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NURSERY (3-YEAR OLDS) 
 
Overview 
St. Augustine School Nursery Program provides a warm, loving environment that is designed to consider the development of each child in order to meet his/her individual needs. Emphasis is placed on Christian values and learning in a nurturing atmosphere through example and instruction. Children are given diverse choices that lead to independence, self-confidence, self-control, and a sense of responsibility. Through play and hands-on experiences, children are given the opportunity to become acquainted with all aspects of the learning and play environment.
Cognitive Skills  
 
Literacy
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • actively take part in group discussions
  • listen to others
  • communicate personal experiences or interests
  • play and experience developmental naming and sorting of wordslisten to and use formal and informal language
  • listen to a variety of age-appropriate literature
  • become familiar with letters and print
  • listen to stories and poems that contain rhythm and rhyme
  • dictate stories about their pictures
  • make books with teachers
  • name main body parts
  • recognize their names
  • sequence events in stories
  • recall details
 
Math
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • sort and categorize by color and size
  • recognize shapes
  • listen to and name numbers
  • develop an understanding of more and less
  • sing songs and do finger play involving numbers
  • engage in measuring and counting through cooking
  • use meaningful counting to ten
  • be introduced to simple patterns
  • arrange objects in sequence by size
  • develop visual perception
Science
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • conduct simple investigation of objects
  • make predictions
  • share scientific observations through art
  • cook to experience and explore chemical changes
  • discuss weather and seasons
  • explore and discuss air characteristics
  • compare and discuss natural materials
  • observe the needs of living things
  • use senses to explore the environment
  • observe seasonal changes
  • describe and compare familiar and unfamiliar objects
  • develop and explain proper use of materials and tools
  • observe and describe the way animals move and meet their needs
Religion
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • learn prayer before meals
  • discuss God as always being present in our lives
  • discuss God’s ever-present love for us
Music
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • sing songs with clear, easy melodies
  • engage in songs with finger play
  • engage in singing independently
  • engage in listening to and singing songs
  • engage in singing in group
  • use soft and loud voices
  • learn repetition
  • practice songs with rhythmic and body movement
  • engage in use of musical instruments
Safety and Health
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • identify ways to prevent injuries
  • listen to age-appropriate stories about health and safety
  • discuss dental hygiene
  • discuss healthy food choices
 
Social/Emotional Development
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • make friends and play cooperatively
  • learn to share and take turns
  • develop confidence through self-satisfying activities
  • separate comfortably from parents
  • begin to follow simple directions
  • try new things
  • respect property
  • sit in group for a short time
  • develop observation skills
  • work and play independently
  • seek help when needed
  • take pride in work
  • complete activities
  • use materials appropriately
  • clean up cooperatively
  • link feelings to emotions
  • discuss ways to problem-solve
  • talk about others’ feelings
  • describe members of family and parents’ role
Physical/Gross Motor Development
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • push/pull
  • walk or balance: slow, fast, forward, backward
  • dance
  • use climbing structures
  • run, skip, gallop, crawl, slither, hop, jump, each in accompaniment to music and stories
  • move to music at own pace
  • invent original ideas through dance, movement or games
Fine Motor Development
By the end of the Nursery year, students will:
  • experiment freely with art materials
  • experience enjoyment through fine motor activities
  • develop individuality
  • use finger play with poems and music
  • put together a variety of puzzles at different levels
  • manipulate play dough with many different tools
Saints/Scholars