What will we be learning about this year?

I noticed that once I could talk to my son about the new things he would be learning in his new class, he became more excited about going. His anxiety level dropped some and he became curious about school again (instead of telling me he was not going because he doesn't know his new teacher).

As a parent, I know you are interested in the things your child will be learning and it will help you at home to reinforce the things we do at school. So, here is a general list of our Units of Study. All of the 3s teachers at St. Matthew's focus on these but the way we teach them may vary.

• All About Me (Feelings, Emotions, 5 Senses)
• Farm (A petting zoo will come to St. Matthew's so the kids can see and touch live farm animals!)
• Fire Safety (Firemen and their firetruck will be visiting St. Matthew's to discuss Fire Safety. The kids will be able to tour the firetruck at this time!)
• Fall Fun (Bats, Spiders, Pumpkins, Apples, Harvest)
• We Are Thankful
• Christmas
• Winter
• Nursery Rhymes & Fairy Tales
• I Love You
• Community Helpers (There is a "Career Day" where the kids get to dress up as what they want to be when they grow up.)
  
• Transportation (The 3s classes have a "Road Rally" where this kids bring their bikes to school and have lots of fun!)
• Animal Homes (The "Reptile Man" will be visiting St. Matthew's and the kids will be able to see live reptiles up close!)
• Circus (Doodlebug, the clown will give a special performance for the 3s classes!)
• Mother’s Are Special (The class will host a special Mother's Day Tea for all you mommies!)
  
• Summer Fun

Separation Anxiety in Preschoolers

I would like to know if your child is having anxiety about going to school and how are you helping him/her cope. CJ, my four year old son, was adamant that he was not going back to school because he doesn't want a new teacher nor does he want to meet the new kids in his class. That was until I started talking to him about the neat things he was going to learn about in PreK - things like space, cowboys, Indians and dinosaurs. I told him I felt a little sorry for the girls in his class because it seemed like they would be learning mostly "boy" things. Apparently, that is what he needed to hear! Suddenly, he became very interested in his new class and wanted know all about it. Of course, he did tell me that he is not coming into my classroom since there will be new kids in there too. One baby step at a time I guess ;)

• Are you talking with your child about what s/he can expect in school?
• Will your child met with his/her teacher(me) in advance?
• Does your child have any ways to cope with meeting new people and being separated from you?
• Does s/he know what s/he can do when feeling scared or overwhelmed?
  
• Are you reading any books about school? (Such as "The Kissing Hand")
  
• Are you practicing/pretending what it will be like at school? This helped my son a lot last year. I would pretend to be his teacher and we would practice meeting each other for the first time. We also practiced saying good-bye and I told him "mommy goes away, but mommy will always come back!"