Prepared & Ready to Shine

The Pre-Kindergarten Program at Bright & Early sets the stage for a positive and confident transition to kindergarten for your child, who will be equipped with the right early life skills for the years ahead.

Bright & Early teachers encourage pre-kindergarten students to express themselves and communicate their interests through curriculum activities, creating artwork and strengthening language by participating in classroom conversations. Teachers create an environment and curriculum that encourage important character building, such as confidence to comfortably ask questions, sharing and taking turns with friends, following directions, and taking responsibility for actions. With these advanced social and academic activities, teachers encourage children to awaken their sense of self-motivation and learning potential.

Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms with Room to Prepare

The pre-kindergarten classroom is set up as a precursor to a standard kindergarten classroom. This atmosphere eases the transition into the school-age setting.

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    PRE-KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM FEATURES:

    • Comfortable cots for quiet time, until they naturally no longer nap
    • Child-sized toilets and handwashing sinks
    • Furniture with smooth, rounded corners
    • Child-height floor shelves with baskets of colorful and stimulating manipulatives
    • An increase in the number of areas of interest
    • Self-help art materials
    • Self-help features to encourage independence
    • Children’s Artwork and writing samples on display

    Pre-kindergarten children are confident and comfortable in a structured classroom environment. They can recognize labeled areas and know how many friends can play at one time. We encourage independence at this age, as children choose which Classroom Learning Centers they would like to play in and with which friends. Teachers will move around the classroom asking open-ended questions while talking about what the children are doing and why. This approach promotes social skills and language development as well as critical thinking. Teachers make observations of individual children’s progress and development, and record observations for Developmental Assessments. At Parent/Teacher Conferences during this important year, teachers share with parents which skills to collectively focus on in the classroom and at home to ready the child for kindergarten.

    PRE-KINDERGARTEN LEARNING CENTERS:

    Circle Time Area

    Where children and teachers gather daily as a class.

    Block and Floor Toy Area

    Where children have access to blocks for creating small structures and experimenting with the physics of building.

    Literacy Center

    Where children curl up with a favorite book to read quietly.

    Writing Center

    Where children sit at a desk offering a variety of writing instruments to experiment with.

    Listening Center

    Where children listen to books on tape, songs, meditations, etc.

    Manipulatives Center

    Where shelves hold baskets brimming with curriculum toys for fine motor development.

    Art Center

    Where children have access to drawing, coloring, and painting materials to experiment with as they explore their creative expression of self.

    Sensory Table Center

    Where children conduct science experiments with sand and water.

    Science Center

    Where children can see and touch items from a variety of categories such as natural objects, living things, and nature/science books, games, and activities.

    Dramatic Play Center

    Where toy food and plastic dishes are stocked in a play kitchen area, and where costumes and props are available for children to dress up and play or act.

    Music and Movement Center

    Where children may help themselves to child-sized musical instruments to play in a group or to try out individually.

    Outdoor Classroom

    Where teachers bring activities and items outside to continue the group learning through play.

    What will my Pre-K student learn today?

     

    Pre-kindergarten students thrive with routines and expected activities. The daily activities move along at a pace that matches their attention span and interest, readying them for kindergarten.

    Our days are structured to fit the needs of every child while offering plenty of room for each child to grow in their own unique direction. There is no “standard” day, but this flexible structure developed by our team allows you to see what types of activities your child will engage in with us each day.

    DAILY ACTIVITIES for a PRE-KINDERGARTEN

    • Morning Outdoor Experience
    • Morning Snack
    • Planned Curriculum Activities
    • Circle Time
    • Learning Center Exploration
    • Lunch
    • Nap/Rest Time
    • Afternoon Outdoor Experience
    • Afternoon Snack
    • Planned Curriculum Activities
    • Storytime
    • Learning Center Exploration

    Sharing the Moments & Milestones

     

    We believe in technology that improves the classroom experience for both teachers and children. Each classroom is equipped with a Bright & Early iPad that teachers use for Tadpoles, Pandora Radio, and the B&E Meditation App.

    Parents can download Tadpoles to their smart devices, where they can receive a Daily Report each evening with information about the following happenings:

    • Daily notes
    • Naps/Sleep
    • Snacks/Meals
    • Individual and class activities detailing development standards

    Teachers may also send parents snapshots of their children engaging in activities and having fun throughout the day.

    Bright & Early hosts two parent-teacher conferences each year, during which each child’s developmental assessments are reviewed in depth. In addition to these sit-down meetings, we highly value daily communication between parents and teachers, which means our teachers are available to provide updates to parents throughout each day, and we encourage parents to use pick up and drop off times to discuss their child’s progress and mindset with their teacher.

    How Children Grow, Explore, Discover, & Learn

    We believe children learn best through play-based experiences. Teachers pay attention to what children wonder about choosing weekly themes for the Learning Experience Plan based on their interests. This process gives both teachers and children a positive collective contribution to their experiences.

     

    Learning & Growth Opportunities Everywhere

    Teachers engage children in intentional conversations throughout the day, asking open-ended questions. These inquiries make a big difference in a child’s thought process by building self-confidence and patiently holding space for emerging decision making and leadership skills.

    Throughout the day children are busy creating, solving, pretending, and playing. They are given the right amount of independence to build thinking and solving skills, and confidence that their way of thinking is valuable and valued.

    Friendships blossom at this age and we encourage inclusivity and positive vibes for the classroom. We help them articulate and validate their feelings while resolving conflicts and supporting their friendships.

     

    Our Preschool Program focuses on the following Early Learning & Development Standards:

    Cognition

    When pre-kindergarteners are comfortable investigating different ways to make things happen, when they embrace challenges (“I can build the tallest block tower!”), and when they share their knowledge by “teaching” their friends how to do something.

    Social & Emotional Development

    When children grow comfortable growing relationships with a greater number of trusted adults, when they become aware of social standards, and when they can begin to manage and describe their feelings and emotions to adults.

    Physical Development & Health

    When pre-kindergarteners can use more complex and coordinated large motor skills, and when they employ their growing fine motor skills to manipulate materials, like when they fold and cut paper to create snowflakes or when a mature pencil grasp emerges for them to write their name (the crowning achievement of pre-kindergarten!).

    Language & Literacy

    When children absorb more complex vocabulary from consistently being read to, when they understand that print is read from left to right and top to bottom, and when they begin to make connections between letters and sounds, and when they create their own “books” in which they draw a story out with some help from a teacher.

    Creative Arts

    When pre-kindergarteners begin to invent their own tunes as they move throughout their day (sweet little humming sounds, tapping rhythms, and singing are always a delight for our ears!).

    Mathematics

    When children can count aloud to 20, when they can recognize written numerals up to 10, and when measurement and comparing data on classroom charts is introduced.

    Science

    When children can define a problem and collaborate with their friends, asking for assistance when needed, and when they can make predictions based on past observances of cause and effect, such as when cold snow melts into warmer water.

    Social Studies

    When pre-kindergarteners understand similarities and differences among different people and communities, such as language, food, art, and traditions, and when they grow to celebrate and appreciate these differences.

    We are proud to offer “EVEN MORE!”

    B&E Meditation App

    We partnered with Cloud9 Online, a meditation and healthcare company, to develop a customized mindfulness and meditation app specifically for Bright & Early. During the day at the centers, our teachers will use the app on the B&E classroom iPads to practice meditation and mindfulness with the children. Teaching children to be mindful, to connect with their minds and bodies, and to practice breathing helps them learn to reduce stress and stay calm.

    Pre-kindergarteners enjoy the “Mindful Child,” “Storytime,” and “Nature Sounds” categories, which include meditations such as “I Have Two Donkeys,” and “Babbling Brook.” Families have access to the app at home so that they can enjoy the “Mindful Family” category, which includes meditations to help children start their day off with positive energy as well as meditations to help them settle into their nightly routine to help them drift off to sleep.

    The meditations were written and selected to be beneficial for the physical and mental well-being of our children. The library of meditations is large, with over 30 guided meditations and songs written for children, nature sounds to soothe, and even some meditations for the whole family to practice together at home!

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    American Sign Language (ASL)

    Bright & Early teachers use a number of basic ASL signs with pre-kindergarteners. Learning and using ASL provides a number of benefits for children, including an increase in communication and language processing skills, a strengthening of connections with parents and teachers, and a decrease in frustration. Please visit our American Sign Language page for more information on our program.

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    Enrichment Programs

    Opportunities, options, and choices. The Bright & Early learning experience also includes additional and optional enrichment programs such as Early Soccer Classes or Gymnastics for toddlers & preschoolers to add depth to your child’s holistic education.  Your child may choose to participate in these programs for additional fees. See your center director to see which programs are offered at your center or for more information.

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