High Ideals

At the Weaver Dairy Community Preschool we have high ideals. We came together in hopes of creating a preschool that would serve the needs of everyone involved: children, families, and staff. We offer a ¾ day program (7:30-3:30), with half day slots available also. We made the decision not to offer full day care (7:30-5:30) for the following reasons:

1. While being part of a group setting is certainly beneficial to children in many ways, having to function in a group all day can be very stressful for young children. After a morning of playing hard, sharing and working cooperatively, children respond best to independent play and individual attention in the afternoons.

2. We feel very strongly that teachers working with young children should have a workday limited to 8 or fewer hours, including break time. Unfortunately, 8-hour workdays for staff and a 7:30 to 5:30 business day are not compatible. Asking teachers to work more than this increases the risk of teacher burnout. High teacher turnover rates are a chronic problem in childcare. We highly value our staff and want them to remain with us for as long as possible.

Goals

• To provide high quality childcare in a warm, nurturing and safe environment that is child and family centered.
• To promote a cooperative climate where children are encouraged and empowered to solve conflicts by communicating.
• To foster self-respect, respect for others and a respect for differences by creating an accepting environment where all children feel valued.
• To provide a positive work environment and working conditions for staff. Traditionally, working conditions for childcare providers have been quite poor. We believe that the quality of care staff can provide on a long-term basis is directly related to working conditions (reasonable hours, reasonable pay, health insurance, sick leave, retirement plan, etc.).
• To follow a developmentally appropriate curriculum based on individual children's needs, with a focus on encouraging growth in the four developmental domains as put forth by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): emotional, social, cognitive and physical.
• To encourage a child's natural excitement for learning.
• To support and facilitate open communication between staff and parents, creating partnerships to ensure that each child's (and family's) needs are being met.
• To involve parents as much as possible in the everyday happenings at the preschool by requiring 2 hours of parental participation each month.
• To act as a resource for families by making accessible information and literature on child development and parenting.
• To foster and encourage respect for the environment and the world around us.

Choices

At the Weaver Dairy Community Preschool children have choices. We believe that giving children choices whenever possible, and encouraging them to make their own decisions, fosters self-esteem and helps children feel more in control of their world.

The daily schedule at the preschool allows for ample opportunities for both structured and unstructured activities. Experts agree that children learn best through play, and we play a lot. We play inside, outside, in large groups, small groups, and independently.

Our classrooms are organized to facilitate play in a comfortable, relaxing environment. You will find an art area, a dramatic play area, a manipulative area, a block area, a book/reading readiness area, and a science area all available to the children each day. We have an abundance of children's books always available to the children. Teachers and parents read stories frequently. Singing and music are integral to the program.

There is no formal academic instruction at the Weaver Dairy Community Preschool. You will never see worksheets or children being expected to do activities that are not developmentally appropriate. Instead children are exposed to pre-reading and pre-math skills and encouraged when they develop a natural interest in these areas.

Children will not be expected to keep their clothes clean. Children learn by doing, touching, experimenting and more often than not they get messy in the process.

We are a 5 star program with a loving, qualified and experienced staff. Our teacher to child ratios are excellent. Staff work together as a team to provide a nurturing and loving environment for children.