5's Academy

Monday thru Friday afternoons 12:15pm to 2:45pm
5 years old by September 1st.

HCP's 5's Academy program is a five-day/week afternoon program designed to prepare children for Kindergarten, especially the unusual 2020-21 school year. Our 5's Academy will foster the development of the whole child, with emphasis on both academic kindergarten skills as well as social/emotional growth.

Hinsdale Community Preschool's 5's Academy program prepares students with the skills necessary to transition comfortably into kindergarten, especially if they took a leave of absence from in-classroom education during the 2020-2021 school year. Students will not only learn skills that are academically appropriate for their level, they will have the gift of time to hone the social emotional skills necessary to participate in a kindergarten environment.

The goal of our 5's Academy is to prepare our students to enter into kindergarten with self-confidence, developmentally appropriate social skills, and the ability to believe that they have the tools necessary to interact comfortably and positively with their kindergarten peers.

On the academic side, our curriculum provides an in-depth study of Literacy and Language Arts, Math and Science, as well as Social Studies. Writing activities, beginning writing/journaling, and beginning sight word study coupled with our Handwriting Without Tears program to enhance our language arts and literacy program are included. The Pre-K version of Phonemic Awareness: The Skills That They Need to Help Them Succeed! is used to increase language awareness, rhyming skills and phonemic capabilities. Numeration, Geometry, Data Collection, Computation and Operations from the Everyday Math program is studied.

The dramatic arts will also be incorporated into daily study. An increased understanding, as well as appreciation for the arts of Music, Fine Arts and Drama will be addressed within literacy activities, dramatic play acting, the study of artists, authors and more!

The following highlights the routine of our 5's Academy class:

• Arrival: Teachers greet the parent and child at the door to welcome them to class. Children will sign in and begin their day with a hands-on table activity. This promotes social/emotional, team work and fine motor start to their day!
• Group Meeting Time: Following table activities the children will meet for a short morning meeting time. During this time the children will work on patterning by discussing the calendar, do some mental math, discuss a question of the day and listen to a story that connects to the activities of the day.
• Small Groups: Small groups are an opportunity for the teachers to work with the children in a smaller group of 5 or 6 to work on various academic skills. The focus will be on literacy, cognitive skills, fine motor skills.
• Creative writing/Author's Chair: Journaling will be a focus for the 5's Academy. Children will write in their journal or dictate to their teacher and then illustrate their writing. Their journal entries will be shared during Author's Chair time.
• Literacy: Exploring phonemic awareness, environmental words and sight words will be a daily activity. Thinking skills and comprehension strategies are used when predicting outcomes of a story. Daily writing/journaling and dictating of stories is expanded to continue to develop details and vocabulary. Using our Handwriting Without Tears program, students will continue to expand their fine motor development and writing skills. Children will share their journal writing during Author's Chair time.
• Math: Through both small group and center experience, children will build on their mathematical vocabulary, as well as concepts of data collection, geometry, numeration and operations using the Pre-K version of Every Day Math. Developmentally appropriate mental math and word problems will be incorporated into daily activities.
• Science: Hands-on activities will be explored in depth to promote critical thinking and reasoning skills. STEAM, as well as environmental science and caring for our world, will be incorporated into our Science study.
• Dramatic Arts: The study of illustrators and artists will be incorporated into art appreciation study. Musical activities involving dance, rhythm and cultural music appreciation will be incorporated into daily music and dramatic play production.
• Field Trips: Similar to the Senior AM class, the 5's Academy will attend a variety of off site field trips to enhance and extend their learning. In house field trips will also be conducted to extend learning.
• Snack: Snack is offered every day. Snack in the 5's Academy will be served by the teachers during a group snack time.
• Outdoor Time: Weather permitting the children will spend time outdoors every day. Walks will be taken, play in the Erma Butler Toddler Park will take place to develop gross motor skills as well as social skills.
• Gym Time: Children will play in The Community House gym on specific gym days. Gross motor skills will be promoted by using balls, scooters, hula hoops and other equipment.