Welcome To Del Mar Hills Nursery School

13692 Mango Drive
Del Mar, California 92014
(858) 755-8338

Pre-School Curriculum

Del Mar Hills Nursery School operates on an open plan. This means that during most of the day the Preschool aged children are able to choose where they would like to play, who they would like to play with and in what activity they will engage in. Snack is served at 10:30 am in all areas. All areas are set up with developmentally appropriate materials to encourage Social, Emotional, Creative, Cognitive, Physical and Creative Development in the child. Each day the child has half an hour of music and movement in our Orff Program, with children of similar ages. We feel our open setting contributes to socialization and a feeling of well-being in the child. It gives the child some control over his/her life at the school.

Four year olds are automatically enrolled into a two, three or five times weekly, 60 minute Pre-Kindergarten class. This continues the “progression to structure” policy of Del Mar Hills Nursery School.

With the exception of napping, the afternoons are organized similarly to the mornings. Snack is served at 2:00 pm and is available later for the children who nap. An early evening snack is served to children who are at the school until 6 pm.

After the daylight savings time change, the playground closes at 4:30 pm. The children have a special story, puppet show or game or activity prior to our late snack served at 5:15 pm. Children engage in activities of their choice prior to closing time at 6:00 pm.

Also included in our afternoon program is a Kindergarten class which operates in its own classroom, following a separate schedule.

The curriculum plan reflects the philosophy of the program: to meet the needs of the children as a group and the needs of the individual child. Children are able to direct their course of play and learning experiences through different areas that offer a wide variety of choices. The children may explore The Froebel Play Room, the Art Studio and the Outside Learning Areas. The role of the teacher is to facilitate, actively listen to each child and then guide the learning process. Activities are set up in each area twice daily. Child accessible materials are changed weekly. There is a scheduled music lesson given daily to each child.

The Froebel Play Room is specifically designed with open shelving to allow children to use materials of their choice. The room is sectioned into the Block Area, Work Table for table toy use or art work, Library Corner, and Dramatic Play Area. The child may use materials of choice in a way that is pleasing to him/her. Different materials may be combined with others. For example a child may decide to take items from the Dramatic Play Area into the Block Area. In the Outdoor Learning Areas, the children may choose from a wide variety of activities that exercise fine and gross motor skills, creativity, socio/emotional skills and cognition. Different activities are set up twice a day. The children and the teacher collaborate on what the activities should be and where they should be located. The Art Studio provides for individual or group choices. The Art Studio is divided into several areas; the Library Corner, the Work Table for manipulatives, and the Art Tables. There are open shelves to provide material selection to children. The children, as individuals or as a collaborative group, will decide what the project will be for the day. The teacher will facilitate the process by being available and guiding the children as they learn problem solving skills. The Orff Room is a large room designed for a 30 minute, age designated music and movement lesson. It is based on things children like to do; dance, sing, chant, clap and move with rhythm and beat. This is a group activity that enables children to choose either to play a musical instrument, dance with scarves or just sing. During this lesson children exercise their small and gross motor skills. Their socio/emotional development is fostered by collaborating and cooperating in a group. Their cognitive development is encouraged by planning and exercising the course of events.

Each child is assessed on developmental progress twice a year by their primary teacher. The teachers consider the five domains of child development: cognitive, social, emotional, creative and physical development for each child’s age.