The Hilliard City School District Special Needs Preschool (HCSD Preschool) utilizes the Get Set for School curriculum from Handwriting Without Tears. This curriculum is aligned to the Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS). The HCSD Preschool also engages students in multi-sensory activities that supplement the Get Set for School curriculum and further fulfill the ELDS, as well as support students in the area of social emotional development. The HCSD Preschool maintains and teaches the Hilliard City Schools Valued Behavior Outcomes of: "Power of the Team", "Passion for Growth" and "Stand Up and Own It". This is done through the teaching of "Press Pause". We "Press Pause" by slowing our bodies down to think about our actions and problem solve in various situations. We participate in a school-wide "Positive Behavior System" where our school mascot, Cubby, teaches us to "Be Kind, Be Safe & Be Helpful". Finally, our building participates in the emotional regulation program called "Zones of Regulation". This program has been extremely beneficial to teachers, students and their families as it instructs students to identify different emotions, and how to regulate those different emotions through learned strategies.
Below you can gain knowledge about our curriculum from Handwriting Without Tears called Get Set for School! To be directed to parent section of the Get Set for School website (named "Click Away") please click on the button below.
The slideshow from our parent curriculum night is available below.
Overview
The Hilliard City School District Special Needs Preschool (HCSD Preschool) utilizes the Get Set for School curriculum from Handwriting Without Tears. This curriculum is aligned to the Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards. The HCSD Preschool also engages students in multi-sensory activities that supplement
Readiness & Writing
The "Readiness & Writing" component of the Get Set for School curriculum highlights the requirements for writing that are essential to school. These skills include: physical, language, cognitive, social and perceptual skills. Development of these skills is supported using music, movement & multi-sensory manipulatives. Specific, core readiness skills taught include: crayon grip, letter & number recognition, number & uppercase letter formation, and body awareness.
Manipulatives used with Readiness & Writing
Wood Pieces
Children polish, sort, stack and learn the names of the Wood Pieces. We work on size, shape, and positional concepts. When ready for letters, children use the Wood Pieces to build letters. Children use their index and middle finger on their dominant hand to trace the wood of the built letter for pre-writing readiness development.
Magnetic Boards & Pieces
Magnetic stamps are provided with the magnetic boards that correspond to the four Wood Pieces for students to stamp letters. Children also use the magnetic wand to trace or write letters on the screen. This activity is also part of the pre-writing process.
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Wet, Dry Try Chalkboards
Children engage in this multi-sensory activity to practice letter strokes during pre-writing development. To begin, we use small, damp sponges to write the letter in water, use our "worker fingers" to crumble up a small paper towel and dry the letter (in the same stroke sequence), then finally write the letter using small bits of chalk.
Get Set for School Book
Each child will receive their own "My First School Book". In this workbook, students will practice scribbling, coloring, drawing, writing, and counting. We will teach crayon grip and moving fingers to flip the crayon on the scribbling pages, encourage "fill in" coloring and color recognition on the coloring pages, promote putting ideas and thoughts on paper on the drawing pages, and instruct proper stroke sequences on the writing pages.
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Playdough Mats & Playdough Trays
Children roll balls into snakes and use snakes to make letters. Children build small hand muscles by pinching, squeezing, and rolling and pressing the dough into different shapes and sizes. When pressing into letter or number forms, children use their index and middle finger on their dominant hand for pre-writing readiness development.
Flip Crayons
Flip crayons are designed to support good crayon grip, leading to good pencil grip. The crayons are small in design to avoid "fisting" the writing utensil, and are two-toned to encourage children to move their fingers and flip the crayon to a new color. These crayons are used for our Mat Man drawings, Get Set for School books, and other various center time activities. ***If you would like a set of flip crayons for your home, please ask Miss French! We would be happy to share!***
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Mat Man
Mat Man is a wonderful tool to teach drawing by building and signing. MIss French will first build Mat Man on the floor (as is done in the video to the right) and then we build him as a class giving a part/piece to each student to add at the appropriate time during the song. Next, we remove Mat Man and direct children to draw Mat Man either individually or to contribute ideas to draw him as a group. As we progress throughout the year, many more "extras" are added to Mat Man. We begin to add clothing, other bodily parts (such as freckles or a heart), and even final touches to the setting of the picture (like a rainbow or a dog)!
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Language & Literacy
The "Language & Literacy" program is a complement to the "Readiness & Writing" program. It utilizes dramatic play, singing, finger plays, manipulatives, and movement to teach students to rhyme, clap syllables, make and break compound words, & identify sounds. The "Language & Literacy" program teaches new vocabulary words and promotes oral language by listening, retelling and narrating stories. Finally, this program teaches students that there is meaning in their words by dictating student thoughts & ideas.
Sound Around BoxThe Sound Around Box is better known in our classroom as the Letterbox! This great tool is also used for teaching letter recognition, rhyming, syllables, and listening. It is often utilized in these activities as a mystery box!
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Line It UpChildren can use the Line It Up tool to practice sequencing (including "beginning", "middle", and "end" concepts), explore letters, share ideas, practice comprehension, and practice phonological skills!
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A-B-C Touch & Flip CardsThese multi-sensory cards feature two sides, one a tactile letter and the other a puzzle for alphabet sequencing. These cards are used for letter recognition, uppercase/lowercase matching, and phonological skills.
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Word Time
With the Word Time program, we are introduced to Squawker, a parrot (puppet) who teaches us 6 new vocabulary words a week! Each day that Squawker visits us, he hides somewhere in the classroom and our "Squawker Helper", after finding him, is prompted to use positional terms to tell his/her friends where Squawker was hiding! With Squawker, we are able to learn the words and relate them to meaningful experiences for further comprehension. These weekly words are communicated in our weekly news section so you can also use them at home!
Numbers & Math
The Numbers & Math program is an extension of the readiness program and helps students build number sense. It uses manipulatives, music, & rhymes to teach counting, comparisons, spatial awareness, patterning, sequencing, matching, sorting, problem solving, and Pre-K geometry skills. Activities from this program allow students to experience and play with real situations to test ideas for meaningful learning. Language is also supported to help students learn about and express math concepts.
Tag BagsChildren are able to explore number recognition, color recognition, rational counting, and types of closures with the Tag Bag tools! We often use tag bags to hide smaller items or picture icons to add a fun element to various activities!
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1-2-3 Touch & Flip CardsMuch like the ABC Touch & Flip Cards, the 123 Touch & Flip Cards feature a tactile number for finger tracing as well as animals on the other side for counting practice. These cards are also used for practice with number sequencing, labeling sets of objects, and practice with one to one coorespondence.
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4 Squares More SquaresChildren are able to handle, arrange, order, and build with these colorful, rubber shapes! This tool also includes double sided boards to create larger shapes and complete puzzles using multiple shape pieces. Children can match, sort, pattern, graph, and explore with these fun, hands on, manipulatives!
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Mix & Match ShapesThese foam shapes feature geometric and organic shapes. We are able to explore problem solving, spatial reasoning, fractions, shape recognition, and shape properties with these fun tools!
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