Four Year Old Program
Our four-year-old program meets Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 8:05 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Children must turn four by September 15th of that enrollment year to be eligible for the four-year-old class. The four-year-old class size has a maximum of 20 students. The ratio will be 1 adult:10 students at all times. At Nisse, your child has the advantage of having three teachers in the classroom, allowing for more individual attention.
Nisse Preschool is a collaborative partner and participates in the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP). Currently our tuition is $330/month, and this is fully-funded by the state preschool grant. Students in our four-year-old program attend for free.
Lunch is a part of our day together. Students may bring a cold lunch or purchase a hot lunch, prepared by the Winneshiek Medical Center and delivered to the school. Cold lunches must meet DHS guidelines and contain a protein, vegetable, fruit, and grain. Milk is served daily at snack and with lunch. Healthy snacks are served each morning, usually between 9 – 10 am.
The goals of our four-year-old program come from the Creative Curriculum for Preschool and focus on four main areas of child development, including: social/emotional development; physical development; cognitive development, and language development. We also have objectives for learning in the development areas of: literacy, mathematics, science and technology, social studies, and the arts.
Our classroom is set up in learning “centers”, which include blocks, dramatic play, books, gross motor, fine motor, science, discovery play, listening, writing, and art. Outdoor play is important to a child’s physical development and is included in the daily schedule. Self-selection is also a daily part of the curriculum and means a child has the opportunity to choose which center or activity he/she participates in. This promotes creative expression and development of important social skills.
We utilize Teaching Strategies GOLD for assessment in our four-year-old program to evaluate and track each child’s individual development during his/her schoolyear at Nisse Preschool.
Additional information can be found in the Nisse Family Handbook.
Nisse is also a member of the Decorah Community School District Four-Year-Old Preschool Collaborative Partners. For more information, please review their handbook.