Preschool

Three-Year-Old Curriculum

Little Jewels Learning Center offers a first-rate preschool curriculum that provides hands-on learning opportunities, instills a sense of respect and confidence, and builds necessary skills that will prepare your child for kindergarten. The three-year-old curriculum becomes more involved, as Little Jewels teachers work closely with the Illinois Early Learning Standards for 3 to 5 years of age to implement more material every week. This structured child development program will include the following topics:  

  • Letter and number recognition
  • Focus on pre-writing skills using the Path of Movement writing system for numbers and letters
  • Writing of the student’s name
  • Phonetic activities such as songs, literature, and worksheet review
  • Simple math concepts (number recognition, beginning patterns, graphing, etc.)
  • Simple science concepts (experiments, making predictions, etc.)
  • Bi-monthly exploration of social-emotional activities with the Director of Curriculum
  • Exposure to computers and how they navigate
  • Inclusion of beginning-level Spanish vocabulary
  • Weekly music class with Hip Cat Music School
  • STEM curriculum*

Pre-Kindergarten

Four and Five-Year-Old Curriculum

The pre-k level curriculum is designated for four and five-year-olds and aims to prepare them for their elementary years. Teachers will use the Little Jewels theme-based curriculum, combined with STEM activities, to help incorporate a more project-based approach to lessons. Your child will have the opportunity to explore themes in a way that helps to ensure we are touching upon multiple styles of teaching, so all students have a better chance at success. All lessons are aligned with the Illinois Core Curriculum, so we will continue to ensure your child is prepared to enter Kindergarten in our region.  Required topics included within the curriculum include: 

  • Advanced letter and number recognition
  • Enhanced writing skills using the Path of Movement writing system for numbers and letters
  • Continued printing of the student’s name
  • Phonetic sound recognition and activities
  • Additional math concepts (money and coins, simple addition and subtraction, problem-solving, etc.)
  • Additional science concepts
  • Simple sight words (once the student has shown an understanding of phonetic sounds for letters)
  • An in-depth exploration of social, emotional activities with the Director of Curriculum
  • Continued learning of basic computer skills
  • Weekly music class with Hip Cat Music School
  • STEM curriculum*

*STEM is a curriculum tool designed to promote connections between classroom activities, science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM curriculum enables teachers to provide students with new experiences through project-approach along with meaningful reading and writing activities.