Our fundamental task is the education of the whole child, combining learning with faith, Catholic doctrines and moral teachings. We strive to instill in all of our students a lifelong commitment to learning, Christian values and citizenship, and like our patroness, to social justice. We are dedicated to achieving these goals within a supportive and diverse Christian community, and to living our faith daily with the understanding that education is a process that never ends.
We design our prekindergarten curriculum to form the cura personalis (“whole child”). To achieve this, our program includes the following activities:
Learning Letters and Numbers Through Play is teaching letters and numbers using play-based, multi sensory activities is the most effective way to engage little minds. In our PreK classroom, Students will have the opportunity to learn though a large variety of fun and engaging activities.
Our goal is to introduce students to the many aspects of the Catholic faith. We will help students foster a relationship with God, learn about prayer while incorporating the meaning of faith, introduce some sacraments, symbols, and listen to and learn lessons from the New and Old Testaments. Our program will also help to form student’s morals and values in their lives.
Sensory Play is when Preschoolers first learn to understand new things via their senses. The importance of sensory play cannot be understated. By encouraging the use of all senses (sight, touch, hearing, taste, smell) through play, you can support cognitive growth, language development, gross and fine motor skills and much more.
Circle Time is when we get together as a large group to share our ideas, plans and observations. Circle activities are designed to stimulate thinking, enrich social skills, and expand attention spans.
Gross-Motor Activities give kids the opportunity to use their muscles – and their imaginations – as they engage in fun, healthy exercises, such as running, jumping, climbing and dancing.
Fine-Motor Activities help improve small-muscle development and eye-hand coordination. Some common items found in the fine-motor/manipulative area include puzzles, beads and laces, pegboards, crayons, scissors. Improving fine motor skills will help students strengthen and gain coordination of the pencil grasp as they learn to write.
Art Activities help children to creatively express their thoughts and feelings. They reinforce fine-motor skills and concept development in areas such as colors, shapes and size relationships.
Dramatic Play can be structured or unstructured. Both are equally important. Dramatic play engages almost every part of a child’s developing brain helping to sharpen important skills such as communication, vocabulary, creativity and story telling, focus and attention, fine motor and gives children an emotional outlet.
Music Activities promote listening skills, creative expression, and social skills while developing gross motor skills.
Science Activities offer hands-on opportunities for observation, exploration, investigation, making predictions, and experimentation.
Block Play gives children experiences to practice a variety of important concepts. These concepts include:
Block Play, from small Lego pieces to large cardboard bricks, is a favorite and important center in PreK.
Story Time is designed to help youngster’s develop an appreciation and enjoyment of literature. Reading activities enhance children’s vocabulary and comprehension skills, and also expand their knowledge base.
Social-emotional development motivates a child to learn critical skills such as the ability to communicate, connect with others, resolve conflict, self-regulate, display kindness and empathy and cope with challenges. These skills are crucial for school readiness and include seven essential skills that are practiced in our PreK class:
More research is identifying the importance of social-emotional intelligence as a key element for school (academic) readiness and success, and success in later life in general.
St. Elizabeth provides a safe, nurturing, predictable and consistent environment for optimal development of these skills.
Since 1958, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic School has been one of the best private schools in Dallas, because we believe in serving as stewards to each of our young students.
To signup for a tour of campus, please email info@saintspride.com or call us at (214) 331-5139.