Tag: Junior K

Literacy Studies at The International Preschools

The children in the Green (3s), Pre-K (4s), and Junior K (4s/5s) classrooms at The International Preschools have been working on literacy studies throughout the months of February and March. The Green Rooms primarily choose one author to focus on, while the Pre-K and Junior K classes choose either a book/book series or a chapter book/series to concentrate on.

At our 76th Street location, the Pre-K 3 children are reading My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. Here, they have drawn, colored in, cut out, and labeled the animals and characters in the book for a classroom bulletin board.

As in all of our play-based learning themes, the classrooms are transformed to reflect the topic at hand. Dramatic play centers, discovery centers, and book shelves will exhibit books by a particular author or topic. Art projects and writing/drawing activities will represent characters and plot lines from the books being read. This way, the children will fully immerse themselves in the books they are reading, and usually, better understand the text and concepts being taught.

Green 2 children at our 86th Street location create spiders to coincide with their Eric Carle author study. The spider is the main character in Eric Carle’s book, The Very Busy Spider.

One may ask, are chapter books age-appropriate for the Pre-K and Junior K children? Will the information and stories be difficult for them to understand? The answer is no, provided that you pick the right books…which our teachers have certainly done. The chapter books and chapter book series that have been chosen by our teachers this year all include illustrations, which help provide the children with a visual source for plot lines and characters. At the same time, the lesser amount of illustrations allows for children to use their imaginations, creating their own versions of what the characters and the settings in the stories look like. With less pictures for visual comprehension, chapter books require children to fine tune their listening skills, as they will need to rely on their receptive language to understand what is going on in the story being read aloud.

Be sure to return for next week’s blog entry, which will spotlight the Pre-K and Junior K classes’ work on their book studies. (The Green Rooms’ author studies will be highlighted the week after.)

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IPS Moving-Up Ceremonies: Zoom Style!

A few of the esteemed members of the IPS graduating class of 2020!

The end of the 2019-2020 school year has arrived, and with it comes end-of-the-year ceremonies for our Red (2s), Green (3s), Pre-K (4s), and Junior K (4s/5s) classes.  Usually, this time of year brings parents and children together within the classrooms to celebrate this milestone together.  Unfortunately, COVID-19 derailed our plans…but not to worry, the teachers at The International Preschools provided its students with memorable events to close out this school year!

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The (Updated) iPad/Technology Program at The International Preschools

A child working on an app during IPS’ iPad/Technology class.

The International Preschools created and instituted an iPad/Technology program for our Green Rooms (3s), Pre-Kindergarten (4s), and Junior Kindergarten (4s/5s) classes several years ago.  The 2018-19 school year will bring about some changes to the curriculum, led and instituted by our Technology teacher, Ms. Nikki.  While some aspects of the program will remain the same, other parts of the curriculum will include new learning topics and a larger focus on concepts such as coding.

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End-Of-The-Year Celebrations

An IPS student prepares for "graduation"!
An IPS student prepares for “graduation”!

Each May, The International Preschools celebrates the end-of-the year with a variety of play-based learning activities.  It is a bittersweet time for everyone:  parents, children, and teachers alike. While parents and teachers are incredibly proud of what the children have accomplished throughout the last nine months, it is also a sad time of year, as we all prepare to say goodbye for the summer.

Classroom teachers approach the end-of-year celebrations in different ways depending on age levels.  For the Creche (1.5s-2 year olds) and Red Rooms (2 year olds), families gather in the children’s classrooms for an international potluck and children might perform a few songs with the grown-ups.

In the Green Rooms (3 year olds), teachers incorporate memory books, a photo/video collage and performances by the children.

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A Look Into The Classrooms at The International Preschools – Part 1

Our 45th Street and 86th Street locations are closed this week for spring break, and our 76th Street location will join them next week!  In lieu of our usual blog posts, here is a peek into the classrooms at The International Preschools during the months of February and March.  More photos to come!

gingerbread-house

86-red-spray-paint 86-red-room-yellow-day 86-pre-k-2-outside

86-pre-k-2-cooking 86-prek-1-buying-tickets 86-jr-k-outside 86-jr-k-egg 86-green-2-handwriting 86-green-2-dramatic-play 86-green-1-yorkville-animal-hospital86-prek-1-q-train 86-green-1-bingo

creche-colors-2
art-farm-crechebaby

green-3-fun green-1-45-cooking gingerbread-housepink-flubber45-full-day-green-partyteeth-brushing

ipads-green-1red-1-76th-with-dougips-photo
red-pm-76th-art-farm

Author Studies and Chapter Books in the Pre-K (4s) and Junior K (4s/5s) Classes

At The International Preschools, literacy and pre-reading skills are at the forefront of our interdisciplinary, play-based learning curriculum.  During the months of January, February, and March, these skills are highlighted via our school-wide author and book studies.

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Pre-K (4 years old) and Junior K (4/5 years old): Fall Themes at The International Preschools

November is in full swing, and the oldest students at The International Preschools are learning about a wide variety of fall-related topics.  This week, we will take a look at the fall themes inside the Pre-K (4 years old) and Junior K (4/5 years old) classes at The International Preschools.

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United Nations Day: How We Celebrate at The International Preschools

Happy United Nations Day!  Our UN Day celebrations have been an annual tradition at The International Preschools since the founding of the school in 1963.  The themes of peace, friendship, and acceptance run through the 2s, 3s, Pre-K, and Junior K classes at all three locations during this time of year.   Here is a window into some of the classrooms for you to see the fun and various way students are preparing to celebrate this unique tradition.

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