Both Littles and Kindergarten Readiness curriculums address children’s needs, but Kindergarten Readiness is distinct and separate from the Little class.

How are the Littles and Kindergarten Readiness classes the same?

Both classes provide meaningful learning, based on the South Dakota Early Learning Guidelines. They nurture each aspect of the child development, such as social, emotional, language, cognition, physical, and fine motor development. Each class offers age-appropriate, hands-on learning experiences. Regardless of age or placement, our goal is to meet each individual child at their developmental level and create goals and challenges based on the individual.

How are the Littles and Kindergarten Readiness classes different?

One of the main differences between the Littles and Kindergarten Readiness classroom is the age of the children and their developmental abilities. While all children develop at their own individual pace, generally, the children in the Littles class ages range from 3-4 years old, while the ages in the Kindergarten Readiness classes range from 4-6 years old.

Children in a Kindergarten Readiness class engage in kindergarten readiness activities involving deeper learning and more structured skill building. This will ready them for the Kindergarten classroom and assist them in engaging with the teacher and other students in an appropriate manner. They will learn to sit for relatively lengthier periods of time than they may be used to at home or in a day care environment. Kindergarten Readiness will also assist them in working in groups, listening to instructions, moving from center to center and sitting in their seat rather than roaming the classroom. For this reason, Kindergarten Readiness is recommended for older children who can articulate and respond to directions rather than toddlers.

The Littles class has fewer days than the Kindergarten Readiness classes to accommodate younger learners. This class also envelops much of the “how to be at preschool” to help them be successful in independent and shared learning experiences within the Kindergarten Readiness class and beyond. Though, academics is a part of the Littles class, there is a heavier focus on social and emotional development, as well as age appropriate fine and gross motor skill development. This class is suited more for children who will not be entering Kindergarten the following year.