Preschool (4K), rev. 12/18

CREED

LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS

MORAL LIFE

CHRISTIAN PRAYER

CHARACTERISTICS OF A PRESCHOOL (FOUR-YEAR-OLD) CHILD

Learns God loves him or her

Recognizes Jesus was part of a family with Mary and Joseph

Identifies God as creator of the world and all living things

Learns all people are God's children

Is introduced to angels through Bible stories

Knows we gather in Church as God's family

Identifies the Bible as a book that has stories about God (Creation: Gn 1-2; The Birth of Jesus: Lk 2: 1-14)

Recognizes some Christian symbols; e.g., candles, water, cross

Experiences Advent as a time of preparation and waiting for Christmas

Recognizes Christmas as the birth of Jesus

Recognizes that the story of Christmas tells about the birth of Jesus (Lk 2: 1-14, Mt 2: 7-12)

Recognizes that the story of Easter tells about the resurrection of Jesus (Mt 26-28; Mk 14-16: 1-8; Lk 22-24: 1-12; Jn 13-20: 1-18)

Understands all God's creation needs care

Learns that Jesus shows God's goodness

Identifies saints as people who have a special love for God

Knows that God loves each individual person

Understands that God teaches us to love one another

Recognizes the importance of sharing with others

Understands helping others is a way to show love

Recognizes the importance of saying, "I'm sorry"

Identifies prayer as talking to God

Recognizes God as creator

Understands church is a special place deserving of respectful behavior

Experiences different types of prayer; e.g., thanksgiving, petition, silence, praise, song

Recognizes music and song as forms of prayer

Knows prayer begins with the Sign of the Cross

Recognizes different prayer postures

Understands the Bible should be handled with special care

Sits still for a limited amount of time unless highly motivated

Enjoys manipulative play and projects

Is a sensory learner

Is imaginative and creative

Enjoys stories, rhyming, and nonsense songs and poems

Can be aggressive and explosive due to emotional immaturity

Likes to make choices and begins to see the wisdom of rules

Is developing sensitivity to the feelings and attitudes of adults

Needs experiences where he/she feels respected, is given freedom, and can succeed

Needs to be affirmed when he/she shows kindness and friendliness

Benefits from opportunities to practice thoughtfulness

Lacks understanding of cause-and-effect relationships and intentional or unintentional actions

Sees the world predominantly from his/her own point of view and developmentally is still very self-centered

Needs encouragement to share possessions with others but does not want to be forced

Enjoys celebrations and being part of a group

Is capable of beginning to understand God’s love by experiencing human love

Benefits from experiences that can raise awareness and appreciation of God’s creation

Can use signs and symbols as a basis for liturgical awareness

Needs to have demonstrated to him/her that God made each child unique and special

Knows that prayer can be talking to God in his/her own words