ST. MARY'S PRESCHOOL
St. Mary's Preschool Philosphy
St Mary’s Preschool offers a secure and strong faith-based environment in which our children are encouraged to develop their human and learning skills. We believe that each child is unique creation of God. All knowledge begins in wonder. We encourage all children’s natural curiosity about the world. Our pre-school provides a space in which children may gradually learn responsibility and the appropriate level of independence. Teachers support students in their growth as individuals, offering opportunities to learn academic, language and social skills. Parents, as the primary educators of their children, are encouraged to work in partnership with the pre-school staff as we try to promote the spiritual, moral, academic and emotional growth of our children. A cornerstone of our pre-school is the fostering of communication and involvement on the part of families in what is a shared educational project.
St. Mary's Preschool Curriculum
It is our aim to nurture each child in a safe environment where they can begin on the path of life-long learning. Children develop and mature in stages. We treat each child as an individual, while responding to his or her own particular stage of development. We offer a dynamic educational experience including teacher directed activities, independent learning, large and small group activities, and indoor/outdoor play.
Preschool Tuition Rates
What St. Mary's Preschool Offers Your Child
Religion
St. Mary’s Preschool offers a strong faith-based religion program. We believe that children are naturally religious and that they can and should learn about the traditions and rituals of our catholic faith at this early age.
At St. Mary’s, we endeavor to create an environment where the Eucharist is at the center of our lives. Children are exposed to a wide scope of spiritual experiences in ways they are able to comprehend and assimilate. We make spiritual activities fun and we express some mysteries of the Catholic faith at a level appropriate to the children. Children learn to appreciate and respect sacred space and have a deeper knowledge and sense of the presence and love of God. We cannot love someone we do not get to know at a personal level. At. St. Mary’s Preschool your child will receive the fundamentals to build a loving, lasting relationship with God and Mary, Our Blessed Mother.
Sensory, motor, perceptual and language skills are introduced through materials and activities, which are both child-centered and teacher-directed. The curriculum is planned in a way, which emphasizes the process rather than the product, fostering a sense of accomplishment and pride.
Based on the theory that children learn through play, classroom routines encourage active involvement, meaningful experimentation and reinforcement through repetition. Schedules are designed to balance structure and free choice, as well as active and quiet times.
Curriculum activities include Religion, art, science, math, language, early literacy, music, dramatic arts, creative movement, environmental studies, and physical education.
Language and Early Literacy Program
Society places a high value on literacy and has established standards for what is considered literate (National Association for the Education of the Young Children NAEYC 1997). At the same time concern is growing among teachers and parents about the number of children who are entering Kindergarten and First-grade lacking experiences that support language and literacy learning. Preschool language and literacy activities can be significant in laying the foundation for later literacy learning. Experience shows that language and literacy development during the preschool years has a significant impact on how well children learn to read and write during Kindergarten and the primary grades. Successful early literacy learning is closely associated with achievement in later schooling, social relations and work (National Research Council 1998).
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St. Mary’s program offers the Preschool Little Treasures reading program grounded in systematic, explicit instruction of phonemic awareness, phonics, and word knowledge, writing and language arts skills and strategies. Language development includes the use of language in social contexts, to support thinking and creativity, the use of decontextualized language, and the ability to attend to the structure of a story, sentences and words.
Physical Education Program
The preschooler is often a bundle of energy that never walks when running is an option and who sees every puddle as an invitation to jump. St. Mary’s Preschool Program profits from this natural energy by providing a wide range of opportunities for children to explore, discover, play, sing, develop physically, to stay strong and healthy and to gradually master a broad spectrum of gross and fine motor skills.
Preparing your Child for Preschool
Read to your child every day. This should be a top priority. Children love to read books with their parents and to hear stories. It is a good idea to ask your child questions about the book as you tell the story and encourage him/her to guess what will happen next. This encourages comprehension and stimulates the imagination.
Fine Motor Skills
Using play dough, tearing, gluing, and cutting paper all help in the development of fine more skill. The more your child uses his/her fingers, the better. Making homemade Play Dough is often an engaging activity for your child. Tearing, gluing, and cutting old wrapping paper, advertisements, or magazines can also be a fun creative project. Allow your child to use child-friendly scissors to practice motor skills and co-ordination. Children should practice using the correct grip: thumb up in small hole, two fingers in larger bottom hole.
Oral Language
Talk to your child often and ask questions. Teach your child to use his/her words to solve problems and help them to find ‘kind’ words when talking to others. Families who speak more than one language should make sure to include time for speaking English.
Mass
It is important that children attend Mass. Preschool children participate in the weekly school Mass and thereby learn proper respectful behavior in church and also how to share in the Eucharist at a level appropriate to their faith development.
Preschool Hours
Monday- Friday 7:30 am - 2:30 pm
Extended Care 2:30-5:30 pm