4K at Hearts and Hands
Ages: 4-year-old kindergarten
School Readiness, the Hearts & Hands Way
Our 4K program is offered in partnership with the Mount Horeb Area School District as part of their community-collaborative model. This means your child gets the best of both worlds: the nurturing, familiar environment of Hearts & Hands with the academic structure and DPI-licensed teaching that prepares them for kindergarten.
Emphasis is placed on social and emotional learning alongside early academics. Your child will build confidence in group settings, develop early literacy and math skills, and practice the routines that will set them up for success in school — all through a curriculum aligned with the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards.
What to Expect:
A DPI-licensed teacher in the classroom
Curriculum aligned with Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards
Focus on social, emotional, and academic readiness
Wrap-around care available before and after 4K hours
Seamless integration with our full-day childcare program
How does my child learn in play-based learning?
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We teach based on Pyramid Model, which is an evidence based framework that promotes healthy social and emotional development by supporting positive relationships, creating engaging environments, providing concrete teaching strategies, and when needed, creating individualized interventions for children
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We provide ample opportunity for each child to foster relationships with peers and adults. Through play, we assist each child’s progress through five stages of relationship building: cooperation and sharing; listening; problem solving; conflict resolution; and a sense of respect for self, environment and others.
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We provide a warm, nurturing environment that supplies the encouragement each child needs to begin to know and express oneself. We will provide opportunities and outlets for self-directed creative expression, and encourage individuality.
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We provide a safe, secure and predictable environment to help children experience many successes and build self-confidence. We help children validate their own feelings and respect the feelings of others.
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Large Muscle: develop balance and spatial relationships; coordination skills; confidence and skills with playground equipment; eye-hand coordination.
Activities can include running, jumping, climbing, hopping, ball play, relays, obstacle course, exercises, creative movement, blocks/construction, riding toys, skipping, galloping, circle games, parachute, climbing structures, slides, and carts/wheel barrows.
Small Muscle: develop eye-hand coordination, learn to control and coordinate muscles.
Activities can include cutting, pasting, painting, puzzles, stringing, pouring, play dough, dress up clothes, coloring/markers, printing/pencil skills, peg work, sewing cards, scooping, sorting, spooning, stacking, beads, dominoes, Legos. -
We provide an environment that fosters growth in language, math, science/sensory and problem solving at developmentally appropriate levels for each individual child.
Language/Reading Readiness: develop language skills; pre-reading and reading skills; develop and expand vocabulary; be exposed to language concepts and their application; apply pre-reading skills; be exposed to phonics; develop small muscle skills for writing.Math Readiness: be exposed to vocabulary and concepts; develop vocabulary; understand mathematical concepts; recognize symbols and quantities; develop process skills, problem solving and thinking.
Sensory/Science: be exposed to vocabulary concepts; develop vocabulary; understanding of size, shape, color, and texture; develop awareness of one’s environment and materials around them.
Problem Solving: develop creative thinking and design of an environment which allows for exploration and experimentation, solving problems, answering “what if” questions.