| Our Preschool Philosophy: |
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| Preschool education is about the development of
important skills - those that are needed in everyday living, in relationships with other people, and in
being ready for school. We strive to have each child working to his/her full potential, in all developmental
areas, and to have them feel good about themselves and the prospect of school. |
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| We believe a child’s play is his/her work.
It is the one way he/she has of making sense of the world in which they live, and of developing their skills
- emotionally, socially, intellectually, physically and spiritually. Due to the unique nature and capabilities of
each child, we cannot expect them to have all reached the same level at the same time. What we can strive for
though, is to capture the learning interests and curiosity of each child, through the experiences we offer, and by
providing an environment in which the child feels free to explore and learn without fear of failure. |
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| As we are working towards developing all these
skills in your child, we plan our program around what is known as the "process-centered" approach; that is, what is
extremely important is the process by which the child discovers and learns. If we can instill good ways of learning
things now, it will certainly help them in their efforts at school, and all through life. |
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| Our Goals Are To: |
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Provide a developmentally appropriate
program and environment where each child can grow at his/her own pace. We want to recognize each child as
a whole person and to nourish and encourage development in each area of his/her life: the social, the
emotional, the intellectual, the physical, the creative, and the spiritual; |
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Provide, for families, a place for friendship, encouragement, support, growth, fun and involvement with their preschooler; |
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Celebrate life! We want to encourage the children to view each day in all of its variety as a special gift from God; |
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Provide ample time and developmentally appropriate materials for child-initiated play; |
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Provide an atmosphere where children can learn through discovery; |
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Provide a place where children can feel loved, cared for, nurtured, encouraged, and secure enough to venture out, try new experiences and face new challenges with confidence and to feel secure enough to make mistakes and try again; |
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Provide an orderly yet flexible and balanced program with different levels of difficulty, pacing, and a wide variety of choice and experience; |
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Allow time for inside and outside play, individual and group activities, small and large muscle activity, and time for teacher-directed and child-initiated activities; |
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Help children learn to plan a project, to begin the task and see it through to completion while working as an individual, in small groups, and in large groups, with their teachers present for support and guidance; |
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Provide an environment where children are stimulated to ask questions, to share thoughts, to look for answers, and to creatively solve problems together; |
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Provide an environment that will nourish and expand each child’s creative dimension through art, music, drama, language, and movement; |
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Help each child recognize his/her many and varied emotions and to grow in his/her ability to constructively express them; |
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Help each child develop an understanding of self in relation to others and to develop an awareness of and concern for the needs and feelings, of others. We want to see children helping one another, sharing, creating together, and solving problems constructively; |
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Help children learn to talk and to really listen to one another and to the adults around them; |
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Help children learn to respond appropriately and creatively in a group setting while singing, moving, listening, and talking in turn; |
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Help children learn to take responsibility for his/herself in an age-appropriate manner, to learn good health and safety habits, and to be responsible for personal items such as lunch boxes and jackets. We also want to help them learn to take responsibility for personal actions, to clean up after play and to work out a problem with a friend; |
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Expose the children to the diversity of people, history, music, food, holidays, celebrations and traditions we share as Americans; |
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Introduce the children to the global community of other cultures, customs, and diversity of people and tradition. We want each child to begin to discover the uniqueness and value of each individual person whether they live next door or thousands of miles away; |
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Help each child to know God as friend and personal, loving Creator who created each of them with inherent value, significance, and individual worth. |
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