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North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten is a free NC funded program, serving eligible four-year-old children the year before kindergarten. Attending NC Pre-K strengthens children’s learning and development based on NC Foundations standards in five areas: Approaches to Play and Learning, Emotional and Social Development, Health and Physical Development, Language Development and Communication, and Cognitive Development.
Classroom size is a maximum of twenty children. Instruction is led by
a lead teacher licensed in Birth-Kindergarten studies, and
an assistant teacher who holds or is working on an associate's degree
in Early Childhood education or a closely related field. NC Pre-K closely follows
public-school hours and calendar.
Children’s days are packed with learning in interest areas including blocks,
dramatic play, library, toys and games, art, music and movement, sand and water, and discovery. Daily outdoor learning opportunities strengthen gross motor and physical skills.
For children who are four by August 31, 2025, applications for the 2025-2026
NC Pre-K school year is now open.
Click here for more information.
NC Pre-K Spotlight
Have you ever walked into a classroom and saw a section transformed into a grocery store, airport, zoo, coffee shop, or doctor's office? That's the dramatic play center where children get to use their imagination and experiences to partake in sociodramatic play.
Sociodramatic play is a type of play where children get to take on roles or characters and act out scenarios. For example, when dramatic play is transformed into a coffee shop they get to act like the Barista or customer, pretending to place or make orders. This allows them to use their real-world experiences and connect them to this new scenario.
In dramatic play we tend to see their learning taking place during this sociodramatic play but there are other things they are also learn. During this play they are working on turn taking, problem solving skills, and sharing, all which fall under the Social- Emotional domain of learning. They are also working on conversation skills with back-and-forth dialogue, developing and understanding new vocabulary and learning to express themselves, all which fall under the Language domain of learning.
Dramatic play is a wonderful center in a Pre-K classroom because it allows children to act out and understand the world around them while practicing many other skills providing a rich learning environment for them.
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