Pleasant Hill is a place where people talk about pleasant hill preschool kindergarten and this is a quiet, yet heart-felt conversation. The conversation that parents have about classes is conducted by gardeners when exchanging secrets on how to grow the best tomato: thoughtfully, passionately and in a strong opinionated manner. These early choices matter. Children become curious, confident and socially resilient long before academics come into the limelight. Prior to the cementing being hard enough to form, the base has been poured.
Good early learning environments do not seem disorganized. Children are active. They pile blocks into towers, compromise issues, and–nearly miraculously–they learn to share, but before lunchtime. Experienced educators analyzed the room as climate. They change gears when they have a lot of energy. Spirits slow things down when they are down. It is a laxity, particularly in pickup, when the air is laden with tone of the day.
Parents always talk about class size. Smaller groups are useful but the general dynamics are more important. Twelve in a classroom will be awkward with a wrong rhythm, and a group of twenty will live on a wrong rhythm. Observe the entrance of children into the room. Are they all flying in the door with their joy, or are they shy, and clinging to a parent by their heels? Much can be told about those initial moments.
Play based learning has been praised a lot and with reason. Learning can creep in through play. Math turns into a game. Letters appear in music. Science occurs when apples are floating and cracks sink on snack time. Children laugh, experiment and get to understand without even noticing that they are doing it. It is unobtrusive, efficient, and happy.
Another value in Pleasant Hill is the outdoor time. Air is fresh and cleanses the mind. The dirty shoes are good signs of developments. Gardens, bicycles, trees in the shade and loose materials bring imagination. One stick may be turned into a sword, magic stick or a measuring stick. No work sheet can match the amount of engagement.
Kindergarten preparedness has nothing to do with early reading. It involves listening, taking instructions, seeking assistance in a not-hysterical manner, and being able to concentrate on one thing to see through to the end. The most effective programs practice such skills on a daily basis- they do this without naming them. Children just learn how to learn that was how school was.
Communication is also important to parents. Clear updates. Honest conversations. Not diffuse reports which tell a little. The news of a tough morning assists the family in assisting the child in future. Even a photo of a happy moment may make a whole week happier.
Routine matters. So do snacks. So does genuine warmth. Children soon feel that adults are really interested in them and the emotion transmits. Laughter is a kind of door opening to learning. Even the most skeptical child will be caught by trust.
The decision to attend a preschool or kindergarten in Pleasant Hill is a personal one–and it must be. Each child has an individual fire. It is not attempted to be remodeled with the right environment. Rather it guards such a spark, allows it to shine, and allows it to develop.