Do the children go out if it is very cold or very hot?

Is religion taught at GFCC?

What will be taught in my child’s classroom?

Who takes field trips?

Are teachers trained in First Aide and CPR?

What is carpool and how does it work?

Why is there early dismissal for Transition and 2x4 once a month?

Is my child ready for Kindergarten?

Do the children go out if it is very cold or very hot?

Children do go out if it is cold, if only for 15 minutes. We think it is important to get the exercise and fresh air. Please dress them warmly.

If it is damp and extremely cold weather or a code red for heat, we will stay in and go to the “Rainy Day” room.

Is religion taught at GFCC?

Chapel or religious education is not taught as part of our curriculum at GFCC. Religious instruction is left to the parent and we hope you will do this, whether at our church or another. Our goal is to provide a loving environment in which children learn and are prepared for public school. We will talk about the birth of Jesus at Christmas and sing songs about Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. We will also give those children who celebrate Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, etc. the opportunity to share information about their celebrations.

Children are taught that people celebrate and believe differently and GFCC is a place where we love and accept our classmates and friends.

What will be taught in my child’s classroom?

Our main goal at GFCC is to help a child develop socially and emotionally. A child may be intellectually brilliant, but they need to know how to relate this information to another adult (teacher) or their classmates. It is important for children to learn self control skills and how to solve problems and conflicts without aggression. This promotes self confidence. Strategies such as taking turns, sharing, negotiation, and compromise are taught. We give children who are very quiet, the skills to express themselves and compete in a large group.

Each age level has a set of goals that are based on developmental expectations for that age child. Parents are given a copy of these goals in their packet of information at the beginning of the year.

With the age level goals in mind, the curriculum is created. You will see the same curriculum throughout all age levels because most of it is seasonal or based on events and holidays that occur during certain times of year. (example: Presidents Day, harvest time, planting, community helpers, State Fair, etc.) The difference will be the level of difficulty layered into the curriculum as a child progresses from the 2 year olds to the 4 or 5 year olds. What 2 year olds do for dinosaurs will certainly be different from what Transition will study about dinosaurs.

Phonics is introduced in the 4 year old program. It is much more comprehensive in the Transition program.

Who takes field trips?

Twos and two & halves do not take field trips or have resource people come in.
Three year olds take no more than 2 field trips and have several resource people visit their rooms – especially during the Community Helpers unit.
Four year olds take several field trips and also have several resource persons come to talk to the children.
Transition students average about a field trip a month and have many resource people visit their room.

Are teachers trained in First Aide and CPR?

Each teacher takes CPR training with a First Aide review every two years, in order to keep their certification current. This training session is during teacher workdays in August. They are also trained to use an EpiPen, for children who require one in emergency situations.

What is carpool and how does it work?

Carpooling allows children who are in same day classes to ride to school together.
 
    •  This helps children with separation anxiety to more easily leave Mom.
    •  It is fun to ride to and from school with a friend.
    •  It makes drop off and pick up easier for Moms with small children or infants (teachers come to the car to unload and load their preschoolers).
    •  There is no faster way to move the volume of children and cars through our school parking lot at the beginning and end of the day.

Carpool times are staggered so that every 10 minutes two classes arrive and depart. This prevents congestion in the entrance and exit areas and makes for a safer carpool experience.

Why is there early dismissal for Transition and 2x4 once a month?

All GFCC teachers are required to attend at least 3 continuing education courses throughout the year. These are held at GFCC or another preschool once a month, at 1:00. About 22 preschools take part in these workshops. Therefore we have about 80 teachers coming into our parking lot right at Trans. and 2x4’s carpool time. If the workshop is off site, the teachers need some travel time in order to arrive on time.
 

Is my child ready for Kindergarten?

Here are some of the skills and behaviors that can help a child succeed in Kindergarten, from June Million, of the National Association for Elementary School Principals.

Academic

• Familiarity with sizes, shapes, and colors

• An understanding of position, direction, time and order (up and down, night and day, what happens first, next, and last in a story)

• Reading-readiness skills (recognizing letters, talking in sentences, following simple directions)

• Math readiness (counting objects, counting out loud to 10, understanding empty and full)

Physical

• Gross motor skills (running, jumping, hopping, throwing a ball, building with blocks, climbing stairs)

• Fine motor skills (drawing, cutting, pasting, completing simple puzzles, fastening buttons and using zippers)

Social and Emotional

• Following simple rules and routines

• Sharing

• Planning and carrying out activities with others

• Working independently

• Listening carefully

• Being away from parents without being upset

• Taking care of dressing and toilet needs

• Caring for own belongings

• Having good self-esteem

A U.S. Department of Education study shows that having that extra year does help children succeed:  "Children who are close to 6 or already 6 when they begin kindergarten have several advantages over children who start when they have just turned 5 or are not yet 5 years old” according to The Condition of Education study put out by the department’s National Center for Education statistics. The report, which tracked 19,000 children in 940 public and private schools, shows older kindergartners are closer to being able to read and do arithmetic, have more advanced motor skills and are more socially adept and less prone to problem behaviors than younger classmates.  And that’s what really bothers the experts.

Holding children back tends to be more of an option for affluent parents who have more access to quality preschool programs. And ultimately the practice contributes to an ever-widening gulf between the older, well-prepared kindergartners and the younger ones of modest means, says Barbara Willer, deputy executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Washington D.C.

That gulf can strengthen quickly as kids get tracked at earlier ages for advanced and gifted curricula.

That’s the official line, anyway. But Willer acknowledges that she has parents in her won organization who grapple with the issue.

Back in the trenches, where parents have to make the decision of what is right for their own unique child, the reasoning is sometimes more defensive than aggressive.

In an age where kindergarten is as demanding as first grade used to be and social pro-motion is under attack, many parents don’t want to risk starting their children too soon and running the risk of having h/him held back. That, they figure, can damage a child’s confidence and make him the brunt of teasing.