A day at Sunset:
Meet and Greet - The children arrive to either play in the learning centers, or a table activity. It is our goal to provide an inviting and stimulating environment, where the child feels happy and comfortable coming to school.
Circle time - Each day the director begins the day with a prayer and then all will participate in a fun and exciting activity. The activity will change daily and involve numbers, letters, shapes, colors, patterns, the senses, science projects, and many more concepts that will support the development of their skills. Circle time will also help build confidence in working with a large group.
Calendar - The children discuss the calendar, weather, seasons, and their environment. They will recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing songs, listen to music, hear stories and more.
Learning Centers/Outside play - There are 4 "fresh air classrooms" with individual themes; Wildreness park, Main Street, Traditional play and Circle/Calendar area. Inside, there are 6 learning centers; art and writing, blocks; dramatic play, literacy, science and math (small motor), and the mini gym (large motor skills). Sunset uses the "creative curriculum" and believes firmly that children learn through play. "Play with a purpose" is the goal of our highly interactive centers. These centers play a large role in developing a child's social and emotional skills.
Snack time - After grace, the children take a break to enjoy a healthy snack together.
Skill building - The children work on specific age appropriate skill building activities. We will facilitate the development of early math skills such as shape recognition, number identification, counting, ,number quantities, patterns, graphing and matching. The children will also work on letter recognition and phonological awareness using rhymes, poems, stories and the Chicka chicka boom tree! They will also build their fine motor skills building and working with manipulatives, writing, coloring, using scissors...just to name a few things they will cover in the year.
Incorporating moral and spiritual direction into your child's life -
We provide an environment and atmosphere that will help nurture and develop the children's spiritual foundation, enabling them to know and share God's love. They will learn the Lord's prayer, offer thanks to God before meals and listen to age appropriate stories. We truly believe that the children of Sunset will benefit greatly in the spiritual environment that we have created for them.
Specials:
We also place a strong emphasis on pulling community services and life skills into their classroom experience. The children learn spanish, sign language and yoga. They bake, cook, experiment with science, put on plays and take nature walks. We welcome special visitors such as the Montrose Fire Department (and their truck) along with a dentist and librarian. We also welcome our family members to come in to read, celebrate a birthday or simply observe. We truly feel Sunset's curriculum is the perfect program for an exceptional early childhood experience.