Kahului Hongwanji Preschool Program

Please call us if you would like to schedule a day for you and your child to visit our program.

  

The daily program will be flexible and individualized. It will follow a rhythm that will include a balance of the following opportunities:
• Active and quiet play
• Small and large group activities
• Structured and unstructured tasks
• Open ended activities and directed learning experiences
• Indoor-outdoor play

Activities will center on learning through discovery and play and will include the following:

•   Child Centered Art

•   Large and small muscle/motor development

•   Music and Creative Movement

•   Storytelling and drama

•   Language development

•   Self help skills

•   Health and Nutrition

•   Science and Math Concepts

•   Word recognition (text rich environment i.e. labels, name tags )

•   Number and Letter exposure

•   Concepts about self, culture, and traditions

•    Monthly excursions and visits from community resource members

Philosophy

The primary objective of the Kahului Hongwanji Preschool is to help parents with the social, physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growth of their child. To develop a well-rounded, wholesome individual, the “total child” needs to be nurtured. The purpose of the preschool is to foster competency in young children in all areas. Competence shall be thought of as relating to all aspects of the self: Learning to live comfortably with others, learning to master one’s feelings and expressing them safely and constructively, loving life, and welcoming new experiences. Kahului Hongwanji Preschool shall strive to provide a wide variety of sensory, motor and intellectual experiences in a safe, happy and loving environment.

Curriculum

Music & Movement 
  

Children will be exposed to a wide variety of songs for experiences in listening, singing and creative movements. When children move their bodies they become alert and attentive. Adding song, musical instruments, dance, and finger plays invites the children to develop rhythm, memorization and creative expression.

Creative Art

 
The manipulation of art materials not only helps children express how they feel, but promotes the understanding and communication. Particularly at the age when they are still learning to express themselves in words, art gives them the opportunity to express themselves with their hands. Working with materials as crayons, scissors, paste, clay, finger paint are not only fun activities but are important experiences in developing small muscle motor skills. Our art activities have developmental goals to prepare them for later academic experiences.

Science and Discovery

 
Science is the exploration and discovery of all living and non-living things. The children are encouraged to ask “why” as this will inspire them to learn and discover new and exciting worlds on their own. Plants, animals, the environment, and even space are among the areas in which we will explore.

Math Concepts
Math helps children learn to be better thinkers, estimators, and problem solvers. Children gain math skills when they use various manipulatives to sort, count, measure, weigh, graph, and match. Learning these skills develops spatial awareness.

Language Arts

Communication and listening skills are an important beginning in Language Arts and we focus on these skills in many imaginative ways. The children learn through story time, class discussion, puppets, and dramatic play.

Religious Education
Buddhism will be introduced to children through stories, songs and art activities. The resident minister will conduct lessons in the temple once a week. Special Buddhist holidays will be observed.

Visitors and Excursions

Visitors contribute to understanding our community and add to the school’s atmosphere. Like excursions, they provide many experiences with new places and different people. Visitors include parents, grandparents, musicians and resource people from our community.