Are preschoolers all playdough and ABC learners? Review once more. With a sledgehammer, this Walnut Creek preschool is busting the usual open. Arriving you will find small explorers with goggles sowing rows of cherry tomatoes and whispering to kale. Real foods. Not only of images of them. Indeed, every child says the squirrels are friends. Perhaps so, click here for more help about this topic!
Science class goes beyond simply dumping coloured water. The younger ones predict, question, and experiment. Last week, the tadpoles attracted more attention than a mall pop star. Children recorded the changes in handcrafted diaries using magnifying lenses, acting as Sherlock Holmes. The teachers: Sometimes dressing in lab coats and outlandish wigs, they egg the children on. You never know if you are entering a mini-mad scientist gathering or a school.
The mornings taste like banana bread. why? Frequent baking sessions permeate the air with the kind of warmth individuals pay great money for at upscale bakeries. Even the most discriminating child taste-tester has been seen with flour on their nose, smiling ear to ear.
Music and dance burst into every crevice. Youngsters skip, stomp, and spin as though they have never heard the word “bored.” One Tuesday afternoon, a preschooler with a ukulele led a procession of young children singing about dinosaurs throughout the hall. The director is: Marching in line.
Art transcends line coloring in terms of expression. Let go of constraints. On the walls, murals blossom in brilliant, vivid colors. The teachers give over clay, glue, and shockingly vivid glitter. Sometimes it seems as though someone shook a rainbow and let magic for a day rain. Nothing standardized here.
in the great oak trees, outdoor classrooms spread where story time seems much more wonderful in dappled light. Children stretch on blankets clutching toy animals, wide-eyed at stories of undersea kingdoms or outer space. Storms? No issue here. Using improvised sound effects and flashlights, the teachers present stories indoors. Last month during “Preend blazing fire,” an indoor rain day, a group of toddlers sporting fireman caps helped rescue the day.
They are not only “getting children ready for kindergarten.” They support inquiry, challenge ideas, feed hearts, and set off laughter. Parents love the difference; they note their children’s confidence, great inquiries, and—get this—willingness to try vegetables. So next time you visualize what a preschool might offer, add squirrel whispering, a bit of flour, unending music, and a sprinkle of stardust. The littlest students of Walnut Creek are starting their appreciation early on.