The Early Childhood years are a time for inquiry, exploration and discovery. Therefore, in the early childhood classrooms, exposure to a wide variety of materials and activities engage our students, igniting their curiosity and enabling them to make sense of their world. At the same time, they learn to interact cooperatively with others, solve problems, resolve differences, develop respect for the environment, build skills, and explore. These opportunities also enable them to become respectful, responsible and independent.

Our teaching philosophy is based on the developmental approach to education, which holds that children are natural learners who develop at different rates.  Using an interdisciplinary and spiraling curriculum, the core of which is language arts and math, our teachers work to build upon each child’s strengths and provide developmentally appropriate challenges. Through hands-on experiences students are not only introduced to the core curriculum but also participate in social studies, science, library, art, music, and P.E. Woven throughout the curriculum are both environmental consciousness through our Nature Science Center and character education. Children are immersed in theme-based learning in which topics are integrated across subject areas and centers to provide the opportunity for each child to develop self-motivation and independence.

Toddlers with their newfound mobility and developing language skills are discovering and experimenting in their world while in a safe and nurturing environment. Storytelling and listening along with a respect for books help develop pre-reading skills.  The math / manipulative areas focus on building fine motor control, spatial awareness, eye-hand coordination and problem solving skills. Science is a multi-sensory area encouraging children with hands on activities.  Blocks further math concepts of spatial awareness and proportion along with allowing children to build fine motor control. Creative arts allow children to increase muscle control and build self-esteem while exploring their own individual creativity. Dramatic play allows young children to develop socially and emotionally, and to function in a group.

In the Pre-Kindergarten classes the educational journey continues. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking, reading and math skills and the integration of social studies, science, music and art. Pre-K children gain a deeper understanding of language through phonemic awareness, word and letter recognition using the “Open Court” language curriculum, and “Handwriting without Tears” writing program. Daily experiences involving interactive games, literature, songs, plays, rhymes, and rhyme develop skills in the language arts, which are building blocks in reading, listening, speaking, writing, and vocabulary.

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The Pre-K classroom is designed to awaken the children’s awareness of math around them. Beginning skills, such as recognizing numerals, counting, patterning, sorting and classifying are taught through hands-on concrete activities.  Materials, such as clocks, enable the children to experience “bigger ands smaller,” “heavier and lighter,” and “taller and shorter.”  Mathematics becomes part of the daily routine as children experience the fun of counting, sorting, classifying and measuring.