Academic Life
HCCS Abundant Blessings Outdoor Preschool Program
We encourage you to enroll your child in our preschool program, where students focus on preparation for kindergarten and beyond through exploration, social interaction and play – the right balance to develop, support and challenge your child as they learn life skills in a safe, faith-filled environment!
3-Year-Olds
- 2 Half Days (Tuesday/Thursday): 7:40-10:40 a.m.
4-Year-Olds
- 3 Full Days (Monday/Wednesday/Friday): 7:40 a.m.-2:40 p.m.
- 5 Full Days (Monday-Friday): 7:40 a.m.-2:40 p.m.
More information on pricing can be seen here.
Specials: Students will receive the following specials to enhance their education: art, music, and physical education. Two recess periods are included in the full-day curriculum (one recess period in the half-day curriculum). Spanish is also incorporated into daily lesson plans in the preschool program, beginning an introduction to world languages.
*Please note: Children in our 5-day program attend all special classes, while children in our partial day programs attend the classes that fall on the days their chosen program is in session.
Religion: Students are introduced to the story of God’s unfailing love for us through daily bible selections and the Allelu! preschool curriculum. Traditional prayers are also introduced. We seek to put Jesus first in all that we say and all that we do and to lead by example. Students will participate in Mass with the rest of the school 2 times per month beginning after Christmas break.
Creative Art Enrichment: Weekly thematic units are planned for guided art projects and activities. Fine motor tasks incorporate a wide variety of skills so students may explore and enhance their own creativity while making connections to weekly themes.
Literacy/Cognitive Enrichment: Group activities enhance language and thinking skills. Examples include: asking and answering questions, awareness of the concepts of print, and exposure to letter-sound relationships using FUNdations, from Wilson.
Music/Movement Enrichment: Group games and musical opportunities provide an avenue to develop listening skills, creativity, coordination, turn-taking, patience, and problem-solving.
Science/Sensory Enrichment: Children have a natural desire to learn about the world in which they live. Activities in these areas of the classroom encourage curiosity, critical thinking as well as trial and error. Students will explore, experiment, predict and problem solve while connecting to a variety of instructional themes.
Math Enrichment: Math concepts are built into large group instruction, small group learning, and play-based centers. Concepts that are emphasized in the classroom are one-to-one correspondence, patterns, sorting, counting, number recognition, shapes, and measurement. Mrs. DeGroot provides fun and engaging activities that will lay the foundation for future mathematical success.
Curriculum: Our curriculum is seasonal, place based and play based integrated with the tenets of the Catholic Faith. It includes a mixture of inquiry based and hands-on activities, group and individual activities, indoor and outdoor activities, along with active and quiet activities. Children will develop self-regulation, problem solving skills, confidence and more as they learn in, from and about God’s natural world.
Activities: Abundant Blessings preschoolers will participate in activities that promote physical, social, emotional, intellectual and faith development. We make every effort for child-directed unstructured play in our outdoor space during our morning sessions. Afternoon sessions will take place in the traditional indoor classroom setting. Activities will be provided in a manner consistent to each student’s abilities and backgrounds. There will be a mixture of quiet and active activities as well as a mixture of child-directed and adult-directed activities. Oftentimes there will be various equipment and materials used to enhance the experience and exploration.
Sample Activities:
- Use magnifying glasses
- Catch insects with a net and examine in an insect cup
- Count natural objects
- Build with natural materials
- Read books and listen to stories
- Pretend cook and play in the mud kitchen and at the sand/water table
- Use sticks or charcoal to write letters
Sample Goals:
- Physical – develop balancing skills, independence in dressing in outdoor clothes and using writing and drawing tools
- Social – balance needs/rights of self and others, forms relationship with adults and navigates social problem solving
- Emotional – responds to emotional cues, regulates own emotions and behaviors by managing feelings, takes care of own needs appropriately
- Intellectual – shows flexibility and inventiveness in thinking, uses symbols and images to represent ideas, connects with numbers with their quantities
- Faith – connect with Jesus in everyday situations, demonstrate
Standards – WEML Standards, Green Bay Diocesan Standards and Green Bay Area Catholic Education Standards including:
- Social and Emotional Development and Competence
- Approach to Learning, Exploration, Discovery, Problem Solving
- Language, Literacy and Communication
- Creativity, Curiosity and Arts
- Cognitive Development – Math, Science, Social Systems
- Physical and Movement Development
Check out a daily schedule of a typical day in the program:
You can download the schedule here.
Handbook
You can view and download the Abundant Blessings Preschool Family Handbook by clicking here.
Contact Us
Ready for a tour? Contact us today to schedule a tour. We’d love to tell you more. Contact us soon, as class size is limited to ensure plenty of fun learning and attention for your budding student!