Early Education| Pilgrim School

Mission of the Early Education Program

The Mission of the Early Education Program at PILGRIM School is to develop Passionate, Imaginative Learners who are Go-getters and Risk takers with Inquisitive Minds.

The Vision of Pilgrim Early Education is that we:

Respect each child as a changing individual and appreciate his or her uniqueness.
Center learning topics around student interests.
Allow each child to develop at his or her own pace.
Share and acknowledge the wide range of feelings expressed by each child.
Value children and co-learners.
See parents as members of our team.
Embrace the diversity of our community.
Create nurturing and safe, home-like environments where children thrive.
Provide indoor and outdoor learning experiences.

An affiliate member of NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) and the CAEYC (the California Association for the Education of Young People), our early education program adheres to a developmentally appropriate method of teaching. The program is applied in an age-appropriate manner and customized to the child’s level of development: socially, physically, cognitively, emotionally, and creatively. We provide a safe and nurturing environment that is stimulating and supportive to the growth of our students. It is through open-ended art, creative expression, and group projects that the students of the Pilgrim Early Education program learn most successfully. As a precursor to our Junior Kindergarten program, the preschool program offers our preschoolers the guidance and opportunity to flourish within future levels of education offered at Pilgrim School.

The early education curriculum emphasizes the development of essential cognitive foundations within a context of meaningful hands-on activities and a positive, supportive environment. Our goal is to create and nurture independent thinkers and problem solvers. Development of essential foundations assures that the children in our care will be ready to meet the intellectual demands associated with formal schooling. Below are the areas in which foundations of learning are developed at Pilgrim School.

Our Early Education Curriculum

List of 7 items.

Reading Readiness
- Increasing verbal and vocabulary skills
- Expressing ideas clearly
- Gaining a love of literature
- Recalling sequence of events
- Listening and following directions
- Exploring creativity and imagination
- Recognizing letters, numbers and colors
- Enjoying songs, stories and experimental projects
Arithmetic Concepts
- Putting things in order, sorting and sequencing
- Matching and classifying shapes and sizes
- Creating and noticing patterns
- Comparing, recognizing and counting numbers
- Building and developing spatial concepts
- Describing and extending rhythmic, verbal and visual patterns
Science
- Exploring and experimenting with sensory materials
- Observing animals, objects, and environment
- Discovering sound, tastes and smell
- Playing with sand, water, rice and corn meal
- Taking things apart
- Growing flowers and vegetables
- Developing an awareness of the world
- Asking questions and fostering curiosity
Writing
- Experiencing the world around them
- Developing left to right sweep movement
- Painting and pouring
- Using scissors
- Building with blocks and puzzles
- Drawing horizontal and vertical lines
- Scribbling to express ideas
- Pre-writing activities using sand, play dough, paint, crayons, letters shapes and sizes
- Using Handwriting Without Tears Program for teaching pre-printing and printing
Social Studies
- Developing self-esteem
- Learning social behaviors and an understanding of social mores
- Participating in conflict resolution skills
- Making choices
- Problem solving
- Making friends
- Embracing an appreciation for themselves and others
Physical Education
- Strengthening the large muscles of the body, as well as fine motor skills (small fingers and hand muscles)
- Problem solving
- Following instructions and directions
- Gaining self-awareness
- Strengthening hand-eye coordination
Creative Movement
- Learning body awareness
- Developing coordination and rhythm
- Following instructions
- Working with others in the group
- Learning early ballet movements

Meet the Director