The Preschool Program includes Art, Music, Dramatic Movement, Science, and Creative Exploration and incorporates
educational standards. All areas of learning include readiness and thinking skills.
Art: Children learn to express their ideas as they investigate a variety of media beyond crayons, watercolor, and finger paints. Their investigations in the creative art process involve all of their senses in hands-on experiences in clay, paint, inks, collage, and puppetry. Art activities emphasize the development of fine motor skills in grasping, cutting with scissors, pasting, holding and controlling brushes, chalk, pencils, markers, and crayons. This area bolsters students' self-confidence and stimulates their imagination as they develop their creative and expressive abilities.
Music: Children grow in awareness and curiosity about music within the creative environment of Mercy Center of the Arts. The world of sound is experienced through singing, listening, moving, creating, and playing instruments, as well as through introductory experiences of music theory. Instruments of the orchestra and marching band are explored, as well as the concepts of tempo, rhythm, dynamics, pitch and timbre.
Dramatic Movement and Literature: This area introduces the child to the world of language and movement through literature, and nourishes a love for reading. Dramatic movement encourages verbal and nonverbal expression and it stimulates creative imagination through role-play, pantomime, puppetry, story dramatization, movement, and music. Kindergarten readiness skills are an integral part of this area, including: speaking, listening, vocabulary, comprehension, and phonemic awareness. Gross motor skills are addressed in the Dramatic Movement area.
Science and Math: The Science and Math area of the Preschool Program recognizes the child’s innate qualities of curiosity, and strives to guide the young child through exploration and discovery. This area encourages the use of the senses through the scientific processes such as observation, classification, and communication, with an emphasis on nature. The children interact with many different kinds of equipment and materials in their exploration. Appropriate math skills such as sequencing, counting, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence are included.
Friday Special Session: The Friday Special Session provides the opportunity for deeper learning and further exploration of themes. Children are also offered opportunities for intergenerational activities, and increased socialization with peers.
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444 East Grandview Blvd
Erie, PA 16504
Hours: M-W-F, 8:30-12:00
We are so excited to be
back in school!
Music Together classes
are currently cancelled
due to the pandemic