Preschool classes are for kids ages 3½ to 5 (by September 1st of the enrolling school year).
Preschoolers thrive in a multi-age environment as they acquire new skills and consolidate their learning. Children grow as they navigate a diverse and rich classroom landscape. As the younger preschool receive encouragement to try and do, the older children take ownership of tasks mastered. Teachers support each child as an individual and provide enrichment to meet academic and social interests and needs.
The Preschool class structure facilitates freedom and exploration, skills-building, and small group collaboration. Teachers thoughtfully document children’s work through journals and observation. This class creates lifelong learners who are ready to take flight! Science, art, music, literacy, discovery, problem-solving, and higher-level thinking are a few areas of the curriculum.
Frequency & Days: 3 days/week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) or 2 days/week (Tuesday, Thursday)
Time: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Staffing & Ratios: 1 lead teacher, 1 associate teacher, and 16-18 students. 1 parent helper as conditions permit.
Preschool “After School Adventures”: WPELC offers an optional one-hour extended day option (until 2pm) after regular class time during the days the child attends school. Students participate in extra activities in a smaller group.
Tuesday/Thursday Preschool “Extra Day Explorers”: Pending staffing, we offer an additional class day for our Tuesday/Thursday Preschool students on Mondays and/or Fridays. This is an opportunity for your child’s classroom teacher to take a deeper dive and extend learning from concepts they work on during their typical class.
A Day in the Preschool Classroom
A day in the Preschool classroom begins with morning circle time consisting of a greeting song and a welcome. Next, is “choice time,” when the children choose from various activities the teachers have prepared in advance or various play areas that are more permanent in the classroom.
Next comes clean-up time, followed by circle time with stories, songs, and movement activities. Then, we have snack in community. After that, the children have outdoor time or indoor gross motor skills time, depending on the weather. We return to shared experience time to work in small groups on various skills and then have lunch. The day ends with a goodbye circle.