Kids First Learning Center has a five star rating on http://www.greatschools.org and is designed to meet the needs of fully potty-trained young children between the ages of 2—5 years old. The program is designed around the belief that a child’s self-image is the most important ingredient in the learning process; believing that play is vital to a child’s learning and each child is unique in his or her mental capacities, emotions, skills and interests. The center offers experiences that will enrich and enhance each child’s cognitive, language, social, emotional, physical and creative development. We offer a balance of self and teacher-directed activities, so that the child may develop a positive self-concept. Opportunities for solitary play as well as group activities are provided. We respect the parents right as the primary and most important provider of care and nurturing and believe that together, parents and teachers can provide children with a feeling of self-competence and instill important cognitive concepts and promote sharing and cooperation.
Our goal is to follow these positive guidelines in assisting children in…
- Developing a positive self-concept.
- Developing curiosity about the world, confidence as a learner, creativity, imagination and personal initiative.
- Developing relationships of trust and respect.
- Understanding the value in respecting cultural diversity.
- Facilitating intellectual growth and development of problem-solving skills through manipulative games, puzzles and other learning tasks.
- Fostering their imagination through dramatic play, art, puppetry, music and movement.
- Encouraging physical coordination and development of motor skills through a wide range of challenging equipment.
- Instilling a love of literature and proficiency in language and communication skills by providing a relaxing environment that encourages verbal expression.
- Inculcating a basic knowledge of good nutrition.
- Imparting a love and respect for nature and animal life.
We believe that children learn best through first hand sensory experiences of feeling, listening, smelling, tasting and observing. Children need to handle, manipulate, experiment and explore. They also need to expect certain guidelines, rules and routines in order to feel safe and secure.
Discipline is approached with a positive attitude and is based on the premise that the children, parents and staff respect and care for themselves, respect and care for others, and respect the school and others property. The goal is to solve behavior concerns by using modeling, redirecting behavior and positive reinforcement through attention, praise and reasonable outcomes for desired behaviors. If the behavior concern cannot be resolved, Kids First Learning Center reserves the right to dismiss or suspend a child for unsatisfactory behavior to ensure the health and safety of all children.
Kids First does not believe in any form of discipline that damages a child’s self-image or harms a child mentally or physically. A child with a behavior concern will receive the following: loss of privileges or redirection and discussion of appropriate acceptable behavior and rules. This will be enforced consistently to give children an understanding of what is expected of them.
If the director feels a child’s behavior is continually disruptive or unsatisfactory, a parent/teacher conference will be scheduled. Conferences will be held as often as necessary to address a behavior concern. If there is no improvement, a discussion to whether this preschool is best suited for the child will be determined and addressed. If both parents and teachers communicate regularly, work together and are consistent in following through, than the child will have a successful, positive preschool learning experience.