Preschool

Small Faces has six preschool classrooms:

• Tree Frogs and Rainforest classrooms are children from ages 2.5 to 3
• Mountain Room and Under the Sea are our 4 year-old classrooms.
• Kangaroo Room is a multi- year full day program. Children begin in the classroom at age 2 1/2 to 3 years and stay in the same classroom each year with their age mates until kindergarten.
• The Discovery Room is our pre-kindergarten for 5 year olds who have missed the cut off for kindergarten.

Our purposeful play curriculum is the centerpiece of each classroom:

• Teachers create rich learning environments full of art, objects, activities and tools designed to ignite the imagination of children
• Teachers observe children’s interests, their talents and their challenges and design the curriculum each year to meet the needs of the children
• Teachers join children on adventures of exploration
• Children are allowed to construct their own knowledge through experimentation
• Children form a classroom community and hone their social emotional skills in relationship with other children through: creating classroom rules, negotiating through conflict, persisting through challenging tasks, and learning to work as a team.
• Teachers build literacy rich classrooms with reading and writing opportunities that are embedded in children’s play.
• Children take frequent field trips out into the community to gain real world experience of big topics and to explore the larger world of their city.
• Children spend hours each day engaging in outside play on our large playground designed with input from parents, teachers and children to include a diverse set of experiences that are guided by imagination and encourage children to challenge themselves.

Schedule

Families choose one of two sessions for care: 8 AM to 5 PM or 8:30 to 5:30 PM. We ask that all children arrive at the center no later than 9:00 AM and stay until at least 12 PM. After lunch younger children and children who show a need for rest have naptime. The afternoon is dedicated to free play and exploration. The school day lasts until 5:30 pm.