We have an incredibly versatile facility, with amazing learning options both indoors and outside. Our Center is conveniently located just off Interstate 66, but in a safe and suburban setting surrounded by trees, open fields and encompassed by tall, shady trees perfect for exploring and going on group nature walks. Inside, we offer 5 dynamic classrooms, a multi-purpose room and a kitchen for preparing snacks and meals, all enclosed in a wing of Lemon Road Elementary School designated for our particular use.
Our wing of the Lemon Road Elementary School is completely equipped with everything we need to make each day fun and educational for our children. We have 5 classrooms, which are divided by age and each have their own name:
Ages 18 months-2.5 years: The Discovery Room
Ages 2-3: The Young Explorer’s Room
Ages 3-5: The Young Creators Room, Adventure Room and Rainbow Room
Each of our classrooms has a variety of resources to engage and educate our children:
- Musical instruments from around the world provide the opportunity to experiment with different instruments individually or with a small group.
- In addition to being fun and relaxing, water tables encourage children to experiment and to understand many math concepts.
- A large variety of art materials and natural objects such as shells and rocks are available to enhance children’s interests and to encourage the development of self-expression.
- Wooden blocks in many different sizes and shapes, trucks and airplanes, dramatic play corners with cooking utensils, multi-ethnic dolls and dress-up clothes promote and encourage cooperative dramatic play, trying on new roles and working with emotions.
- Peg boards, giant attribute blocks, puzzles, magnets, balance scales, dressing frames, and a rich assortment of inviting and challenging materials encourage cognitive development and a natural interest in the environment in addition to promoting sensorial and visual discrimination.
- Each classroom has a listening center with story tapes, computers, puppets, and materials such as stencils, a stapler, rubber stamps, a hole punch and markers which encourage pre-reading and writing skills and the development and expression of thoughts in both oral and written forms.
- Reading corners are cozy and inviting, giving children a quiet place to retreat and read.
In addition to our dynamic classrooms, we have other spaces in the building with resources for our children as well. We have a multi-purpose room where arts and crafts supplies are stored, a kitchen for snack preparation and a separate room full of books and toys for use by our specialists and the children they work with. The atmosphere of our building provides a nurturing and supportive environment which gives our children the freedom to grow as individuals, and allows them to learn new things every day.
Outdoor Facilities
Here at the Center, we emphasize creative play both inside and outside the classroom. Behind our preschool, we have a large fenced-in playground space which contains:
- A soft floor covered with wood chips to protect our little ones from scrapes.
- Swings, climbers and beams which challenge motor skills.
- A water table and construction toys to encourage creativity and problem solving.
- A shaded sand area and trike area promoting group play, language interaction, and team work.
- Picnic tables used for puzzles, art projects, language arts activities, and small block construction.
- A separate play area available for our youngest children, with climbing equipment, a sand table, and areas to play safely and independently.
Our playground offers an impressive array of activities, but options for physical and social learning do not stop there. Beyond our enclosed playground is a huge open field, surrounded by trees and greenery. Our children love to go on interactive class nature walks, where they find leaves, rocks, flowers and other small objects which we collect and save for craft projects. Sometimes our teachers walk their classes to a quaint wooden bridge overlooking a small stream at the back of our property, and the children enjoy throwing leaves and sticks into the water and watching them drift away. Another popular activity with the children is smiling and giggling with their friends as they discover the fun in rolling down a small grassy hill in our backyard.
By maintaining an outdoor facility which offers our students a seemingly never-ending number of safe, educational and active ways to play, we not only emphasize learning and exploration, but exercise and physical fitness as well.
