Preschool · Ages 3 – Pre-K
Preschool
Housed at our Lower School Campus, Sunlight Christian Academy has developed an excellent spiritual and academic program for our preschoolers. We provide a healthy balance between child-centered and teacher-directed learning, allowing students to learn through a variety of play-based and instructional activities.
Parent Voices
A parent's first experience of their preschooler at Sunlight.
Hear from parents about their first experience sending their preschooler to Sunlight Christian Academy — the early hesitations, the answered prayers, the welcoming staff and Bridge Program, and the relief of dropping off a happy child on day one. For these families, Sunlight has become a village that nurtures their children educationally, spiritually, mentally, physically, and socially.
VPK Goals
The foundation for our 4-year-olds.
The following subject areas and domains are the basis of our preschool content, in correlation with the Florida State Standards for 4-Yr-Olds:
Language Arts
- Develop and improve listening skills
- Expand vocabulary through stories, rhymes & songs
- Demonstrate reading comprehension through retelling a story, acting it out, answering questions about it, or drawing pictures about a story
- Begin to discriminate beginning letters and sounds of words
- Hold a pencil correctly and learn to form letters, numbers and shapes
- Begin to use letters and symbols in writing to convey meaning
- Recognize and write his/her name
- Follow two to four directions in sequence
Math
- Identify colors
- Identify shapes
- Understand number concepts 1-10
- Identify numbers 1-10
- Count to 20
- Begin to solve mathematical problems using simple strategies
- Classify objects by color, shape, and size
- Match sets of objects
- Recognize similarities and differences
- Use measurement skills to solve problems
- Recognize and duplicate simple patterns
- Classify (morning, noon, and night) and sequence daily activities
Science
- Use senses to explore God's world
- Begin to appreciate the beauty of God's world
- Name and describe the four seasons
- Use basic scientific tools such as a magnifying glass to find out more about God's creation
Social Studies
- Recognize the importance of listening to instructions and following given rules and directions, both at school and at home
- Continue to learn and master self-help skills
- Understand that God gives us families and each person has a role in the family
- Name community helpers and know how they help us
- Begin to distinguish organizations such as family, church, and school and that each has distinct authorities
- Carry out necessary emergency procedure drills
- Express appropriate feelings through speech, body language, and facial expressions
Gross and Fine Motor Skills
- Perform basic running skills such as quickly stopping, running in circles, turning sharply, speeding up and slowing down, and running in a given (narrow) space.
- Perform motor skills such as jumping, hopping, balancing, and kicking
- Improve eye-hand coordination through throwing and catching balls, and aiming and throwing bean bags at a given target
- Improve fine motor skills through exposure to writing, coloring, and cutting
Christian Character Development
- Self-Concept, Self-Control, Relationships with Adults/Peers, Social Problem-Solving, Spirituality
Student Voices
"I love Sunlight." — Luka
In this short interview, Luka shares his favorite things about preschool at Sunlight — from Goldfish snacks and Spider-Man blocks to games of hide-and-seek with his friends Brielle and Teagan. He talks about loving his sister, his teachers (a special shout-out to Miss Eliza), and ends with the sweetest line of all: "I love Sunlight."
3-Yr-Old · Bridge Program Goals
A gentle start for our youngest learners.
The following subject areas and domains are the basis of our preschool content, in correlation with the Florida State Standards for 3-Yr-Olds:
Language Arts
- Develop and improve listening skills
- Expand vocabulary through stories, rhymes, songs, and teacher modeling
- Exposure to many types of books
- Exposure to letters and their sounds
- Exposure on how to hold a pencil and form letters, shapes, and numbers
- Represent ideas and stories through pictures, dictation, and play
- Recognize his/her own name and begin to write some letters of their name
- Follow two to four directions in sequence
Math
- Exposure to shapes
- Exposure to colors
- Exposure to number concepts 1-5
- Classifying objects by color, shape, size
- Matching sets of objects
- Recognize similarities and differences
- Beginning measurement skills (using comparative words such as “bigger” and “taller”)
- Introduction to estimation
Science
- Use senses to explore God's world
- Begin to appreciate the beauty of God's world
- Learn about the animals that God made
- Use scientific tools such as a magnifying glass to find out more about creation
Social Studies
- Begin to understand how to follow rules at school and at home
- Beginning to learn self-help skills
- Understand that God gives us families
- Begin to distinguish organizations such as family, church, and school and that each has distinct authorities
Gross Motor and Fine Motor
- Students will enhance Gross Motor Skills during Outdoor Classroom activities
- Students will be exposed to beginning writing, coloring, and cutting skills
Christian Character Development
- Self-Concept, Self-Control, Relationships with Adults/Peers, Social Problem-Solving, Spirituality
*Our Bridge Program is designed for students who miss the VPK Cutoff and have birthdays between 9/2 & 12/31. The curriculum is a combination of both our 3-Year-Old and VPK programs.
Come see our preschool in person.
The best way to feel the warmth of our classrooms is to walk through one.