Early Preschool Community
Our early preschool classrooms are designed for students 18 months to three years of age, and encourage exploration, promote language development, foster self-help skills, build motor skills, and improve coordination and cognitive processing. Our program offers students a variety of fun, stimulating learning activities each day.
One of our early preschoolers’ favorite activities is to get messy and explore with their whole bodies. Sensory development is a key component for little growing bodies—it helps with emotional regulation, fine and gross motor skills, coordination, problem solving, sorting, and also builds nerve connections that allow for complex thinking skills. Our early preschoolers participate in one to two hours of sensory play per day. They explore sand, water, beans, rice, paper, ice, cereal, paint, clay, play-dough, and so much more!
In the early preschool classroom, children learn through play and hands-on experiments. This is a wonderful time when children first start verbalizing their inquiries and communicating their needs. We build our curriculum around their interests and encourage their curiosity to grow each day. Music and movement, story time, and creative art activities help children develop social, fine-motor, and early literacy skills. Our various toys, learning materials, and equipment are arranged to promote active exploration in different interest areas. Students are also taught basic self-help skills such as dressing themselves, drinking from a standard cup, potty training, serving snacks, washing hands, and cleaning up after themselves. Early preschoolers are truly amazing helpers!
"What the hand does, the mind remembers."
-Maria Montessori
Exploration Areas
Reading & Storytelling
Reading stories aloud
Pretend reading
Letter identification
Story structure and sequencing
Fine Motor & Writing
Drawing lines to begin forming letters
Mark-making technique practice and confidence
Using tools to pick up small objects
Science & Sensory
Discussing temperature, weather, and seasons
Exploring materials using the five senses
Learning about plants and animals
Gross Motor
Practicing coordination and balance
Developing agility and building stamina
Learning about physical fitness
Math & Problem Solving
Measuring items using tools
Identifying shapes
Rote and object counting
Sorting and patterning
Self-Help & Self Awareness
Potty training
Cleaning up
Washing hands
Dressing
Self-identification
Art & Music
Creative expression using a variety of art materials
Learning songs and rhymes
Learning basic music competency including rhythm, tone, and pitch
Enrichment Classes
Music appreciation
Hand-eye coordination
Fine arts
Language skills