Preschool in the Early 5’s Class

Magdalen’s Preschool’s Early 5’s program is a half day program (with the opportunity to add our Extended Day Program) offered to children who do not meet the State of Michigan age requirement for kindergarten (5 years old by September 1^st).  This program is offered to children who may be developmentally young and/or may need an additional year to be successful upon entering a rigorous full-day, five days a week, kindergarten program.  Early 5’s is a stepping stone between preschool and kindergarten for those students who need to absorb and express ideas, learn more about friendship, assert their independence, and examine the world around them.  In the Early 5’s classroom, learning is driven by the needs of the class.  The pace of study is set by the specific strengths and readiness of your child.  Your child will become familiar with the structure and format of a day in kindergarten while developing critical skills necessary for elementary school.  Early 5’s allows students to grow and develop socially, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.  We keep a small teacher to student ratio in our Early 5’s classroom to make sure children are getting the attention, time, and observations each child needs.

Early 5’s provides a gift of time which will help students build a strong foundation for success in elementary school, in the following ways: 

• Social Skills: cooperation, friendship, decision-making, self-confidence, listening and problem-solving skills, language, and sustaining attention.
• Intellectual Skills: independent thinking, memory, problem-solving skills, language and literacy skills, organizing work, understanding of the world, and following multi-step instruction.
• Emotional Well-Being: positive attitude, self-responsibility, self-help skills, and respect for self and others.
• Physical Skills: fine and gross motor skills, confidence in physical capabilities, use all of senses for total learning, and controlling impulses.
• Academic Skills: letter identification, letter formations, letter sounds, blends, CVC words, and rhyming.
• Mathematic Skills: number awareness, algebra, geometry, measurements, and data analysis (graphs).
• Literacy Skills: vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, sound structure of words, phonemic awareness, and concept of print.