Our Philosophy + Curriculum
Our mission is to provide a healthy, safe, positive learning experience for all our children by encouraging their natural curiosity about the world around them. We know that in giving them a strong foundation, their love of learning will continue to grow. We also embrace the family as an essential part of the LTS experience. We model a celebration of individuality and each family’s uniqueness. This results in a wonderful feeling of self-confidence.
Getting Ready for Kindergarten
Our goal is to ensure that each child who graduates from our program is prepared for kindergarten and the grades beyond. We will work with parents, the public school system, and when necessary, community resources, to assure each child’s future success in their education. Our program’s goals and objectives include supporting families as they are their children’s first and most important teachers.
Our classrooms are set up to encourage exploration through various hands-on activities. At this age, children learn through play. Our teachers develop curriculum as teams so that drawing upon each other’s strengths and experience is inherent to the process. Teachers also develop lesson plans by listening to their children. To enhance children’s natural curiosity, they are exposed to a curriculum filled with many different topics. They are given opportunities to be creative, independent thinkers and decision-makers.
Curriculum
The curriculum at Little Treasures focuses on the whole child. Cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development is all included in our planning. At LTS we will build a learning foundation out of playful experiences. Children will broaden their horizons with different topics and activities such as music, art, dance, literature, science, cooking, math, social studies, poetry, rhymes, nature, sand, water, dramatic play, and personal growth (i.e., respect, responsibilities, and manners). Our curriculum also focuses on families, cultures, the environment, and much more.
Our staff of professional teachers plans an emergent curriculum that the children find educational, enriching, and fun. Each teacher will work with the children in their class and their families to include their cultures and interests. At Little Treasures, we embrace all cultures. We work to diligently promote a learning environment of inclusion and respect. To this end, teachers will work with each family to ensure that their classroom environment and curriculum reflect the world around us and the variety of cultures and beliefs represented in the classroom. Teachers also plan their curriculum with a letter and number of the week, and the shape and color of the month. Themes are changed monthly.
Our goal is to understand each child’s method of learning and prepare the environment for each child’s success. Children are diverse learners. Some need more sensory stimulation, others need to be more active, and some children prefer quiet space. Our educators and administrators recognize that not all children learn the same. We prepare the curriculum and the learning environment to assure each child a successful and educational preschool experience.
To facilitate a smooth transition to Elementary School, we use the Wilson Reading & Writing Program which is used in the Reading Public Schools (RPS). Letter recognition and phonics are taught with the same terminology and tools which are used in the RPS. Our writing centers are equipped with the early writing tools which use the same icons and lettering style as used in the RPS. This is part of our commitment to working with our community to ease the transition to public school. “Writer’s Workshop” is a scheduled block of time dedicated to encouraging writing or dictating stories. Children create books either as whole class projects or individual projects. Classrooms are set up to encourage pre-reading skills through the use of labels.
Little Treasures has developed a unique and comprehensive science program. We have science teachers who plan lessons as a team. These lessons focus on making the abstract concepts of science tangible to the children with hands-on experiments. The curriculum builds on prior experiences and develops an understanding of science as relevant in their world.
Our science program nurtures children’s love of learning by encouraging exploration of their world and empowering them with the vocabulary of science. Both boys and girls approach science with such enthusiasm. Children are encouraged to make “best guesses” or predictions and to test their predictions against what happens. We emphasize to the children that making mistakes is acceptable as mistakes are one of the ways scientists learn new things about the world. Children receive a positive foundation for understanding the everyday world that surrounds them, which they can use as a basis for further learning and higher-order intellectual skills.
Math skills are reinforced throughout the day. Children will play with sorting, grouping, and patterns. They will learn numbers, their names, their relationship to object quantities and symbols, measurement (using standard and non-standard units of measure), shapes, and size. Children will also become familiar with the concept of time and schedules. This is done throughout the day, specifically during choice time activities, block building, games, and calendar time.
Music is a vital part of our school environment. We have a dedicated music teacher. The children sing, dance, and are exposed to instruments. Children experience different genres and learn the basics of music education while having great fun.
We take great pride in our productions which involve the TAS (Treasures after School Program), Preschool, and PreK classrooms. We host two productions a year, a winter concert and a spring concert which includes our graduation ceremony. The big highlight of our spring production is always the distribution of diplomas. Both of these productions center on a musical theme. Historically, these take place during a weeknight evening. The children enjoy showing off their singing voices and performing for their families.
Outdoor play is crucial for healthy child development. Children need to explore the world around them. They need to exercise their bodies, be active and enjoy the sun and nature. Children’s physical development is also important for their academic success. Children need to develop body strength (especially upper body strength) to develop their fine motor skills. Nature provides a classroom with resources that cannot be found inside. Children develop their sense of smell, touch, hearing, vision, and body balance while playing outdoors. Children need to exercise all their senses with their bodies in motion. After gross motor movements and play, children are eager to learn.
Fine Motor Skills are the development of the small movement of muscles in the body. Being able to use the thumb and a finger to grasp objects is often referred to as the pincer grasp. For example, holding a pencil with your finger and your thumb, or being able to pick up a small object such as Cheerios requires a pincer grasp. Fine motor skill development is very important for children to be able to learn how to write. Gross motor skills are very important in developing children’s fine motor skills. Children will benefit greatly from outdoor play and indoor gross motor play.
Children participate in enriching field trips to complement our curriculum. Some of these are visits to Smolak Farms and the Stone Zoo. We also enjoy special visitors to our school such as the fire department, police department, dental hygienists, storytellers, puppeteers, animals, etc.
Other content areas which are included in the classroom curriculum are creative arts, dramatic play, personal growth (social/emotional), health/safety, and social studies. These content areas are assessed by your child’s teacher and are taught throughout the day in various activities.