Preschool Curriculum

A careful orchestration of materials, activities and support allows our youngest learners to flourish physically, socially, emotionally, and academically.

The A. Fantis preschool philosophy builds a warm, nurturing environment with careful planning of materials, classrooms and activities.

Play-based instruction emphasizing social-emotional growth with daily outdoor play and second language learning. Enrichment continues with daily after-school clubs and our Beyond the Bell extended day program.

Fantis preschoolers are kindergarten-ready because faculty work closely to capitalize on the students’ inherent curiosity and cultivate their depth of knowledge and understanding with sophisticated levels of questioning, concept development and language modeling.

Curriculum

Social and Emotional Growth
  • Respect and concern for people and materials
  • Pro-social problem solving strategies
  • Regulates his/her responses to needs, feelings, events
  • Has a good self-concept and self-awareness
  • Play and share cooperatively
  • Adapting to change
Approaches to Learning
  • Demonstrating initiative and persistence
  • Engagement in activities and exploration
  • Ability to focus on a task
  • Work well independently and in small groups
Language and Literacy
  • Phonics and word recognition
  • Identities and writes letters and words
  • Vocabulary acquisition and usage
  • Responds to literature
Speaking and Listening
  • Speaks clearly and communicates in sentences
  • Responds to questions and waits turn 
  • Listening stamina
  • Understands and follows directions
Mathematics
  • Counting and cardinality
  • Basic geometry
  • Uses models and drawing to show thinking
  • Makes sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Cognition & Knowledge of the World
  • Understands basic science concepts and shows scientific thinking
  • Awareness of the broader community and its elements
  • Creativity and imagination in the arts
  • Music, creative movement and dramatic play
Autonomy
  • Follows routines independently
  • Takes initiative before requesting teacher support
  • Independently uses bathroom, dresses and undresses
  • Eats and cleans up during meal times
Fine Motor
  • Holds and uses crayons, pencils and scissors
  • Simple puzzle assembly
  • Proper pincer grip hold
  • Pastes and glues
Gross Motor
  • Walks up/down stairs with alternating feet
  • Walks forward and backward
  • Runs, hops and jumps
  • Balances left and right foot
  • Gallops and skips
Second language acquisition
  • Greek language speaking and listening
  • Greek language vocabulary
  • Greek letters and basic word recognition

Prepared for Kindergarten & Beyond

Getting ready for elementary school is more than simply reading, writing and mathematics. Being ready for kindergarten means preschoolers have learned key social-emotional skills, attained a level of autonomy, and can think creatively and solve problems. Most importantly, we want our graduates to enter kindergarten maintaining what is special about preschool—a sense of wonder, curiosity and passion for understanding the world around them.

Sample Schedules

The Pre-K Teacher

Our experienced teachers work collaboratively and engage in ongoing professional development to hone their craft. Preschool teachers:
  • Start with a foundation based on love
  • Fully understand each student as a unique individual
  • Support the growth and development of the whole child
  • Capture preschoolers natural curiosity and wonder with scaffolded questioning and language modeling
  • Purposefully design the classroom environment and curriculum to enhance learning

Why learn Greek?

Over 60 percent of all English words have Greek or Latin roots. In the vocabulary of the sciences and technology, the figure rises to over 90 percent. Indeed, we speak and write Greek every day without realizing it. Western democracy is based on ancient Greek ideals and universal values, from Plato to Hippocrates. We all can better appreciate our own language and culture through the careful study of the Greek language and Hellenism. In addition, learning a second language has many social and cognitive benefits, beyond simple language acquisition.
Research has shown the positive influence of learning another language has on the development of the brain and a child’s intellectual abilities. Our Greek Language and Hellenic Studies curriculum is academically rigorous and provides students with an opportunity for interdisciplinary learning that is engaging, meaningful and important.

What Our Parents Say

Fantis preschool represents an excellent value for a child's education, particularly given the emphasis on foreign language and values.

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