We believe children learn by doing –
through play and hands-on experiences.
Each
child is a unique individual deserving acceptance, love, and the chance to grow
and
learn. Children are born with individual
characteristics which develop into unique
personalities. Each child develops in a predictable sequence
at his/her own rate. They
are
motivated by their desire to make sense of their world.
The program initiates appropriate
content designed to match the developmental
level
and learning style of each child.
Effective activities are also designed so that each
child
is assured of having a successful experience.
We are aware of the importance of a
collaborative approach with other educa-
tional
and community agencies to assist in identifying and providing services to those
with
the greatest need.
We encourage parents to be partners
in the educational process and to share many
experiences
with their child. We strive to interact
and work with parents in a broad
based
manner so they are informed, educated, and assisted in recognizing the parent-
teacher
partnership. We realize that parents are
their child’s first teacher. Our desire
is
to provide the positive, nurturing experiences essential to helping children
develop
intellectually,
socially, and emotionally, thus, promoting educational continuity and
ensuring
success in school.
The Pre-kindergarten Program is
available for children ages 3 to 5 who need
extra
preparation for kindergarten. The
children are identified through pre-school
screenings. Screening components include vision and
hearing screenings, family
history,
and health backgrounds. Screenings also
assess vocabulary, visual – motor
integration,
language and speech development, social skills, fine and gross motor
skills.
1. To provide an educational
program which is developmentally
appropriate for identified
children in a center-based setting.
2. To
coordinate parent and educational involvement through parent
mini-session workshops, classroom involvement, and
community
networking.
3. To
provide opportunities for parents and children to participate
in family-centered activities.
These joint activities will
stimulate and reinforce
interactions within the family and positively
influence future academic success in school.
Admission Policy Requirements
to
the program parents will receive an informative handbook. Parents will also
receive
a physical form for the child. Parents
are asked to complete parts of this
form
and have their physician complete the rest.
Services will be provided for the
child after the appropriate forms are
completed.
Parent Involvement
Parents
are a
child’s first and most important teacher.
We strive to become
partners
with parents in the educational process.
Parents are encouraged to
participate
in a wide range of activities. Below are
some of the activities available:
-
home visits
-
parent-child interaction
-
providing health and social histories for each child
-
parent-teacher conferences
-
parent/parenting meetings
-
newsletters, notes and phone calls
-
open house
-
parent bulletin boards
-
field trips
-
volunteer work in the classroom
-
resource center activities
Many parents have special skills and interests they
could share in the
Classroom.
Instruction
and Field Trips
In the center-based program, each
child will receive 10 hours of instruction per
week
in addition to parent-child activities.
Field trips will be scheduled occasionally.
Parent conferences will be scheduled
throughout the year. They will be held
in
the home or at the center. These
conferences will provide opportunities for parents
and
teachers to share information, express concerns and discuss plans for future
activities. In addition to parent conferences,
information will be provided to parents
through
workshops and other support personnel.
Behavior
Management
All Pre-kindergarten staff strive
for consistency in dealing with children’s
behavior. In-services have been provided to train
staff.
It is our belief that positive
behaviors will increase when they are
reinforced
and negative behavior will decrease when they are not reinforced.
Negative
behaviors that occur frequently with a child, such as hitting, biting,
and
excessive talking will be handled with “time out” or “loss of privileges”.
Children are never
unsupervised. The child is always told why
the penalty
is
occurring and it is imposed only when the need arises.
Open Door
Policy
We have an open door policy. Please feel free to stop by and interact
with
the children, or participate in other activities at the center.
Clothing
Children should dress in comfortable
play clothes, which are not
restrictive
and are appropriate for present weather conditions. Parents should
keep
in mind that pre-school activities include such things as gluing, painting,
running
and climbing.
Provision
For Emergency Medical Care
A
child should not attend the Pre-Kindergarten program when he/she is
uncomfortable with an illness. If your child has a temperature over 99.6
degrees,
vomiting, diarrhea, rash or other
signs of infections, please notify the teacher and
keep him/her at home. Please notify the teacher if a child or any
family member
exhibits any of these symptoms
prior to a home visit. If a child
develops these
symptoms while attending the
center, you will be called to come and get your
child immediately. Teaching staff will notify you if your child
has been exposed to
an illness which may be contagious.
If a minor accident occurs, the child will
receive first aid treatment at the
Pre-k center. The parent will be notified of the treatment.
Written
consent forms must be on file informing the staff of whom to contact
in case of a medical emergency. The
parent will first be contacted by phone at home
or work to inform him/her of the
need and to get permission, if necessary, to obtain
emergency medical care. If a parent is contacted, he/she should make
every effort
to take the child for the emergency
care. In the event a parent cannot be
contacted,
the child will be taken to the
emergency room of the nearest hospital.
Parents will
be financially responsible for any
services received.
Deborah Hoard
Teacher
Home
phone 547-3582
Email:
hoard@salem111.com
548-7704
and 548-7705