Preschool

English Language Arts:
Preschoolers will begin engaging in conversations by learning to listen to others, take turns, and follow simple directions. They will also develop early reading skills, such as recognizing letters and the relationship between sounds and letters.

Fine Arts:
Preschoolers will explore their creativity through drama, dance, music, and visual arts. They will engage in dramatic play, express themselves through movement and music, create visual art using various tools and materials, and develop an appreciation for different art forms and cultural expressions.

Health Education:
Preschoolers recognize and express basic emotions, identify trusted adults, and discuss why eating a variety of foods is important for creating a healthy body.

Mathematics:
Preschoolers practice counting to ten, recognizing the sequence of numbers, and identifying numerals from 0 to 5. They also explore simple patterns, compare objects by size and shape, and describe basic shapes.

Physical Education:
Preschoolers develop gross motor skills by participating in activities that improve balance and coordination. They also strengthen fine motor skills by manipulating small objects and practicing pre-writing activities.

Science:
Preschoolers observe and communicate local weather conditions and how human behavior changes in response to weather, such as dressing appropriately for the conditions. They also explore how sunlight affects different surfaces, noting whether they feel hot or cold, and observe how light illuminates objects, making them visible.

Social Studies:
Preschoolers learn to recognize differences and similarities in their community's cultures, languages, and abilities. They also learn about basic safety procedures and the importance of caring for their home, school, and the Earth.

USBE PARENT GUIDE - Preschoo (3 year olds)     UTAH CORE STANDARDS

English Language Arts: 

• Engage in conversations with children.
• While reading to children, ask questions about what may happen next, how the book relates to their own experiences, how the characters in the story are feeling, etc. Encourage children to re-enact stories using dramatic play or puppets.

Fine Arts:

• Encourage conversation to help children express their ideas, emotions, and understanding in a variety of ways. 
• Encourage children to observe, interpret, and understand how others express themselves. 

Health Education:

• Encourage the child to participate in bedtime routines, including brushing their teeth, etc.
• Provide examples of what a good friend is and is not.
• Provide suggestions for appropriate turn-taking.

Mathematics: 

• Use mathematical language to extend children’s understanding within the context of their experiences, such as: “Do you want half a glass of milk or a full glass of milk?” or “Would you like more or fewer grapes than I have?”
• Use mathematical language to extend children’s understanding within the context of their experiences, such as: “Do you want half a glass of milk or a full glass of milk?” or “Would you like more or fewer grapes than I have?”

Physical Education:

• Provide play-based opportunities for children to run, gallop, throw, catch, hop, kick, dance, jump, climb, pull, carry, stretch, bend, twist, and move isolated body parts. 
• Help your child practice building with large and small blocks, molding clay, using scissors or tongs, stringing beads, placing pegs in holes, assembling puzzles, using a computer mouse, and using a variety of writing utensils (pencils, crayons, markers, etc.) and art mediums (paint, clay, stamps, etc.).

Science: 

• Allow children to explore their surroundings and ask questions while they are doing so. Lead them in discussions of, “What do you think will happen if…?”
• Point out changes in children’s environment, including the weather, seasons, etc.

Social Studies:

• Follow the children’s lead, play with them at their level, and encourage cooperative play.
• Provide children with choices and voting opportunities.
  Model behaviors that care for the environment.

English Language Arts:
Preschoolers express themselves using pictures and pre-writing skills. They also converse with others and practice early reading skills, such as recognizing letters, sounds, and simple words.

Fine Arts:
Preschoolers develop their creative expression through drama, dance, music, and visual arts. They will explore roles in dramatic play, express emotions and ideas through movement and music, create art using various materials, and gain an appreciation for different forms of artistic expression.

Health Education:
Preschoolers develop greater independence in basic hygiene behaviors, practice prosocial skills, identify characteristics of safe relationships, and identify a variety of healthy foods

Mathematics:
Preschoolers practice counting to 20, identifying numbers that come before or after one another, and using one-to-one correspondence to count objects. They also create basic addition and subtraction with concrete objects, recognize and create simple patterns, and describe measurable attributes like size and weight. 

Physical Education:
Preschoolers develop coordination, control, and balance in large-motor activities. They also enhance fine motor skills by learning to manipulate small objects with greater precision, using a pincer grasp for holding writing tools, and creating simple handwriting strokes.

Science:
Preschoolers investigate how sunlight and water affect plant growth. They also explore the basic needs of living things and explore the properties of different materials, sorting them based on characteristics like color, texture, or whether they are solids or liquids.

Social Studies:
Preschoolers identify and discuss similarities and differences in their homes, classroom, community, and personal identity. They also actively contribute to a classroom culture by sharing, taking turns, and following rules.

USBE PARENT GUIDE - Preschool (4 year olds)     UTAH CORE STANDARDS

English Language Arts: 

• Create a language- and print-rich environment, including reading, listening, writing, and dramatic play centers, eye-level alphabet charts, picture/word labels, and samples of children’s work. Modifications and support in children’s primary language may be provided as necessary.
• Use a wide variety of media and presentation forms, including animated and engaging storytelling, pictures or drawings, posters, appropriate short multimedia presentations, drama, signs, paintings, sculptures, puppets, and hand signs.

Fine Arts:

• Support children’s self-awareness by providing opportunities for children to display, perform, and discuss their creative works.
• Engage and follow the children’s lead in creative processes. 

Health Education:

• Talk about foods in the environment and discuss healthy foods during snack time.
• Help children acknowledge their feelings and teach them appropriate ways to handle those feelings.

Mathematics: 

• Integrate mathematics throughout the day (for example, counting snacks, identifying shapes, ordering objects by length or size).
• Model and encourage correct mathematical language throughout the day.

Physical Education:

• Participate in fine and gross motor activities alongside the children.
• Teach, model, and maintain proper safety rules. 
• Provide opportunities for both organized and spontaneous play

Science: 

• Provide children with language to describe what they see, hear, touch, taste, etc.
• Build ramps, forts, levers, etc., with children and let them discover what will happen when using them. 

Social Studies:

• Encourage children to respect and include all classmates, appreciate differences, and meet one another’s needs. 
• Set up a play date or lunch group so your child can practice positive social interactions.