Research proves that preschoolers learn best through educationally enriching environments with hands-on activities and play-based centers. In January, St. Peter’s preschool department added new curricula that provide the kids with hands-on learning opportunities that are research-based and developmentally appropriate, in addition to being a lot of fun!
The teachers are currently piloting Handwriting Without Tears, part of the Learning Without Tears program, to guide our preschoolers through learning to write their letters. This program offers a multi-sensory approach to learning by combining kinesthetic strategies with visual, auditory, and tactile components that allow the children to develop rote memory when it comes to letter formation. The hands-on manipulatives that are a part of the program enable the children to play with the letters and the shapes that make up the letters before ever putting pencil to paper.
Through the use of Mat Man and wood shape pieces, the kids become familiar with the common names of the shapes that make up each letter (big line, little line, big curve, little curve). They play with the wood pieces, use Roll a Dough to roll out the letters with dough, stamp and erase the letters with Stamp and See Screens, and trace and erase on chalkboards as they begin the letter formation process. Once it’s time to write the letters, the teachers can hear the kids reminding themselves, “Big line, little line” as they write.
Preschool is now using Zoo Phonics as an innovative way to teach the kids to look at a letter and connect its sound to what they see to create rote memorization of the sounds, which is how reading happens. The Zoo Phonics program has three mnemonic devices for each letter – a pictorial representation of an animal that begins with that letter, an auditory representation through alliterative animal names, and a physical body movement the kids make associated with the letter. For example, “a” is represented by an alligator named Allie, and the kids will make an open/close mouth movement with their arms for that letter. By combining visual, auditory, and kinesthetic components, connections are made in learning the letter sounds while the kids are having fun.
The teachers are so excited to use these programs to help our preschoolers on the road to reading and writing. Next year, more components of the research-based Learning Without Tears curriculum will be introduced in the classrooms. St. Peter’s early childhood program continues to be future-focused to set each student up to succeed as they move through school. And the kids are just having a whole lot of fun!
