In Treasure Mountain we learn through our play and we address that at this age a child’s work is their play. Since we use the Creative Curriculum, the children have a large input in what we study and our day is structured and guided while led by the child. During the first part of the school year we work on classroom routines, rules, and building a community based on friendship, respect, and kindness. We begin the year by working on pre-writing skills while some of the older children begin working on writing our names. The beginning of the year also focuses on early letter and number recognition, and exploring different areas of imaginative play.

Throughout the year, we build on letter recognition and learning the alphabet with Zoophonics and fine tune our handwriting skills through Handwriting Without Tears. Our day has a good mixture between

child led activities and teacher led interest areas at center time and group time.

One major skill that we emphasize and develop in Treasure Mountain is independence, which includes learning to be responsible for your backpack, snack, and classroom job. We foster self-help skills by encouraging the children to be as independent as they can be with dressing, including buttoning and zipping, as well as and using the toilet and washing their hands.