Frog Street Pre-K - Criterion 3.1

Frog Street Pre-K materials meet expectations for supporting a developmentally-appropriate classroom system and physical environment (3.1a).

The materials include three developmentally appropriate schedule examples, 1 full-day and 2 half-day options (Welcome Guide, p. 33), along with pre-created, customizable weekly lesson plans to meet classroom needs. The day is intentionally structured to include welcome time, whole-group and small-group instruction, literacy and math practice centers, STEAM, outdoor play, quiet time, and transitions.

The materials provide scheduling guidance through structured yet flexible daily routines. For example, the Welcome Guide includes one full-day and two half-day schedule examples (p. 33). Weekly lesson plans for each theme also include “Getting Started” sections that outline Big Ideas, vocabulary, assessment opportunities, family connections, lesson planners, transitions, and brain breaks (p. 86). Overall, the daily structure balances adult-led and child-centered learning, with movement and engagement built throughout the day. Literacy, Math, and STEAM blocks are each scheduled for 60 minutes, but they include small-group lessons and three to five practice centers (p. 35), which help ensure varied, hands-on engagement.

The materials also support developmentally appropriate timeframes and transitions. Activities are sequenced through full-group, small-group, and center rotations that support children’s attention spans while also allowing for movement and breaks. In addition, the Resource Center’s 8 Classroom Strategies to Optimize Pre-K Learning provides guidance for smooth transitions and effective classroom flow. For example, Strategy Card #5 (p. 5) encourages teachers to evaluate and adjust the physical environment to optimize learning.

The materials also include intentional guidance for setting up the physical environment to support student learning. The Welcome Guide recommends dividing the classroom into active and quiet areas, placing noisy centers away from quieter spaces, organizing materials for independent access, creating semi-private areas, and displaying culturally diverse materials (p. 85). It also encourages placing water areas near sinks and clearly labeling materials to support children’s independence.

Additional support for the learning environment is grounded in research-based guidance. The Welcome Guide (pp. 34–38) summarizes five key findings from brain research and offers ten classroom strategies, including ensuring safety, minimizing clutter, incorporating multisensory learning, keeping lessons appropriately brief, nurturing curiosity, activating prior knowledge, encouraging complex thinking, and promoting movement and hydration.

Environmental print is also embedded throughout the classroom environment and instructional materials. For example, the Center’s Planning & Setup Guide guides teachers in labeling classroom areas such as the library, blocks, and writing center, organizing word walls, and displaying thematic vocabulary cards. Environmental print is further reinforced through posters, photo activity cards, and vocabulary cards that pair real-world images with print, as well as through dramatic play materials such as menus, signs, and lists. Together, these materials support the creation of a print-rich environment through intentional labeling, theme-related displays, and accessible print in learning centers, helping children build awareness of print in meaningful contexts.

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K provides developmentally appropriate guidance on both scheduling and classroom environment design. The materials support a well-balanced daily structure through flexible schedule options, pre-created and customizable weekly plans, varied instructional groupings, and built-in opportunities for movement, transitions, and hands-on learning. The materials also offer intentional guidance for organizing the physical environment to promote independence, engagement, and comfort, while research-based strategies help teachers create settings that support attention, curiosity, and active learning. In addition, the inclusion of environmental print throughout classroom spaces and materials contributes to a print-rich environment that helps children interact with print in meaningful and authentic ways.

Frog Street Pre-K materials meet expectations for including materials that enhance learning (3.1b).

The materials consistently provide clear descriptions, examples, and supports that enhance learning through multiple examples of materials, manipulatives, and resources. A wide variety of manipulatives are included and aligned with activities and learning goals. The Welcome Guide (pp. 16–32) outlines program components and provides clear explanations for the use of specific manipulatives, supported by research on early brain development and instruction (pp. 34–38). The Welcome Guide explains materials used in each content area (pp. 49–67).

The materials include clear descriptions of instructional resources and show alignment to learning goals across domains. For example, the program includes letter cards for literacy lessons (Welcome Guide, p. 53), photo and vocabulary cards to support vocabulary development (p. 57), and numeracy manipulatives such as connecting cubes, pattern blocks, frog counters, and math activity cards (p. 72). Each theme also includes a unit supply list, such as in Theme 8 (Teacher Guide, pp. vi–vii), and clearly identifies weekly and daily materials with accompanying photographs (Theme 8, pp. 6–7).

The materials are generally accessible and available to teachers, with most items included in the program and additional “gather” lists identifying common classroom supplies. Some lessons do call for less common items, such as bikes, ping-pong balls, or metal washers (Theme 7, p. 77), which may require additional purchasing. At the same time, the curriculum encourages the use of found and everyday objects, such as natural materials, toilet paper rolls, recyclables, and cardboard boxes (Theme 3, p. 7). Weekly Family Connection Letters also suggest using common household items to extend learning at home.

Manipulatives are consistently embedded across content areas to support hands-on learning. Math and science small groups use materials such as connecting cubes, pattern blocks, chain links, dot cubes, ten frames, sorting trays, magnifying glasses, and tweezers. Literacy small groups incorporate tactile letter cards, sand trays, sound boxes, and magnetic letters. Art and Writing Practice Centers also include materials such as crayons, markers, paintbrushes, scissors, clipboards, and stencils to support active engagement.

The materials also include some culturally and linguistically responsive resources. Family newsletters are available in English, Spanish, and 19 additional languages through the Lilypad Resources Center. Literature selections reflect diverse cultures and experiences, including texts such as Abuela and Yuna’s Paper Cranes, and some selections are bilingual. Photo cards depict diverse families and children and include Spanish-English labels. In addition, family newsletters connect classroom vocabulary and themes to home activities, such as in Theme 5 (p. 56).

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K consistently describes the use of manipulatives, provides multiple examples across themes, aligns resources with learning goals, and embeds materials into daily instruction. Materials are largely accessible, culturally and linguistically responsive, and connected to family engagement.