Play Group vs. Preschool

Small children love to associate with each other even before they can talk.  Organizing a play group so your children can play with other children is great enjoyment for them.  It teaches them to communicate, share and take turns.  Preschool is great for an older preschooler who is getting ready to attend Kindergarten.  In selecting a preschool, make sure that your child isn't in an over sized classroom and will be taught to recognize and write letters (upper and lower case), letter sounds, rhyming, number sense skills, patterning, shapes, etc..  A good foundation in these subjects will help them to be successful when they enter Kindergarten.  The curriculum taught in the past for First Grade is now the curriculum for Kindergarten.  Make sure your child is ready socially and academically for Kindergarten. 

Books

Professor Michael O. Tunnel of Children Literature quotes, "Too much television dramatically decreases children's reading comprehension by age 5."  Reading about things your children like increases attention span by 15 minutes a day.  Surround your children with books.  Start with board books when your children are infants.  You don't have to spend a lot of money on books.  You can find bargains on the web, at second hand stores and yard sales. 

Storytelling

When a child has a favorite story book, they love to share it with others.  Encourage your child to tell or read you a story, even if they don't know how to read every word.

Numbers

We use numbers every day to count, measure, weigh, tell time, calculate, purchase, etc..  Children also use numbers every day, when they tell someone how old they are, use the phone, how many crackers or cookies they want to eat, how many toys or friends they want to play with, etc.  Encouraging the sense of numbers is very important in a child's development of math skills, not only in counting, recognizing and calculating numbers but also in writing numbers.  Encouraging children to write numbers helps children to retain what they have learned about numbers and also maintains the small motor skills they are developing in their hands.  Sidewalk chalk is fun to use to make a hopscotch on a sidewalk or to make a poster for a lemonade stand.  Dry erase markers used on white boards is a great source to practice with.  Look for ways for your children or grandchildren to use numbers daily.

Reading

Children naturally love to look at and read books.  Providing books for children is very important in their reading development.  Start with picture books and then progress to emergent reading books with simple sentences.  Model reading so your child will want to read also.  With a fast moving world we tend to not talk to our children enough.  A great way to talk to your children is to read to them.  Children love to be read to and hear your voice.  Take your children to the library and keep encouraging the love of books.  Reading opens up a whole new world of adventure and discovery!

Letters and Sounds

Children love to learn about letters and sounds, especially those letters and sounds that are in their name.  A fun project that we do in preschool is to do Homework! When we are learning about the first letter of a child's name in our class, that child finds, cuts out and glues things on to card stock that starts with their letter. Then they come back to school and sit in  the V.I.P. chair and tell the class all about their letter while holding up their homework.  Even my most shy students look forward to this opportunity.

Field Trips

Field Trips are so much fun.  And the parents are always invited.  Check out our visit to the Red Barn and Salem City's Fire Department.  They even taught the children how to Stop, Drop and Roll!

Granny Smith Day

Granny Smith visits Oak View Pre-School every year to teach the children about different kinds of apples.  The children love it when she comes.

-Halloween-

Halloween is a favorite time of year for Oak View Pre-School.  We love dressing up, hearing Halloween stories and participating in art activities.

Oak View Pre-School's Mission Statement

A safe environment filled with love and discovery that naturally develops learning experiences.