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kg & nursery
The Kindergarten Department at the Universal American School promotes a child curriculum that enhances the social, physical, emotional and intellectual abilities of each child as an individual. We believe in a small teacher student ratio; therefore, there are two adults in each classroom: a teacher and an assistant.
The Nursery School Program at the Universal American School is a non-academic program. The goals of this program are to promote in the children, beginning school behaviors, language development, enrichment and socialization skills. During the day the children will have many opportunities for movement and exploration. Play is an integral part of this program. Through play, children gain socialization skills, organizational skills and much vocabulary. Materials will be available for the children to create and use in ways that they wish. Art projects will be primarily child generated. The children will be given art materials to explore and use, as they would like. The teachers will help the students when the students ask for help, but the emphasis will be on beginning independence.
The Kindergarten I program at UAS primary focus is the child and his/her development. We use as our guidelines the mandates from the National Association for the Education of Young Children in the United States (NAEYC). This organization has lists of developmentally appropriate activities at the different age levels. These guidelines are the driving force behind our program.
In Kindergarten I, we use a whole language, theme based approach to education. This simply means that the children are exposed to many different topics in the school year. Each theme lasts approximately two weeks and during that time the children do many activities related to the theme. These range from art projects to field trips.
The purpose for the Kindergarten II program is to prepare each child for the academic rigors of first grade. Concepts are taught within the context of a theme. Literature is an essential component of instruction. Much learning is achieved through a child’s natural desire to play. A wide variety of materials are available for a child’s exploration and discovery. Interaction with adults during play encourages critical thinking and language development.
There are many other components to our program. The children receive Arabic and Islam three times a week. This instruction will set the basis for their learning of Arabic and Islam (for Moslem students). The children also receive Music instruction once a week by a specialist teacher.
The Kindergarten classroom has different centers. These “Centers” are planned carefully to encourage children to be in charge of their own activities. Each “Center” has it’s own unique set of materials and work opportunities. “Centers” encourage the child to be responsible. They are allowed to plan, work and evaluate their own work.