WEBVTT 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:22.120 Pre K is so much fun because we get to  play so many different stuff at work time. 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:29.960 I like building in the block area. I like learning about penguins and leprechauns. 00:00:30.840 --> 00:00:38.320 At school like to play with my friends. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:43.160 Our program is in it's fourth year.  We currently have five district-based 00:00:43.160 --> 00:00:50.200 classrooms for our UPK students. We have a classroom teacher and a 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:56.680 teaching assistant in each of our classrooms. Our classrooms have 18 students. It is a full 00:00:56.680 --> 00:01:03.600 day program, so we start the day at  8:30 and we end the day at 2 o'clock. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:09.800 Our program is aligned to the New York State  early learning standards and the five domains, 00:01:09.800 --> 00:01:16.160 which include approaches to learning, language  and literacy, social emotional learning, 00:01:16.160 --> 00:01:23.320 physical development, language and communication,  and cognition, which includes how the world works, 00:01:23.320 --> 00:01:26.840 which would help our students to  learn about scientific concepts, 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:33.760 social studies concepts and mathematical concepts. I love working with our youngest learners. They 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:38.520 have so many interests, and one of the things  that's great about our program is that we are 00:01:38.520 --> 00:01:43.120 able to tailor our instruction towards the kids  interests. So, if we have a group that's really 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:49.480 into dinosaurs, then we have the ability to do  counting and literacy all around themes that 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:54.400 kids really enjoy. The amount of growth that we  see from September when they walk in the door, 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:59.360 you know, very shy and timid, until June when  they're ready for kindergarten, is tremendous. 00:01:59.360 --> 00:02:04.560 It's a great place to be here in UPK. We emphasize learning through play 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:09.320 which helps our students develop  language and communication skills. 00:02:09.320 --> 00:02:15.240 We have four marking periods, and in each  marking period we have a different focus in 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:22.080 terms of understandings and answering essential  questions for our students so they are able to 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:29.840 explore topics like what is creativity and that  numbers and letters and words are all around. 00:02:30.760 --> 00:02:35.640 They will explore a concept such  as counting. And, in that counting, 00:02:35.640 --> 00:02:41.600 they may have some hands on opportunities. The thing I love the most about teaching UPK 00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:45.640 is the excitement on the students faces when  they learn something new or they discover 00:02:45.640 --> 00:02:51.160 something new. I love to hear when they tell  me about it or show me what they've learned. 00:02:51.160 --> 00:02:55.640 I feel that UPK has been a great benefit to  Churchville-Chili because the students really 00:02:55.640 --> 00:03:00.160 learn how to problem solve and share their  emotions with their friends through play 00:03:00.160 --> 00:03:05.920 and work that we do in the classroom. Additionally, we have opportunities 00:03:05.920 --> 00:03:13.000 for our students to develop their literacy skills  through the use of Haggarty. Haggarty is a program 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:19.680 that we use to reinforce phonological awareness. So, our students have opportunities to play with 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:26.920 words, manipulate words, learn about rhyming  words, and be able to use that information 00:03:26.920 --> 00:03:33.400 to think about language more playfully. Our librarians invite our UPK students to 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:39.440 the library and they are able to listen to a  story being read by the librarian. They have 00:03:39.440 --> 00:03:44.040 follow-up activities that they do and respond  to that reading. Sometimes they're drawing 00:03:44.040 --> 00:03:48.240 a picture. Sometimes they're talking about  something that they heard in the book. And, 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:54.000 they also have the opportunity to check out books  and bring them home to share with their families. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:59.720 We buy a book. We read the  book. Then we bring it back. 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:08.840 Our students have opportunities to self-select  different learning centers in the UPK classrooms. 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:15.040 They make a plan for what they would like to do.  Then, they go ahead and execute that plan. And, 00:04:15.040 --> 00:04:19.880 after that playtime is over, they  come back and they reflect on how 00:04:19.880 --> 00:04:25.000 the plan went and what they ended up doing.  That's part of that plan, do, review cycle 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.840 that really develops their communication and  language skills because they're reflecting on 00:04:29.840 --> 00:04:35.040 what they did and they're sharing that with  their teacher and with their classmates. 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:40.080 It's also developing their executive functioning  skills because they're thinking about, 00:04:40.080 --> 00:04:44.800 intentionally, what is their plan and  then being able to carry out that plan 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:50.320 is a really important skill for them  to take through their school careers. 00:04:50.320 --> 00:04:55.040 There are so many things I love about UPK here  at Churchville. One of the best things is how 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:58.640 the kids come in in the morning. They're  excited. They're skipping down the hall. 00:04:58.640 --> 00:05:04.640 They're ready to begin every day. Something  else that's awesome about the UPK here is 00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:10.440 the dedication to a play based program where  the kids get to learn through play. And the 00:05:10.440 --> 00:05:15.080 other thing I love about UPK is just how much  they learn throughout the course of the year. 00:05:15.080 --> 00:05:21.640 This year I learned my letters. A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - 00:05:21.640 --> 00:05:29.880 I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q -  R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y and Z 00:05:29.880 --> 00:05:35.960 They come in shy and quiet and they go  out confident, intelligent little people, 00:05:35.960 --> 00:05:41.560 ready for kindergarten. So, lots  to love here at Churchville UPK. 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:47.640 Another opportunity that our students have  to learn and grow is through gross motor. So, 00:05:47.640 --> 00:05:52.760 those are opportunities where they can go  outside and they run around and they play 00:05:52.760 --> 00:05:58.600 with chalk and they have balls and jump ropes  and all kinds of different toys that help 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:05.200 them strengthen their gross motor skills. Finally, when I think about our UPK day, 00:06:05.200 --> 00:06:11.480 I think about how they also have an opportunity to  come together and share a meal with one another. 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:16.080 So, they eat in their classrooms. We have  students who bring their lunches from home 00:06:16.080 --> 00:06:20.680 but we also have students who like to get a  school lunch. So, they can go through the lunch 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:25.920 line and get a nice lunch. They bring it back to  their classrooms and they share a meal together. 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:30.160 So, they're building social graces,  taking turns talking and eating, 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:35.960 and having those opportunities to interact  with one another and share a meal together. 00:06:35.960 --> 00:06:40.960 Academically, we're learning so much about  letters and numbers, counting, sorting, 00:06:40.960 --> 00:06:44.840 patterning. And, even more than that,  they're learning so many social skills, 00:06:44.840 --> 00:06:49.920 really, to take them through their school career. They're learning how to work together and share, 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:54.400 and use language with each other and the  right vocabulary and how to advocate, really, 00:06:54.400 --> 00:06:59.200 for themselves and solve problems. We get to  spend so much time working on those skills, 00:06:59.200 --> 00:07:04.400 which is really going to set them up  so nicely when they enter kindergarten. 00:07:04.400 --> 00:07:08.840 At the end of the day, our teachers  have some rituals for cleaning up, 00:07:08.840 --> 00:07:14.920 setting the room straight and then going home and  seeing their family and their loved ones again. 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:20.480 So, we're really proud of our UPK program.  It is a program that, we believe, prepares 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:26.840 our students to move into school age, primary  grades - kindergarten, first grade and second 00:07:26.840 --> 00:07:34.080 grade - with skills that are preparing them to  be successful students and we're noticing how 00:07:34.080 --> 00:07:40.440 much growth they make over the school year. So,  we are so thrilled to be able to have the funding 00:07:40.440 --> 00:07:52.360 to have UPK programs in our district and build  that solid foundation for our youngest learners.