Pre-schoolers are social creatures
One hallmark of the preschool years is burgeoning independence. At For Kid’s Sake Early Learning Center, we see this in children’s shift from focusing on interactions with adults to truly engaging with their peers rather than merely playing alongside one another. Project work and social role-playing give children plenty of opportunities to develop social skills such as turn-taking, impulse control, empathy, and compromise. Our familiar routines, consistent rules, and challenging activities boost preschool children’s confidence in their own abilities while helping them make sense of their world and establish a sense of control.
Each day, we balance quiet and activities as well as individual and group work. Projects allow children to revisit and build on new ideas, as well as develop a big-picture view as they learn concepts within context. Our interest centers target math, science, literacy, and creativity and encourage children to make connections across the curriculum. Pre-schoolers have boundless energy, and our programs encourage them to move, groove, build, and work their bodies on our playground.
Our teacher-to-child ratio in the preschool room is 1:6-8 for children 3 years old & 1:8-10 for children that are 4 years old.
Our Fives program is designed for children who are at least four and a half years old. This program can act as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten, or as an introduction to school for children who have not previously attended group care.
The differences between our preschool and Fives programs are dictated by the older children’s interests and abilities. There is more early literacy work, as well as more challenging activities during interest center time.
The most important skills and attitudes children can bring to kindergarten are enthusiasm for learning, confidence in one’s ability to solve problems, the ability to function as a member of a team or group, the ability to follow directions, and basic self-care such as keeping track of one’s belongings and personal hygiene.
Our teacher-to-child ratio with Fives is 1:10-12 for children 5 years old & older.
