Teacher-directed activities are balanced by ample time for exploratory play and personal discovery. Children's large motor skills are promoted in outdoor play, sports, dance, creative movement and tumbling. We also sing a lot at New Hope and work with our hands in creative play and craft projects. Reading and books are an important and enjoyable part of the New Hope Day Care curriculum. Children learn through a variety of games and songs to identify letter sounds and recognize many letter symbols.
Many children begin sounding out three-letter phonetic words in our program.
For example, a preschool lesson on corn might incorporate the math skills of counting and concepts of enough, too few, and more, as children count out a piece of corn for each child in the class. Games are played that foster their learning to identify number symbols and quantity. In addition to everything else, New Hope offers opportunities for optional activities such as formal dance instruction, foreign language study, music lessons, and learning computers. This parental involvement allows the families to feel a sense of ownership and pride in the program. Studies have shown, and our own experience has taught us, that children do better in school when their parents are actively involved in, and committed to, their children's education.