Prepared & Ready to Shine

The Pre-Kindergarten Program at Bright Years Academy 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 Years Academy 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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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.

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