Ready for kindergarten — without rushing childhood
Four’s Program at GMPS
The 4’s year is where confidence, independence, friendships, and academic readiness come together.
Children continue learning through play while building the skills they will need for kindergarten: listening in a group, following multi-step directions, working independently, collaborating with classmates, solving problems, and developing early literacy and math skills.
Our goal is to prepare children academically, socially, and emotionally for what comes next.
4’s at a Glance
Kindergarten Readiness · Wednesdays Until 1:30 · Multiple Class Options · 8:1 ratio
Class Options
5-Day 4’s
Monday–Friday
9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Wednesdays: 9:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
4-Day Extended 4’s
Monday–Thursday
9:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
4-Day Nature-Focused 4’s
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday
9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Wednesdays: 9:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Wednesdays Are Different in the 4’s
Every 4’s child stays until 1:30 on Wednesdays.
Children bring lunch, eat together with their classmates, and spend the extended day on longer projects and experiences that are harder to fit into a regular morning.
The extra time supports independence, conversation, collaboration, and deeper project work. It also gives children a gentle introduction to a longer school day, helping them build stamina for kindergarten without rushing them into a full-day schedule before they’re ready.
More time together means more opportunities to explore, play, and grow.
Kindergarten Readiness Through Play
The 4’s curriculum becomes more intentional while remaining developmentally appropriate and play-based.
Process art gives children space to plan, experiment, revise, and express increasingly complex ideas.
Learn more about Process ArtEarly Literacy
Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, language, storytelling, letter-sound awareness, meaningful print, and Handwriting Without Tears activities that support letter formation and name writing.
Math Counts
Counting, number sense, patterns, quantities, problem-solving, and early mathematical thinking
Social Readiness
Working in a group, taking turns, solving conflicts, following routines, and becoming increasingly independent
Learning Habits
Listening, persistence, asking questions, completing tasks, and taking responsibility for belongings
Nature-Focused Learning
Throughout the year, our nature-focused 4’s class uses the outdoors as an extension of the classroom. Children explore the seasons, observe changes in the natural world, and engage in hands-on learning experiences that inspire curiosity, creativity, and investigation.
This class still has a classroom home base and covers the same core curriculum as our other 4’s classes, while adding regular opportunities for outdoor discovery, nature-based projects, and meaningful connections to the world around them.
Cultural Awareness
Each month, our 4’s classes “visit” a different country through stories, music, art, food, maps, traditions, and other hands-on experiences. Families are also welcome to visit the classroom and share their own heritage and traditions.
A wider world, brought into the classroom.
Friday Project Lab
One more day to create, investigate, and collaborate
Friday Project Lab is an optional 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. add-on for children enrolled in our 4-day 4’s programs.
The morning gives children additional time for hands-on projects, collaborative learning, investigation, creativity, and deeper exploration.
Growing Into Kindergarteners
By the end of the 4’s year, children are doing more for themselves, managing classroom responsibilities, working with peers, participating in longer group experiences, and approaching new learning with greater confidence.
Kindergarten readiness at GMPS is more than knowing letters and numbers. It is knowing how to learn, how to work with others, and believing, “I can do this.”
Related GMPS Resources
Written by Karen Coan, M.A. in Education, Director of Glenview Methodist Preschool
Last updated: October 2026