Preschool Program

Preschool should be rigorous and joyful at the same time. Our preschool program runs on a play-based, teacher-guided curriculum that intentionally builds literacy, math, science, social-emotional, and fine motor skills through hands-on materials, small-group instruction, and the deep engagement of long, uninterrupted play.

Our teachers plan weekly themes that integrate across domains. A study of trees becomes a counting activity (how many leaves?), a literacy activity (the letter T, the word tree, the book 'The Giving Tree'), a science investigation (collecting and sorting different leaves), an art project (leaf rubbings), and a writing opportunity (drawing and labeling a tree). Real, durable learning happens when children encounter the same concepts in multiple contexts — which is exactly how our curriculum is designed.

Preschoolers in our program engage with letters and sounds every single day. We teach letter recognition systematically, introduce the sound each letter makes, and practice phonological awareness — rhyming, syllable clapping, and beginning sound identification — through games, songs, and small-group activities.

Children write their names daily. They progress from scribbles to recognizable letters to legible signatures over the course of the year. Story time happens multiple times a day, with rich vocabulary, comprehension questions, and discussions that build the language foundation of strong future readers.

Preschoolers count daily — the friends at circle, the days on the calendar, the steps to the playground. They work with manipulatives that build true number sense: counting bears, ten frames, pattern blocks, and sorting trays. They learn to recognize numerals, match numerals to quantities, and begin simple addition through hands-on combining.

Patterns, shapes, and spatial reasoning are woven throughout the day. By the end of preschool, our children typically count well beyond twenty, recognize all numerals to ten, complete and extend simple patterns, and solve real, concrete problems with confidence.

Preschoolers are natural scientists. Our classroom is full of materials that invite hypothesis, observation, and discovery — magnets, ramps, magnifying glasses, sink-and-float bins, planting trays, and weather charts. Teachers ask open-ended questions ('What do you notice? What do you think will happen next?') and welcome wrong answers as part of the learning process.

Real STEM in preschool is not robots and screens. It is the disciplined practice of asking questions, testing ideas, and revising thinking — which is exactly what our preschool classroom is designed to grow.

Preschool is when children build the friendships, the conflict-resolution skills, and the self-regulation strategies that will shape their entire school career. Our teachers explicitly teach social and emotional skills — naming feelings, asking for help, using words to resolve conflict, taking another's perspective, recovering from disappointment.

We use a calm-down corner with sensory tools and visual cues, not a punishment chair. We coach children through hard moments rather than removing them. The result is a classroom culture of genuine kindness, real friendships, and children who feel safe being themselves.

Preschoolers get daily outdoor time on our secure play space — climbing, running, riding, jumping, and the unstructured movement that growing bodies need. Outdoor play builds balance, coordination, core strength, and the social negotiation that happens when children invent their own games and rules.

Families receive real-time BrightWheel updates with daily highlights, photos, and milestones. WatchMeGrow cameras let parents check in anytime. By the end of preschool, our children are ready for our Pre-K program — confident, curious, capable, and visibly proud of who they are becoming.