Programs

The Maples

3 - 4 Years

Our Maples class has developmentally appropriate toys, materials, and activities to help lay the foundation for intellectual development and academic achievements. Learning Tree Daycare believes in center-based learning, which allows your child to learn and discover on his/her own time table. Lesson plans are developed by the daycare teacher to provide your child with everything needed for the future.

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Meet Your Maple

• They live in that wonderful place of being little and sweet and inquisitive and grow before our eyes in every way!
• They are exuberant about their family including their siblings and extended family, their friends and pets and just can’t wait to explore the world!
• Like other preschoolers their emotions are felt with intensity but these small kiddos remember everything!
• Now mommy and daddy can finally hear from their little one exactly how the day was!
• We love, love our Maples and the way they balance being young with growing up!
• This is a year to treasure at preschool because they are learning and growing so quickly. They aren’t ready for the more structured Pre-Kindergarten classroom, but boy do they think they are! So taking a cue from them, we really beef up our program to nurture and stimulate, support and ground!

Before Starting in the Maple classroom:

• I am mostly potty trained with occasional accidents.
• I am able to dress and undress myself relating to potty training and sweaters, jackets and shoes.
• I can find my belongings in my cubby including my bag, show and tell item, and outerwear.
• I know how to care for toys and daycare classroom materials such as manipulatives, blocks, paint, brushes and books.
• I am learning to use scissor, markers and messy art materials like paint, playdough and love the water and sand table!
• I have reasonable table manners and can wait while friends are being served, use a cup without a sippy lid and eat my food appropriately- I love messy food still!
• I can clean up after myself after snacks and meals, I love to be a table helper and serve snacks and juice to classmates; although getting to wipe the spills from the table is even more fun!
• I know not to put dangerous things like scissors or markers in my mouth and try to remember proper safety precautions like walking inside the childcare classroom.
• I can wash my hands by myself.
• I love to look at books and am working on turning pages correctly and taking care of the book binding and cover.
• I can articulate my needs and can help my friends express themselves- preschool drama is my thing!
• I love to help the preschool teacher and getting a turn for daycare classroom jobs is a highlight of my day!
• Emotionally I want caring adults and childcare teachers nearby as I challenge myself to try new things away from Mommy and Daddy- consistent caregivers is a priority at Learning Tree.
• I’m learning to name my feelings to help my daycare teachers and family understand my feelings.
• I may resist nap time, but I need it! I can self soothe and usually go to sleep with just a little help.
• I’m pretty goofy and love the school traditions such as our lunch and snack poem, the funny rhymes we say when lining up.

Our recipe for a successful Maple classroom:

• Experienced and certified childcare teachers and caregivers plan a variety of fun and creative activities designed to help your Maple grow in every way: social, emotional, physical and cognitive.
• Make your child’s day nurturing, challenging and successful using our award winning curriculum and a balance between quiet and active play, preschool teacher guided and child initiated activities, just enough of a challenge in each content area to unlock new skills but not frustrate.
• A structured curriculum calendar provides specific guidelines for preschool teachers to plan for their individual children and the class as a whole - you’ll receive some topics in our newsletter to use as a reference and for talking points about your child’s day.
• Content areas for Maples: math and science, literacy, literature, centers and free choice exploration, sensory motor, gross and fine motor skills, yoga, gardening, art and music appreciation to name a few.
• Communication is essential: Smartcare’s virtual dialy notes are sent to parents throughout the day and include pictures, specific daycare classroom activities and skills being introduced and sometimes a fun video.

Goals for the Maples Classroom:

Through the use of a great curriculum, supportive teachers, friends, and great parents, by the time your Maple leaves the classroom they will have:

• Recognizes own name and some of his classmates’ names
• Strong peer interactions and improved social skills although threes are most comfortable with adult assistance in solving peer problems
• Improved patience when taking turns, attention from the teacher and sharing super fun toys and materials
• Strong and articulate communicator who is ready for the second part of Preschool!
• Greatly improved physical skills such as running and climbing- less top heavy and uncoordinated which gives them confidence!
• Trike riding is now super fun because he can steer and pump simultaneously and we learn bike safety too!
• Maples are getting control of themselves including managing their voice levels and recognizing and repeating funny sayings, poems and silly songs- there’s nothing cuter than a Maple singing at the top of their lungs!
• Is interested and capable of solving puzzles and attempts simple logical reasoning activities such as understanding a whole can be separated into parts and then put back together.
• Basic letter, number and sound recognition.
• Understanding of childcare classroom routine and rules.
• Has formed interests in specific content area (science, math, building, language arts and literature).