At Voyagers’, the environment is another teacher. While in school, children are free to express themselves in many ways. They are encouraged to look at and use materials in a variety of ways and participate in long-term projects designed to inspire them to view a subject from many angles. They gain a deep understanding of the rhythm and resources in their classroom and in the world around them. Our classroom setting supports the interaction and engagement of young children with their environment and all that is offered within it.

In our Prekindergarten environment children discover:

• Experienced  teachers who focus on each them individually and as a group
• Flexible and responsive spaces designed to give them a chance to move freely and explore their world.
• Fenced in yard with climbing areas, a mud kitchen, an organic garden and plenty of places to discover bugs, flowers, and frogs.
• Soft seating in the book nook with an extensive picture book library.
• Water and sand tables for continued sensory development.
• Instruments, art supplies, magnifying glasses, bug boxes, blocks, trains, trucks, multicultural dolls, and manipulatives for rich language and social development.

Curriculum is developed around topics children express interest in. Each day teachers provide provocations in the form of activities and centers that entice children to try their hand at something new or explore an idea they have expressed wonder about. Their knowledge evolves through experiences that stack like building blocks.

Co-Constructing Learning

The teacher is a partner, a nurturer, a guide, and a researcher. Children are offered experiences from which they can develop their own meaning through exploration and discovery. Each preschool child is seen as co-constructors of knowledge. Children are curious, capable, and engage in different activities. They observe, hypothesize, question, and clarify to create understanding. The availability of rich, real materials, along with the teacher’s gentle guidance, facilitates the children in their inquiries and investigations.

Teachers take their lead from the children who set the pace. They giving the children a variety of materials and methods to show their learning and express their interests.

There is time for reading, writing, math, and science.  Children might expand their interests and knowledge with book selections and partner reading. During Math children might work together to solve an open-ended problem. Writing could involve lots of research projects, narratives, or play writing.

While students gain more control of the topics, pace, and paths of learning there is explicit instruction using proven methods.

Partnership With Parents

Voyagers’ values parent participation in their child’s day to day learning at school. We depend on an online portfolio as a simple way to record, document, and share what is happening in the classroom.

Our Pre-Kindergarten is open Monday – Friday, from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm, with half day morning, afternoon, and full day options. We also offer before and after care and Lunch-Time Fun. Families use our program in a way that best suits their schedule.