Goals At Kent Meridian Cooperative Preschool

(Taken from our preschool handbook.) Our goal at KM is to help children learn how to be learners, to develop a life-long love of learning and a positive sense of self. What we concentrate onat KM is brain development, not teaching isolated facts like ABC's and 1,2,3's. This brain development is essential. It, in turn, will enhance and enrich children's learning and their lives. Our curriculum is based on active learning and discovery that help children learn the important skills for the challenges ahead. These include: How to think Problem solving Investigating Creativity Experimenting Conceptualizing Testing Cooperating Responsibility Questioning Organizing Observing Constructing Communicating Listening Imagining Initiating Sense of Self The activities we provide will also stress the beginning development of specific cognitive skills for kindergarten. These include colors, shapes, sizes, letters, position words, rhyming, opposites, counting, writing and more. Much of the activities are child initiated and child directed. Trust your children to succeed. They will learn those ABC's and 1,2,3's in due time and will also, then have the necessary foundation to put it all together for success in reading, math and the academic activities that lie ahead. Pushing these concepts at an early age can create inadvertent problems and do more harm than good. Remember, in middle school it will not matter who was first to know the alphabet. KM is an academic preschool but we are "appropriately" academic. It is our goal to develop the basis of life-long learning. Do your research and you will find that experts agree young children do not need ABC's and 1,2,3's. They need play! Play builds the brain, the foundations of learning and even leads to the ABC's. So remember, everything in a play-based preschool is academic and will help develop that foundation for success in later years-that is, a brain ready to learn and a child that is eager. When looking for a preschool, keep these criteria in mind.