Dew Drops (6 weeks to 1 year)
With soft lighting, comfortable, safe cribs, cushioned floor play spaces with age-appropriate toys, and music, your baby will be rocked, snuggled, and nurtured just like at home. Basic sign language will be taught to foster early communications. We also have strollers and enjoy outside walks and time in the sandbox or on the toddler playground when weather permits.
Misties (1 to 2 year olds)
This age group is crawling and/or already walking and enjoy more freedom and outside time than the Dew Drops classes. This group begins to work on circle time, sign language, following classroom instructions, structured crafts like painting with whipped cream or making music and dancing! They also have a structured schedule with two snacks, lunch, and nap time.
Sprinkles (2 to 3 year olds)
Our Sprinkles are ready to rock n?roll! This age group is out and about and enjoys more structured lesson plans than younger groups. At this level, daily circle time provides an introduction to letters, numbers, colors, and shapes and includes a strong repetition of sing-along songs and books along with sign language from the Baby Signs Too program to increase communication skills. And of course, potty-training is a focal point of this age group and we will master it with incentives, constant reminders, and a lot of encouragement.
Drizzles (3 year olds)
Our Drizzles classes are ready to explore the world around them, and we encourage this with small group learning centers such as arts and crafts, sensory exploration, and science experiments. We also plant outside and learn about how things grow. Additionally, we work to inspire strong oral language skills and exposure to literacy through songs, finger play poems, and interactive books. Our Drizzles classes grow and flourish as independent, curious learners with care and attention to their individual needs and abilities.
Rain Drops (4 year olds + VPK)
For Rain Drops, we encourage independence and social skills as well as provide a holistic experience with arts, science, math and age-appropriate pre-reading books and activities to prepare them to excel in Kindergarten. Rain Drops teachers focus on computer-based learning time, problem-solving projects and activities geared toward mastering vocabulary, print awareness, narrative skills and responsive listening, phonological awareness and letter recognition, and pre-math skills including sorting, patterning, sequencing, counting, and number recognition. With special testing, guidance, and feedback from your child?s qualified teacher, you?ll always know what to work on at home and how prepared your child is for this next important step in their education. We send every student out of VPK with the confidence to rock in Kindergarten.
And of course, our Rain Drops also play outside, garden and plant, exercise with yoga and Kinder Fit, dress-up, celebrate special events and holidays together, and most importantly – have fun!
Afternoon Showers (After School Care)
After School Care.
Our Learning Tools
Through a Christian-based philosophy, we encourage students to respect one another and their caregivers while teaching valuable problem-solving skills. Using the HighScope program and COR Advantage assessments, teachers ignite children’s interest in learning by creating an environment that encourages them to explore learning materials and interact with adults and peers. We focus on supporting early learners as they make decisions, build academic skills, develop socially, spiritually, and emotionally, and become part of a classroom community.
Our Roots | Christian-Based Curriculum
Using ABC Jesus Loves Me materials and curriculum, we focus on academics, development, and Bible learning through play. The Curriculum includes lessons covering New Testament and Old Testament stories of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, as well as lesser-known biblical heroes like Deborah, Isaiah, and Gideon. There are also nine additional lessons for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to enrich the meaning behind these important celebrations. Through stories, songs, and crafts, the children learn the important lessons of a faith-based message and how to value and love themselves and each other.
Our Roots Christian-Based Curriculum
Using ABC Jesus Loves Me materials and curriculum, we focus on academics, development, and Bible learning through play. The Curriculum includes lessons covering New Testament and Old Testament stories of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, as well as lesser-known biblical heroes like Deborah, Isaiah, and Gideon. There are also nine additional lessons for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to enrich the meaning behind these important celebrations. Through stories, songs, and crafts, the children learn the important lessons of a faith-based message and how to value and love themselves and each other.
Encouraging Early Communication Through Sign Language
Sign language through Baby Signs Too helps children develop both language and cognitive skills. This program relates to standard American Sign Language (the standard of the deaf community), and combines them with signs that babies and parents have created themselves and found particularly useful. Since babies? limited motor coordination makes the more complex hand shapes of ASL impossible, this program provides easy-to-do signs that helps young children express their needs, thoughts and feelings before they have the words to do so.
Core Curriculum from HighScope
Additionally, Rain River uses HighScope Curriculum. It’s the foundation of young children gaining knowledge through their natural play and interactions with the environment, events, and other people. The HighScope methodology uses four primary pillars: assessments, adult-child interaction, daily routine, learning environment.
Adult-Child Interaction
Working alongside children, teachers act as partners and communicate with them both verbally and nonverbally to encourage learning. Key strategies for adult-child interactions are sharing control with children, communicating as a partner with children, scaffolding children’s play, using encouragement and taking a problem-solving approach to supporting children in resolving conflicts.
Learning Environment
To create a predictable and active learning environment, teachers arrange and equip the classroom with diverse, open-ended materials that reflect children’s home, culture, and language. The room is organized and labeled to promote independence and encourage children to carry out their intentions. Labeling also encourages early reading and builds their confidence as they recognize simple sight words.
Daily Routine
A consistent routine each day provides stability and a balanced variety of experiences and learning opportunities. Children engage in both individual and social play, participate in small- and large-group activities, assist with cleanup, socialize during meals, develop self-care skills, and exercise their small and large muscles. The most important segment of the daily routine is the plan-do-review sequence. These higher-level thinking skills are linked to the development of executive functions, which are needed to be successful in school and later in life.
Assessments
Ongoing child assessment is also an underlying component of the HighScope Curriculum. These simple assessments are built into their daily activities and give teachers a way to gauge how well a child is developing and adapting to new concepts.