Preschooler Care At Eureka Kids
In the Preschool Rooms at Eureka Kids our teachers create inclusive, safe, nurturing and supportive learning environments for preschool students to continue to grow and develop as they prepare for Kindergarten. Your child's developing sense of safety, self-esteem, independence and confidence are important to us.
Preschool Program is designed to meet the social, emotional, language, cognitive and physical needs of children from the ages of 33 months to 5 years. The S.M.A.R.T.E.R. curriculum and activities we use in our Preschool Rooms are led by each child's unique needs and abilities, and will nurture the children's independence, discovery and imagination.
It is the teachers' role to observe, meet children where they are at developmentally, and enrich their growth and learning experiences. Children are encouraged to become active learners by exploring the world around them, asking questions, having independent ideas and solving problems.
Our teachers will engage preschool children during daily routines and create an environment rich in purposeful play and hands-on experiences, as well as quality adult-child interactions which include kind voices, conversations and smiles. Daily routines, group activities and positive interactions with teachers and peers help children build relationships and a sense of community in the classroom.
Conferences will be held twice a year and your child's progress reports will be available to you. The staff is responsive to each parent's concerns and suggestions, and your child's accomplishments are happily shared with you.
Each day is a new opportunity for your child's growth and learning!
Social and Emotional
Trust and Emotional Security
What we do:
- Promptly respond to a child's comments or questions
- Provide a safe and nurturing environment
Self-Awareness
What we do:
- Talk with children about how they are feeling
- Allow children to make reasonable choices
Self-Control
What we do:
- Work with children to appropriately express emotions
- Provide reasonable and age appropriate limits and expectations in the classroom
Relationships
What we do:
- Talk with children about how others might be feeling
- Play cooperative games
- Encourage positive interactions between children and teachers
Language and Communication
Listening
What we do:
- Use real names of items to help children build vocabulary
- Give children simple tasks with one or more steps to complete
- Ask children open-ended questions
Speaking
What we do:
- Sing songs and rhymes with children
- Play games and have activities that encourage speaking
- Have conversations with children throughout the day
First Steps in Reading
What we do:
- Read to children frequently during the day
- Provide age appropriate books for children to look at and use
- Clearly label items and materials around the classroom
First Steps in Writing
What we do:
- Provide age appropriate writing materials
- Encourage children to write their name
How Children Learn (Cognitive Skills)
Curiosity
What we do:
- Provide age appropriate activities, materials and toys that engage children in exploration
- Allow children to explore and engage in their environment
- Provide supervised and age appropriate outdoor play
Persistence
What we do:
- Encourage children to remain calm and focused when presented with a challenge
- Provide spaces and times where children can do activities without interruption
Thinking and Interpreting
What we do:
- Provide age appropriate experiences that benefit from a child's ideas and input
- Allow children the time to decide what to do next when they encounter a problem, guiding them when needed
Imagination and Invention
What we do:
- Provide everyday materials and toys that can be used in more than one way
Risk Taking
What we do:
- Stay positive and help a child learn when they make a mistake
Physical
Using Large Muscles
What we do:
- Encourage children to be active indoors and outdoors
- Provide a variety of physical activity as a part of every school day
Using Small Muscles
What we do:
- Provide age appropriate manipulative toys so children can practice using small muscles and hand-eye coordination
- Provide age appropriate writing materials for scribbling and drawing
Physical Health and Well-Being
What we do:
- Establish routines for eating and naptime
- Assist children with age appropriate self-care tasks such as dressing and hand washing
Math, Science and Thinking
Using Math and Logic
What we do:
- Provide materials that can be counted and measured
- Offer a variety of items for patterning opportunities
- Plan daily activities that include simple number operations
Understanding Relationships
What we do:
- Provide materials for a variety of sorting activities
- Describe items by location, size and shape
- Read books about numbers, counting and shapes
Problem Solving Using Scientific Thinking
What we do:
- Ask for a child's ideas and input during experiments
- Encourage sand and water play for exploration
- Provide blocks that encourage building project
Creativity and the Arts
Creating
What we do:
- Encourage children's interest in music and movement
- Supply children with a variety of art materials for independent creativity
Responding
What we do:
- Show an interest in children's creative activities
- Ask children open ended questions about their artwork
Evaluating
What we do:
- Display children's artwork around the classroom
- Explore a variety of art forms such as storytelling, plays, and art from different cultures