to come.
Learn with the Best Teachers. We believe our preschool teachers are the most nurturing educators in the area, as evidenced by our recent recognition as one of the 50 best private schools by the U.S. Department of Education.
Assemble a Solid Foundation. Day by day, our incredibly dedicated teachers work with your young child to methodically develop and then gradually strengthen a solid and lasting foundation of knowledge, imagination, and self-confidence.
Be More than Just Another Student. Our teachers and staff will know your child’s name, their budding learning style, and their unique personality. We will engage them daily with focused expertise, unwavering commitment, and genuine love.
Little Treasures Pre-K 3 Curriculum
The Investigators Club Curriculum offers your child everything that educational researchers say a great program must provide: Oral language development through speaking and listening, a print rich environment, quality children’s fiction and nonfiction books, early reading and writing experiences, problems to solve, exposure to math and science processes, opportunities for social and emotional growth, ongoing assessment to keep children on task and support for second language learners. Your child will acquire basic readiness skills in literacy, math, science, social studies, oral language, fine arts and music while exploring many topics.
Religion:
Our Sunday Visitor provides the Allelu! early childhood program for religion.
The Goals of Allelu! are to:
Teach young children about our Catholic faith.
Familiarize children with the Catholic sacraments, liturgical rituals, symbols and seasons.
Help form children’s moral lives, standards and values.
Teach children how to pray.
Give children the words and tools they need to talk about God.
Pre-Kindergarten 3 Frequently Asked Questions
How many students are in each class?
The maximum number of students is 20 per class.
What is your teacher student ratio?
We have a teacher and an aide in each Pre-K3 classroom.
What is your daily schedule?
Students arrive between 8:00-8:10. Upon arrival, they do table activities and learning centers. Our daily morning routine begins with attendance, calendar activities, and sharing time. From there, we begin our Investigator’s Club curriculum which consists of small group time, whole group time and everyday literacy. During this time, we also incorporate our learning centers and snack time. We end our morning with our religion lesson. In addition, we have P.E., visit the library, and enjoy music once a week.
If my child only attends half day, will they be missing out?
No, they will not miss out on any learning experiences. Since we have many students who only stay half day, we focus all of our teaching during the morning hours. When half day students are dismissed at 11:30, our full day students have lunch followed by recess. There is also a rest time in the afternoon. Once the students wake up from nap, we have a brief closing circle time.
Do I have to pack my child’s lunch every day if they are full time?
Yes, parents must pack a lunch every day. We eat our lunch in our classroom; therefore, we do not have access to a microwave or refrigerator. The school provides milk for all students at lunch every day.
Do you go on field trips?
No. The Pre-K 3’s will have a Fall/Pumpkin day on school grounds and a cultural arts experience during the year.
Do you allow parent volunteers in the classroom?
Parents have the opportunity to volunteer to help with class parties and other special times the teacher may need volunteers. All volunteers must be VIRTUS certified before they are permitted to help with any volunteer activity in the school. In addition, the Home School Association (H.S.A) always offers many opportunities to volunteer throughout the school in different capacities.
Class time and day options:
MWF half day program 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Five half-days a week program 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Five full-days a week program 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Little Treasure Pre-K 4 Curriculum
Splash into Pre-K helps teachers build a community of learners using Conscious Discipline® Strategies and includes all the core domains of learning including Emotional, Physical, Cognitive and Linguistic. Splash into Pre-K also integrates all of the curricular areas including Reading and Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Health, and Art into the daily instruction.
What makes Splash into Pre-K stand out? Thorough and comprehensive lessons and high interest activities that thoroughly engage children along with a flexible instruction plan that allows children to learn and explore at many different levels. Teachers can pick and choose activities depending on individual child interest.
Children also have the opportunity to participate in extensive and fun real-world Center Activities that maximize their experiences with the real world around them as shown in recent Early Childhood research. Furthermore, the classroom management provides the right tools for success with large and small group activities.
Splash into Pre-K weaves science and science exploration into each theme.
Science is integrated into every week of instruction and all experiments and exploratory learning can be done with regular classroom materials or easy to access materials.
The special “Steve Spangler” add-on Science Kit—augments the already complete science integration and offering. Additional science experiments are offered in an Exploration Science Activities and Tools book as part of the Add on Kit.
Religion: Allelu!
Unit 1: God is my Friend (4 weeks)
Unit 2: Jesus is Our Shepherd (6 weeks)
Unit 3: God’s Family, the Church (5 weeks)
Unit 4: Choosing God’s Way (6 weeks)
Unit 5: Beginnings and Endings (7 weeks)
Pre-Kindergarten Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Students are in each class?
We have two pre-k 4 classes. The maximum number of children in each class is 20. Five of our children will go home half day and fifteen will stay for the full day program.
What is the student to teacher ratio?
We have one teacher and one aide in each classroom.
What is your daily schedule?
The children will come into the classroom anywhere between 7:50-8:10 am. They do table activities and small centers until everyone has arrived. We begin our morning with a reinforcement of the weeks lessons. Then we begin our morning routine with circle time; calendar weather, jobs, etc. At this time we will jump into our Splash Into Pre-K curriculum; literacy, math, science, story time, centers, religion, and end with connection time. We also have a daily snack the children bring in and then outside playtime. Pre-K children go to music, library, and P.E. once a week.
If my child only attends half day, will they be missing out?
No, they will not miss out on any major learning experiences. We focus the morning on our curriculum and a small portion of the afternoon is spent on reinforcement. After the half day friends are dismissed, the full day children have lunch, reinforcement time, recess, story time and a one hour mandated naptime. The children are dismissed at 2:30.
Do I need to pack my child’s lunch everyday if they are full day friends?
Yes, parents must pack a snack for the morning and a lunch for the afternoon each day. We eat our snack and lunch in the classroom and do not have access to a microwave or refrigerators. The school will provide milk each day for lunch.
Does Pre-K attend field trips?
In the fall, we have the pumpkin patch come to us. The children will participate in hands on outside activities right here at school. We have an in-school experience for the students in the spirng.
Do you allow volunteers in the classroom?
Parents have the opportunity to help with class parties, field trips and other special times designated by the teachers. All volunteers must be STAND/Shield the Vulnerable trained before they are permitted to help with any volunteer activities in the school. In addition, the Home School Association (HSA) always offers many opportunities to volunteer throughout the school in different capacities.
Class time and day options:
Specials: Media/Library, Music, and PE
Five half-days a week program 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Five full-days a week program 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Accreditations
-Maryland Excels , Level 4 ---Our Little Treasures Primary Grade Program is accredited by the Southern States Association of Colleges and Schools.
-Our program holds a Letter of Compliance from the Maryland State Department of Education
-All Pre-K personnel are CPR certified, VIRTUS certified, and hold current Basic First Aid certification.
-Mandated by Maryland law, both 3 and 4 year olds in a full day program are required to have a 60 minute nap time.
Little Treasure Kindergarten Curriculum
In order to enter Kindergarten at SJRCS you must be 5 by September 1st. SJRCS follows the Archdiocese of Baltimore curriculum.
Reading Program
With leading-edge digital tools and results-driven instruction, we utilize the Superkids reading program that has a rigorous instructional design. The unique close reading routine builds better readers while also providing intervention for struggling students. Easy organization, proven instruction, and exceptional differentiation set SuperKids apart as the reading curriculum of choice for educators across the nation.
The program includes:
Common core-based instruction integrated into every unit and lesson.
Digital learning tools, including mobile apps and interactive whiteboard lessons.
Scaffolding and differentiation to meet the needs of all students.
Math Curriculum
Textbook –My Math
September-December – Intro to Geometry:
Two-Dimensional Shapes
Model, read and write numbers 0-5
Compare and order numbers to 5
Represent, compare and order numbers 6-10
Addition and subtraction
Compose and decompose numbers
Count to 100 by 1’s and 10’s.
January-June – Geometry, Data and Patterns
Sorting and data
Three-Dimensional Shapes
Positions and Patterns
Three-Dimensional Shapes
Measurement – Getting ready for Grade 1
A SAMPLE DAY IN THE LIFE OF KINDERGARTEN
8:00 – 8:10 Arrival
8:20 – 9:20 Math
9:20-11:20 Language Arts
11:20-12:05 Lunch/Recess
12:05-12:50 Science
12:50-1:20 Social Studies
1:20-1:50 Religion
1:50-2:35 Specials
2:40 Prayers/Dismissal
We follow the Archdiocese of Baltimore curriculum and we use the following books.
Language Arts: SuperKids (Zaner-Bloser)
Math: My Math (Houghton Mifflin Hartcourt)
Religion: Finding God (Loyola Press)
Science National Geographic
Social Studies Nystrom Education Atlas
Class time:
Specials: Media/Library, Music, PE, Art, and Computer
Five full-days a week program 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.