Mary Help of Christians Preschool

opened it's doors to 32 preschool children in January 1999. Since that time we have grown in leaps and bounds and today we have 167 children attending our program. The program is developmental and aims to meets the needs of the children in a play based environment. It is well documented that children learn best through play. There is a growing body of research that shows the link between play and social and cognitive development. Play is linked to growth in memory, oral language and symbol recognition. Play increases literacy skills and academic capabilities in many areas. When children are playing with blocks among many other things they are learning about shapes, size, geometry, socialization and are building a vocabulary as they work together. In the art center children should be allowed to experiment with many different types of art media as they develop the creative side of the
brain. Being allowed to create art helps children to slow down and focus. Working with clay or playdough is good for small muscle development as well as helping the creative side of the brain develop. Working with paint helps a child learn their colors as they mix and pour. We know that music helps develop both the creative and cognitive brain. Listening for pleasure develops the right or creative side while picking out a rhythm or pattern develops the cognitive or left side.

Children do not need a lot of language to play with adults or 'smart' toys but when playing with other children it is important to be very specific about who is doing what and what will happen next, hence a broader base of language is being built. Most kindergarten teachers will tell you that children are not expected to know all their letters and numbers when entering kindergarten.

However, it is really helpful if they can concentrate, wait their turn, be responsible and independent, follow directions and be considerate of others. These skills are not developed by using flashcards or working on ditto sheets but through interaction with peers in free creative play.

Our school offers programs for children 18 months through four turning five. It is part time and the number of days a child can attend depends on the age of the child. We do have an ongoing waiting list and we recommend that you call the school and visit to place your child on that list. We also offer enrichment programs in music, Spanish and just for the fours we have added Math and Science program.

 

For information on the preschool please call us at
954 323-8007