Preschool Program
Preschoolers (2s, 2s/3s Blended, 3s, 3s/4s Blended and 4s)
Our Preschool Program is a school based program (operates on a 9 month school calendar), and is available Monday through Friday. All tuition based programs are a half day. Extended Day services are offered at an additional fee including; Early Mornings (8:00 am), Lunch Bunch (12:15- 3:00), and After Care (3:00-5:00 pm).
To meet the various needs of families, enrollment is offered from two days per week to as many as five days per week. Tuition is based on the number of days per week the child is enrolled per age group. All children must meet the age requirements by August 1st for class placement. The 2s/3s Blended class and 3s/4s Blended class are designed to be a 2 year program in which the younger age group will rise as a group to be the older students in the class the following year.
Standards of Experience
Based on Dr. Lillian Katz “Standards of Experience,” we cover the children’s social emotional, language, cognitive, and gross and fine motor development. We believe in the “Standards of Experience” vs. “outcomes based on a factory model of education” which refer to fixed series of identical outcomes. We want all children to experience:
- Being intellectually engaged, absorbed, and challenged
- Having confidence in their own powers and questions
- Being engaged in extended interactions (e.g. conversations, arguments, planning)
- Taking initiative in a range of activities and accepting responsibilities for what is accomplished
- Overcoming obstacles, set-backs and solving problems
- Helping others to find out things and understand them better
- Applying their developing basic literacy and numeric skills in purposeful ways
- Feelings of belonging to a group of their peers
Curriculum
The most important goal of our early childhood curriculum is to help children become enthusiastic learners. We strive to help children become independent, self-confident, inquisitive learners. Remember that all children are individuals and will accomplish goals at their own rate of growth and development. Our curriculum encompasses the total child and meets all areas of development.
Our learning environments are thoughtfully prepared, aesthetically-pleasing, and reimagined throughout the year based on the interests of the children. We provide an environment for growth and making new connections offering rich, open-ended materials and “loose parts” to explore and experiment. Through “invitations/provocations," we promote independent choices with rotated materials and experiences. Children are encouraged to slow down and develop self-regulation skills through mindfulness and intentional planning.