Morning Preschool Program - children ages 2.9-5 years
We offer a two-day preschool program on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a three-day program on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from September to June. Each class has ten children with two teachers. The lead teacher/director holds a Master's degree in early childhood education from Wheelock College, and has over eighteen years of teaching experience. The assistant teacher has been with the program for three years, is licensed by the State, and has a background in child care.
Our Preschool Day
8:30 - 8:45 Early Drop Off (fee applies)
8:45 - 9:45 Free Choice (Open snack)
9:45 - 10:00 Morning Meeting*
10:00 - 10:45 Free Choice (Open snack)
10:45- 10:50 Clean Up
10:50 - 11:00 Bathroom/Quiet Book Time
11:00 - 11:45 Outdoor Play**
11:45 - 12:00 Goodbye Circle/Dismissal
12:00 - 12:30 Lunch (fee applies)
*At times a large group activity will follow meeting time. Activities include book detectives, question box, journals, and science experiments.
** Rainy day activities include cooking projects and musical instruments.
Families are welcome to join us anytime during our day or can observe children at play through our
observation window (one-way mirror).
We also run a summer program in July which follows a similar schedule.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We believe it is our job as early childhood educators to establish a learning environment which respects and nurtures the individual and growing needs of each child in our program. The organization of the classroom and curriculum support children's physical, emotional, social, and cognitive growth through active exploration, play, and hands-on experiences. Children are encouraged to take risks in learning and feel empowered by their accomplishments. Our primary goals are that children will develop confidence in their abilities and acquire essential tools needed to be successful in future learning experiences.
CURRICULUM
The curriculum centers around thematic studies and incorporates the interests of the children. Related activities are integrated into all classroom areas and provide opportunities for hands on exploration. During our study of insects, you will see dirt with toy bugs in the touch table, live specimens such as crickets, ladybugs, caterpillars, butterflies, and beetles on display for observation in the science area, children pretending to be entomologists in the dramatic play area, and more! Our thematic studies are enriched by the use of related children's literature and materials. Through both teacher and child directed activities, emerging skills in literacy, science, and mathematics are supported. For example, after hearing the book I Wish I Were A Butterfly, a class book will be created with each child contributing a page, an illustration of a live cricket or butterfly will be added to individual journals, and the number of days required for a butterfly to emerge from its chrysalis will be documented. Development in all areas will be observed and activities will be incorporated to support children in acquiring necessary skills including but not limited to:
What literacy looks like in our classroom:
Children use name cards to identify names
Children take attendance
Children label objects in the room with words using both upper and lower case letters
Children create journal entries
Children play book detectives identifying aspects of a story (characters, setting, etc.)
What math looks like in our classroom:
Children identify and create patterns
Children record data on individual and group graphs
Children sort and classify a variety of manipulatives
What science looks like in our classroom:
Children observe live animals in their habitats
Children complete simple experiments such as sink & float
TOILET TRAINING
We view toilet training as a developmental skill that children master when they are both physically and mentally prepared to. Therefore, we do not require that children are trained, but ask that they be able to communicate their need for assistance. We will work with families to support children in becoming proficient at this developmental milestone.
SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS
Families will receive daily input about their child's experiences at school as well as information through monthly newsletters and notices entitled "School News". More formal feedback regarding your child's developmental growth will be provided during a fall conference and an evening event entitled "Celebrate Your Child" in late spring. Over the course of the year, student portfolios will be developed. The contents will illustrate classroom participation and include assessment forms.
REGISTRATION
You are invited to visit our program and may attend one of our tours. During the tour, parents/guardians and children can explore the classroom areas and will have an opportunity to interact with teachers. Spaces are limited and pre-registration for tours is required. Families of current students register for the upcoming school year in mid-December. Open spaces will be filled with new families starting in January. A deposit consisting of the last month's tuition is required to secure your child's space. Refund terms are outlined in our tuition agreement.
We strive to create an active partnership between school and home, and work hard to keep this connection strong. Families are encouraged to be involved in their child's preschool experience through a variety of opportunities from watching classroom activities through our observation window, joining us for part of the preschool day, or coming in to present an activity (i.e. read a book, bake with the children, or facilitate an art activity). For more information about preschool, call 508-881-4314 to request a brochure.
Preschool Highlights
Families receive information daily about what is happening in the classroom through feedback from teachers and our Highlights of the Day board. On September 26th the board read:
"We made the most of a soggy day by creating puppet shows with the wooden people puppets we created on Monday and Wednesday, made shapes on geo-boards, and baked muffins. At meeting we read The Very Hungry Thing by Jan Slepian and acted liked detectives as we tried to determine what he was hungry for: Hookies or cookies, thread or bread, and fananas or bananas?
Families also receive regular updates from our newsletters which include information about our thematic studies, related activities, books, songs, announcements, special visitors, and more. Below are some of the sections from our November 2008 newsletter:
We are busy, busy, busy! We wrapped up our family theme by making the connection between family activities such as raking leaves and apple picking, and incorporated related activities and materials. Children made leaf prints, created fall scenes with collage materials, and explored fall items in the science area. We then transformed our doctor's office into a farmer's market where children have been busy purchasing pumpkins, gourds, and various fruits and vegetables. We began our farm theme by discussing things that grow on a farm, and after reading The Enormous Potato we made potato prints. This week we will continue to explore items that grow on a farm as well as begin discussing the animals we find. We will compare raw and cooked carrots, examine various animal coverings (feathers, fur, and wool) in the science area, and observe Indian corn in water. Chicken activities will be presented such as painting and gluing on chicken shapes and decorating egg cartons. We will read Dora's Eggs, The Little Red Hen, and Chickens Aren't the Only Ones, and sing songs including I Know a Chicken and One Little, Two Little, Three Little Chickens. We will also have a visit from a live chicken!
We really enjoyed our parent visitors and thank them for doing dot art stationary with the children and facilitating the decorating of trick or treat bags with stamps! We even got to do a practice run and collected treats. What fun!! Thank you for sharing your Mom's!
Miss Pamela was a huge hit with children and she will be back on a monthly basis!
Favorite Song:
5 Green and Speckled Frogs
5 green and speckled frogs sat on a speckled log, eating some most delicious bugs-yum, yum!
One jumped in the pool where it was nice and cool and now there are four green speckled frogs?
Repeat down to now there are no more green and speckled frogs.
Thematic Song:
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The firsts one said, "Oh my it's getting late!"
The second on said, "It's windy out here!"
The third one said, "But we don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run, let's run!"
The fifth one said, "Isn't playing lots of fun?"
Then oooooooo went the wind and out went the lights as the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!
It was great to meet with parents for conferences and touch base about how much fun we are having with your children. We hope you found the feedback helpful and enjoyed hearing about our portfolios. If we have not yet met, please see Courtney.
The colder weather is coming and with it colds and other illnesses. At school, we wash hands often and naturally disinfect surfaces and the air. Please do your part by keeping sick children home (see the handbook for specific guidelines). Thank you!
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