DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE!

• children's programs
  • infants
    6 wks. - 7 mos.
  • crawlers
    7 mos. - 16 mos.
  • waddlers
    16 mos. - 24 mos.
  • toddlers
    24 mos. - 35 mos.
  • half day preschool
    3's, 4's or young 5's
  • full day preschool
    3's, 4's or young 5's
  • school age
    before and/or after school care
  • summer camps
    fun summertime learning

Full Day Preschool

The full-day preschool classes at Stepping Stones are geared for 3, 4 and young 5 year olds and encourages independence, self-esteem, social interaction, intellectual development and kindergarten readiness through play and exploration. We provide a nutritious breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack.

Our preschool programs are full of exciting activities and learning opportunities each and every day. The curriculum is based on our philosophy- "Learning by Doing". Children learn better when they are interacting, doing, and trying things on their own rather than watching and repeating what a teacher does. The main goal of our preschool programs is to help and encourage children to become enthusiastic learners.

The curriculum and daily schedules have been developed to prepare your child for Kindergarten. We offer a literacy-based curriculum that supports reading-readiness, math & science activities, fine arts. Also included in Stepping Stones' tuition are Spanish, music and sign language.

Registrations for preschool are taken year-round. Click here to find enrollment forms.

Preschool Development

Various types of play

• Creative play, such as drama or pretend play that promotes the creation of pictures or symbols
• Game-Playing with rules
• Promote imagination and creativity through art and music
• Functional play, such as examining the functional properties of objects and materials in addition to exploring how they feel, taste, smell and sound
• Constructive play, using various toys and materials such as sand and blocks
• Teachers will interact with children by extending their ideas in play
• Provide indoor and outdoor play opportunities and age appropriate play spaces that are safe and inviting

Self-Help and Independence

• Encourage self-help skills such as washing hands, assisting with meal or snack preparation, assist with classroom projects and clean-up
• Create a sense of community through family style dining and clean-up

Communication and Language

• Encourage vocabulary with age appropriate conversation and activities that promote language enhancement
• Encourage children to participate in group discussions
• Interactive style in reading books such as the use of questioning
• Use words to describe the characteristics of objects
• Continue to teach beginning reading skills such as comprehension, phonics, and language
• Introductory teaching of a foreign language

Physical Development

• Support the development of gross motor skills through climbing, throwing, catching, jumping, running, and riding and using playground equipment
• Development of fine motor skills and eye and hand coordination
• Continue to develop writing skills

Socio-emotional Development

• Promote activities that create a sense of self, others, and gender identity
• Praise accomplishments and reinforce positive behavior to increase self-esteem
• Promote independence by participation in meal preparation and choice of free play activities
• Promote an understanding and respect for differences by encouraging children to help others and spark interest in how people in different cultures live
• Support children in sharing, cooperating and being respectful with others
• Teachers use compromise and discussion to resolve conflicts
• Redirection of inappropriate behavior
• Multi-cultural awareness

Problem-Solving and Intellectual Development

• Promote observation and discovery
• Work on classification of objects, serial arrangement, and patterns
• Encourage thinking about cause and effect relationships
• Use of age appropriate computer software to enhance the learning environment
• Continue to build on beginning math concepts such as numbers, counting and sorting
• Teach science concepts and integrate into creative expression such as art

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