Objectives of the Preschool Section

The purpose of this section’s program is the holistic development of children. Throughout the school year students are encouraged to express themselves through different means, so that they learn to make decisions and solve their problems; also to develop basic skills working on concrete and abstract tasks to establish solid foundations in their learning.

General Objectives:

Facilitate the adaptation of children to their new environment and achieve interrelations based on respect for others and towards themselves.

Promote in preschool a pleasant, stimulating and safe environment so that the students have the opportunity to grow emotionally and socially, as well as develop skills and abilities.

Strengthen children’s values such as responsibility, friendship, honesty and solidarity.

Stimulate the development of internal motivation, independence and formation of work habits.

Initiate children in English language learning through a full immersion system.

Promote the holistic development of the children by encouraging work in projects, centers and contact with literature, art, music and technology.

Children develop a sense of themselves, so that they are able to express their feelings, gradually achieve autonomy, learn to value and make use of new skills and the knowledge that their environment provides.

To be able to play different roles in their games and other activities. Learning to, in collaboration with other children, resolve conflicts through respectful dialogue.

Develop sensitivity and creativity towards all cultural manifestations.

Preschool Activities

Colegio Americano is a bilingual institution, so the activities carried out during the teaching period in English are developed fully in that language. We want the children to become familiar, understand and follow simple instructions; to enjoy the reading of short stories, thus achieving a basic vocabulary that would allow them to gradually be able to express themselves.

The English and Spanish programs are parallel. The curriculum of Pre-kinder and Kindergarten respond to the needs and interests of each level.

The Preschool children are very perceptive, observant, and curious, and like to use different materials; their learning is done through concrete experiences, which is why all our activities are planned using teaching materials such as: puzzles, blocks, tokens, buttons, paintings, movies, slides, musical instruments, computers, among others.

As the students manipulate, they learn to relate quantities, sizes, shapes and colors, which help them acquire basic notions of mathematics; so, by memorizing forms and locating them in space, develop skills that will later serve to distinguish some letters from others.

Initially, the children use large spaces to perform their work, which will be reduced as they achieve more skill and precision in their movements. After passing this stage, the students are motivated to choose a correct posture when sitting, take the pencil properly and perform the first strokes from left to right and top to bottom, essential foundations for learning to read and write in first grade.

Through music and body expression, we want the children to acquire a basic musical knowledge and learn to listen and discriminate different sounds; So that it develops sense of movement, rhythm, song and familiarity with musical instruments.

The children construct mathematical notions based on situations that demand the use of their knowledge, finding the relation between objects, spaces, and times and being able to compare them.

Work System

During the first weeks of classes activities are planned to support the adaptation process. Students acquire routines to develop confidence and security in this new environment (for the children). Respecting their turn, sharing, listening and expressing, are concepts and attitudes that the children will internalize little by little. Order and care of their materials, and those of the School, are very important aspects that will be taught. As the students acquire these habits, they will develop greater independence and security.

Children work in large and small groups, and also individually. When working in large groups, children learn to listen to others, to express themselves in complete sentences and out loud. Small group activities give children the opportunity to develop their leadership skills, as well as allowing children to do different activities in the same class period. In individual activities children play alone, perform tasks and develop skills appropriate to their levels of interest.

Our teaching system follows the philosophy of Holistic Language Learning: we believe that concepts must have meaning for the children and they must be able to see them as a whole and not as dissociated parts without any meaning for them.

Conscious of the individual differences, as well as of the different levels of maturity, our method of teaching is individualized.

Special Subjects

School Hours: Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 1:50 pm