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Welcome to Hoffman-Boston’s Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) Program
The VPI program follows VIRGINIA’S EARLY LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS (ELDS).
Your child will learn to be a member of the school community, be independent, get along and play with peers, and respect adults and others.
We will help your child to be ready for kindergarten both, socially and academically through hands-on developmentally appropriate activities. Your child will learn through songs, movement, discovery, play, and manipulation of materials.
Our goal is to support your child’s development and learning in partnership with families by providing enriching learning experiences. We are excited to have you as part of our team.
Curriculum Overview
Heggerty
- Focus on spoken language
- Sing new and familiar songs
- Play games with sounds in words
- Identify and practice rhyming words
- Build phonemic awareness
OWLS
- Letter of the day
- Writing
- Match and identify letters
- Draw and describe pictures
- Letter games
- Memory games
- Practice reading predictable texts
- Math games and exploration (i.e., counting, colors, patterns, numeral recognition)
- Calendar
- Graphs
- Measuring
Story Time
- Read a variety of children’s books
- Read books several times to develop understanding
- Learn new vocabulary
- Answer questions to understand what is happening in a story
- Act out other people through characters in books
Choice Time
- Plan – Children tell teachers and friends what they will do
- Do – Children are allowed to play in the classroom with a variety of materials
- Review – Children tell teachers and friends what they did after they have finished
Content
- Social Studies content when applicable (i.e., how do we take care of babies)
- Science (i.e., sink or float)
Social Emotional Learning
- Connect as a class community
- Explore feelings
- Practice being “social thinkers”
- Explore what it means to be a good friend
- Being independent
Supply List
- 1 backpack (regular school size – no wheels)
- 1 small blanket (has to fit in the backpack)
- change of clothes (labeled)
- 1 shirt
- 1 pair of pants
- 1 pair of socks
- 1 underwear
- 1 leakproof, reusable water bottle (labeled)
Ms. Peterson's Class
Kathryn Peterson
Teacher
I went to James Madison University for both undergrad and graduate school. I received my Masters of Arts in Teaching in 2014. I have been teaching VPI in Arlington since 2016. Hoffman-Boston is my favorite place to be. I enjoy going to the beach with my family, hanging out with friends, or spending time alone at home.
Morgan Clark
Teacher
My name is Morgan Clark and I have been a pre-k special education teacher for 6 years. I received both my Bachelor's degree and Master's in Education from George Mason University. I am a Northern Virginia native and have lived in Arlington for 20 years! I also graduated from an APS high school. When I am not teaching, I enjoy going on walks, spending time with my family, and snuggling with my pets! I am excited for this school year!
Valerie Smith
Instructional Assistant
I have been teaching children since I had my first child. I started working in APS in Extended Day in 2001 and, while there, I also started substituting. In 2004, I began working in the classroom as an instructional assistant. My passion is working with children just to see their faces after they have accomplished a task that they have set out to do. It is a joy! I enjoy cooking, watching movies, spending time with family and friends. I love eating seafood and traveling.
Mrs. Taylor’s Class
Helena Taylor
Teacher
My name is Helena Taylor and I always wanted to be a teacher. I received my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from University of Jana Evangelista Purkyne in the Czech Republic. I taught there for 4 years before coming to the USA where I started working with preschool students at a private school and fell in love with the little ones. In 2009, I joined the VPI Team at Hoffman-Boston first as an assistant and then as a teacher. In my free time I enjoy the outdoors. I hike, jog and bike with my family and friends. Recently, I started playing pickle ball and it’s a lot of fun.
Dalila Adams
Instructional Assistant
My name is Dalila Adams. I joined HFB in 2018 as a Pre-K Assistant. This was my first experience in Pre-K. I have been employed with APS since 2005. I started as an Administrative Assistant at Barcroft Elementary and later began to work with students. It is what I really enjoyed, so I became a Special Education Assistant after taking the Para Pro Exam. I supported third through fifth grade in many content areas. I provided further assistance to students with Homework Club. I have three sons who attended APS. I am a Nationals fan and enjoy watching baseball. Art and reading are other interests of mine.