Preschool Program

As children enter the preschool stage, their learning becomes increasingly intentional, social, and language-rich. In alignment with the HighScope Curriculum, children actively engage with people, materials, and ideas through meaningful hands-on experiences. Preschoolers use language more frequently to express their needs, ideas, and emotions, and they engage in deeper conversations with both peers and adults.

At this age, children demonstrate growing curiosity and problem-solving skills as they explore how things work and how to bring their ideas to life. They are able to use multiple materials to carry out a plan, revise it as needed, and explore new possibilities—an important part of the HighScope active learning process. Imaginative play becomes more complex, with children assuming roles such as parents, doctors, police officers, or community helpers and acting out real-life experiences. These experiences support social-emotional development, language growth, and cognitive flexibility.

Recognizing that each child develops at their own pace, teachers use intentional observation and documentation to meet children where they are developmentally. Tools such as the Child Observation Record (COR) are used to assess progress across HighScope’s Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs). This allows teachers to build upon children’s current strengths while thoughtfully encouraging the development of new skills.

At the preschool level, children may demonstrate growth in the following HighScope-aligned developmental areas:

• Approaches to Learning: Planning and carrying out ideas, persisting with tasks, and problem-solving

• Language, Literacy, and Communication: Recognizing letters and numbers; beginning to form letters and numerals; expressing thoughts and emotions using words

• Mathematics: Counting objects up to ten using one-to-one correspondence; identifying numbers and colors

• Creative Arts: Progressing from scribbling to drawing recognizable figures with a head, arms, and legs

• Physical Development and Health: Developing fine motor skills such as cutting simple shapes with child-sized scissors; increasing independence in dressing and self-care

• Social and Emotional Development: Understanding, expressing, and managing emotions; engaging in cooperative and imaginative play