Preschool Program
3 - 5 Years Old
Preschool children have many interests and are starting to investigate the widening world by experimenting with their developing use of language and social skills. Our program provides activities to help preschool children become problem solvers and lifelong learners. Through independent exploration, structured activities, and hands-on learning, preschool children will work on early literacy, math, science, and social studies concepts. Preschool is a time of enormous educational strides in language, social skills and problem solving.
Our program promotes the preschool child's development by offering a rich variety of projects and activities that build upon established foundations for learning while focusing on advancing language ability, mathematical reasoning, and science. Our professionally prepared curriculum provides opportunities for children to develop independently. It also helps us to setup learning centers that offer guided experiences to encompass all the skills and understanding necessary for optimum development and academic success. The art and crafts projects that our students enjoy daily are regularly updated and procured from other preschool professionals around the country using services such as Teachers-pay-Teachers, Mother Goose and Scholastic.
Preschool children have many interests and are starting to investigate the widening world by experimenting with their developing use of language and social skills. Our program provides activities to help preschool children become problem solvers and lifelong learners. Through independent exploration, structured activities, and hands-on learning, preschool children will work on early literacy, math, science, and social studies concepts. Preschool is a time of enormous educational strides in language, social skills and problem solving.
Our program promotes the preschool child's development by offering a rich variety of projects and activities that build upon established foundations for learning while focusing on advancing language ability, mathematical reasoning, and science. Our professionally prepared curriculum provides opportunities for children to develop independently. It also helps us to setup learning centers that offer guided experiences to encompass all the skills and understanding necessary for optimum development and academic success. The art and crafts projects that our students enjoy daily are regularly updated and procured from other preschool professionals around the country using services such as Teachers-pay-Teachers, Mother Goose and Scholastic.
Parents Beware!
It is a common misconception that preschool children are better prepared for Kindergarten when they attend a rigid classroom-oriented program. Studies have disproven this theory time and time again:
According to the guidelines that NAEYC endorsed for developmentally appropriate practice, teachers can best enhance each child's learning and development by creating a warm and responsive environment where children are motivated to engage in activities that are both personally meaningful and intellectually stimulating (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). To this end, teachers should try to get to know each child, their personality and their social and developmental status, so that they can select tasks that tap into each child's "zone of proximal development," as Vygotsky (1978) termed it. Teachers can provide scaffoldings along the way, whenever necessary, so that the child not only has to work at the edge of his developing capacities but they can persist through the tasks. Yet, currently many academic oriented early childhood programs insist on formal instruction, which typically include drills of isolated skills out of proper contexts.
It is a common misconception that preschool children are better prepared for Kindergarten when they attend a rigid classroom-oriented program. Studies have disproven this theory time and time again:
According to the guidelines that NAEYC endorsed for developmentally appropriate practice, teachers can best enhance each child's learning and development by creating a warm and responsive environment where children are motivated to engage in activities that are both personally meaningful and intellectually stimulating (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). To this end, teachers should try to get to know each child, their personality and their social and developmental status, so that they can select tasks that tap into each child's "zone of proximal development," as Vygotsky (1978) termed it. Teachers can provide scaffoldings along the way, whenever necessary, so that the child not only has to work at the edge of his developing capacities but they can persist through the tasks. Yet, currently many academic oriented early childhood programs insist on formal instruction, which typically include drills of isolated skills out of proper contexts.
We understand the desire of parents wanting only the best education for their children. That's why we focus on theories and practices that have been proven effective by early childhood education industry experts. Large commercial preschool centers cannot provide your child with the same one-on-one attention that we can.
Preparing for Kindergarten
We've successfully prepared numerous children for Kindergarten over the last 10 years. Kindergarten is a big step for young children and should be a positive experience. We know what it takes to prepare children for this important milestone. Our teachers have the necessary training and education to understand what it takes to teach preschoolers new concepts. By volunteering in Kindergarten classrooms over the years we're able to give back to the community and to gain insights into the requirements for children entering Kindergarten.
Studies have shown that large classrooms are typically not the best learning environment for your preschooler:
Long hours of direct instruction to a whole group is ineffective at its best and can often produce undesirable consequences. On the one hand, children's mental capacity is not yet fully developed, their attention span is relatively short, and they are easily distracted (Anderson & Levin, 1976; Miller, 1985). Therefore, any instructional activity that extends beyond children's attention span is likely to be ineffective. On the other hand, not all children develop at the same pace, and thus the same activity may be too easy for some and too difficult for others. Take the gifted and talented children for example: they usually have their own ideas as to how things should be done and often become bored or restless with drills or repetitive tasks in class. In her book entitled Growing up Gifted, Clark (1988) pointed out that gifted and talented children may appear to be out of step with the rest of the class if the instruction is not targeted toward their level. It follows that too much whole group activity may run the risk of stifling children's interests in learning as the task may not be tailored to the interest of each individual child in the group, or worse even, it could dampen children's creativity. Additionally, children are likely to become restless or disruptive when they are not actively engaged. This may be why NAEYC recommends that children be involved in curricular decisions and also learn to take responsibility for their own learning (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997).
We've successfully prepared numerous children for Kindergarten over the last 10 years. Kindergarten is a big step for young children and should be a positive experience. We know what it takes to prepare children for this important milestone. Our teachers have the necessary training and education to understand what it takes to teach preschoolers new concepts. By volunteering in Kindergarten classrooms over the years we're able to give back to the community and to gain insights into the requirements for children entering Kindergarten.
Studies have shown that large classrooms are typically not the best learning environment for your preschooler:
Long hours of direct instruction to a whole group is ineffective at its best and can often produce undesirable consequences. On the one hand, children's mental capacity is not yet fully developed, their attention span is relatively short, and they are easily distracted (Anderson & Levin, 1976; Miller, 1985). Therefore, any instructional activity that extends beyond children's attention span is likely to be ineffective. On the other hand, not all children develop at the same pace, and thus the same activity may be too easy for some and too difficult for others. Take the gifted and talented children for example: they usually have their own ideas as to how things should be done and often become bored or restless with drills or repetitive tasks in class. In her book entitled Growing up Gifted, Clark (1988) pointed out that gifted and talented children may appear to be out of step with the rest of the class if the instruction is not targeted toward their level. It follows that too much whole group activity may run the risk of stifling children's interests in learning as the task may not be tailored to the interest of each individual child in the group, or worse even, it could dampen children's creativity. Additionally, children are likely to become restless or disruptive when they are not actively engaged. This may be why NAEYC recommends that children be involved in curricular decisions and also learn to take responsibility for their own learning (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997).
Early Literacy
Most of the students who attend Little Feet Child Care for at least 1 year before entering Kindergarten do so with the ability to read at the Kindergarten level or higher. Our curriculum focuses on reading skills the State of Oregon recently adopted as a standard.
Most of the students who attend Little Feet Child Care for at least 1 year before entering Kindergarten do so with the ability to read at the Kindergarten level or higher. Our curriculum focuses on reading skills the State of Oregon recently adopted as a standard.
Misty Slater
Owner/Director
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