Threes (3-4 years)

Three-year-olds are full of wonder and spend a lot of time watching, observing, and imitating. Their days are filled with busy exploration of their world. Teachers will continue to instill the young learner with respect for themselves and others, sharing and communicating in full sentences. Skills learned during this period include letter recognition, tracing letters and learning to write their names, building social skills, and engaging in group activities.

Areas of Development:

Language and Literacy: Communication entails more than just speaking words; it's expressing thoughts, wants, and needs. Communication also involves listening and understanding what others are saying. Children are offered many opportunities to express their thoughts and opinions with their friends and teachers. Children will be immersed in a print-rich environment, and will experiment with different letter sounds, and start to explore characters and story plots.

Gross/Fine Motor Skills: The three-year-old program focuses on all gross motor skills, which strengthen the large muscle groups of the body, including arms and legs. Gross motor skills include jumping, kicking, throwing and catching a ball, and demonstrating balance. Fine motor skills, which include the smaller muscle groups, such as fingers and hands, are also a focus, and are strengthened through activities including finger painting, sculpting with clay, and doing finger plays.

Cognitive Skills: The curriculum addresses three-year-olds' increasing cognitive skills, which include problem solving and logical thinking. Children will be encouraged to use their creativity and curiosity when they encounter new tasks, such as building a city out of blocks. To develop logical-thinking skills, teachers read carefully selected children's books throughout the day, encouraging the children to answer questions and express opinions about the stories.