Preschoolers

Children in the preschool years are curious, creative, and ready for new challenges.

Preschool children enjoy participating in purposeful play and develop friendships along the way. They are drawn to dramatic play, trying out new roles as they cook, take care of stuffed pets, or sell pretend groceries. They continue to develop their social and emotional skills by making friends, beginning to solve social problems and talking about their feelings. As preschool children play, they experiment, solve problems, and use thinking skills, all while being creative and expanding their imaginations. As they develop these skills, they learn that it is ok to take a risk, make a mistake and try again. Obtaining skills needed for school success becomes a focus in the preschool years. Children begin to write their names, identify alphabet letters and sounds, and understand math concepts like quantity, sorting and patterning.

At Thrive, our preschool teachers create environments that help children become confident learners. They provide enjoyable and meaningful activities that focus on the whole child. Throughout the day, our teachers embed academic skills into interesting hands-on play experiences. Children engage in in-depth learning through studies of relevant topics such as buildings, balls, trees, recycling and clothing. Studies such as these allow children to gain a deeper understanding, investigate questions and ignite their sense of curiosity. Through the studies and other planned activities, children build the important language, math and science skills needed for school success. In addition to teaching academic skills, thrive teachers create a caring classroom community by involving children in meaningful jobs and rituals that teach kindness and empathy.

Families are a key part of our program. We strive to build strong partnerships with families and have open lines of communication. Our teachers work with parents to meet the unique needs of their child and family and build long-lasting, respectful relationships. Parents are kept up to date with daily classroom happenings on the communication board outside the classroom.