What Kids Learn in Preschool at Gan Shalom
23 Jan 2019 |
What kids learn in preschool sets them up for future academic success and can help them build confidence and social skills for the years ahead. Being a preschooler is a special time in a child’s development, and the right school will encourage a love of learning while building a strong relationship with your family.
Located 15 minutes from Des Moines in Waukee, children from age 2 years old to Pre-Kindergarten are welcome at the community-inspired Gan Shalom Preschool. See how our classrooms and professional staff are equipped to create engaging learning experiences that support your child’s unique interests and abilities.
What Kids Learn in Preschool
There are a lot of benefits to enrolling your child in preschool, including emotional development and building skills for self-sufficiency. Preschool is also a time to introduce children to new ideas and ways of thinking about the world around them.
Our curriculum at Gan Shalom offers children an individualized learning experience and supports exploration and discovery. Children have learning objectives that cover a wide range of areas:
- Social-Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Language Development
- Cognitive Development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Science & Technology
- Social Studies
- The Arts
- Nature-based Learning
Jewish Values
As a Jewish preschool, Jewish values and culture are also a part of our daily activities and learning objectives. Hebrew vocabulary is introduced through greetings, simple phrases and songs while holiday crafts and group activities also include Jewish traditions and celebrations.
No matter a child’s faith, our mission includes compassion for others, connecting to one another and caring for each other. Community is part of the foundation for learning.
Our Daily Schedule
How a child learns can be just as important as what you’re trying to teach them. We believe children learn best with they are interested and engaged. That’s why we’ve developed a daily schedule that includes group times, story time, crafts, free-choice center time and outside play and exploration.
In addition to introducing new materials and subjects over time, our trained teachers observe children’s play and interactions throughout the day. These observations are then used to plan and shape the learning environment with developmentally-appropriate activities.
Enrichment Activities
Enrichment programs are a way to expose preschoolers to new activities outside of their daily routine and curriculum. Dancing, yoga and soccer are just some of the topics that are introduced to children at Gan Shalom thanks to community partners who visit our classrooms.
Enrichment activities also provide a platform for our teachers to build on. After a visit from the West Des Moines Parks and Recreation “Nature Lady,” one of our classes focused their learning on owls for three weeks. They ended their studies by dissecting owl pellets with their parents!
Get to Know Gan Shalom
We know that there are lots of considerations when it comes to choosing a preschool. As an accredited school, Gan Shalom prioritizes your child’s learning and well-being by serving as a trusted partner to parents.
Have questions? Call us at 515-987-0899 ext. 233 and see if we’re the right fit for your family.