Preschool

What Makes Holy Family Preschool A Great Choice For Your Child?

The Holy Family preschool program focuses on developing the whole child through a variety of activities in a safe, caring environment. We have a highly successful and engaging program for 3 and 4 year-old preschoolers. All day Monday through Friday from 8 AM – 3 PM for 3 and 4 year-olds or the choice of half-day with hours from 8 AM – 11:15 AM are options offered to our families.

Learn more about how your preschooler can join us by calling the school office at 217-423-7049.

Preschool Curriculum

Free Play: Each morning begins with free play. The children interact with each other and choose from the many age-appropriate materials around the classroom. Examples of these materials include blocks, puzzles, art materials, games, imaginative play, and science equipment.

Large Group and Small Group Hands-On Learning Activities: A variety of teaching methods is used to address different learning styles and engage the children in the learning process.

• Language Development: reading readiness skills, reading, writing, rhyming, letter recognition and phonemic awareness, finger plays,  and sequencing
• Math Skills: number recognition, number concepts, early measurement, positional words, graphing, calendar, money, and skip counting
• Introduction to Science and the World Around Them:  predicting, experimenting, observing, and problem solving
• Art: free exploration of different mediums and teacher guided activities
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Fine Motor Development:   There are a variety of activities that promote fine motor development in the small group activities such as cutting, writing, lacing, peg boards, and working with play dough.

Gross Motor Development: The class has access to the gym which includes use of balls, the parachute, hula hoops, scooters and more. When the weather permits, there is an age appropriate playground at the school and South Shores Park next door.

Introduction to Technology: The class has a 20 minute computer class each week, and the room is equipped with a SMART board and iPads.

Music: The class also receives 20 minutes of music instruction from the school’s music teacher. This is in addition to the dancing and singing done in the classroom.

Library: The students visit the school library each week to look around and check out a book of their choice.

Field Trips:  Past field trips include visits to the fire station, an apple orchard, a pumpkin patch and the Children’s Museum. Parents are welcome to attend all field trips and provide transportation.

Snack: In the middle of each morning the students have a healthy snack provided by the parents.  Once a week, the class prepares their own snack.

Social Development: The students are developing their social skills throughout the day interacting with one another. They are learning how to cooperate, take turns, control their impulses, and consider the feelings of others.

Positive Behavior Plan: The behavior plan is based on the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today. The children earn “kindness stones” for positive behavior. Once the class bucket is filled, the class receives a reward such as extra free time. Each child also has a personal bucket to fill to earn individual rewards for their positive behavior.



Communication with Parents: The preschool door is always open. You are free to talk with the teachers before or after school as well as set up a time for a conference. Parents are welcome and encouraged to visit the classroom anytime during the year.  There is also a scheduled open house and Grandparents’ Day open house. Parents are encouraged to volunteer and participate in school wide events. Parents also enjoy attending classroom parties. Each Friday there is a class newsletter with pictures posted on a secure web site as well as individual notes home.