Answer: Yes! Although our approach may be ‘non-traditional’, our preschool classrooms follow the Massachusetts Department of Education Preschool Learning Guidelines and prepare all children for Kindergarten. Our curriculum and environment incorporate Harvard Professor, Howard Gardner’s, multiple intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal.

Our classrooms are literacy rich and children have many opportunities to write and explore print throughout the day. Each child will develop at his or her own pace, but will be exposed to the power of letters and numbers on a daily basis.

We seek to send all children off to Kindergarten with three important principles:

• a sense of belonging and well-being within a community
• an ability to communicate effectively and confidently in many ways
• enthusiasm for persisting at challenging problems or tasks

With these three beliefs and skills there’s nothing a child cannot accomplish!

Answer: Your child does not need to be potty trained to enroll in our toddler classroom. The toddler classroom is equipped with a changing station and storage area for each child. PRCP will provide wipes for all children. Parents are responsible for providing diapers or pull ups with Velcro sides as well as any diaper cream your child may need. Please also be sure to send in plenty of complete sets of extra clothing for children who are training.

PRCP strongly recommends that children are potty trained and self sufficient upon entry to the preschool classrooms. In the preschool, children are very independent and fully engaged with classroom activities. We find that children do not want to leave their peers for diaper changes throughout the day.

Answer: All children at PRCP have daily studio time. Our classrooms each have mini studios and there is also a deck studio off of our preschool classrooms. In the beautifully arranged studios children have opportunities to explore, create and communicate with a variety of materials.

For younger children the studio offers a number of sensory experiences. Toddlers, young preschoolers and even older preschoolers can often be found; finger (or body!) painting, exploring large blocks of clay or creating collages with recycled materials.

As children are ready, teachers introduce them to new materials that they can create and communicate with. Some of the materials we use in the studio are: paints, clay, sculpting wire, and recycled materials such as buttons, cardboard tubes, beads and more.

We believe that art mediums are a valuable tool for children to communicate with. A preschooler’s easel painting can tell an amazing story and also encourages a child to express him or herself. Exploration of art materials is also a valuable opportunity to strengthen fine motor muscles that will later be used for writing.

Smocks are available for children to wear while in the studio, but our artists can be messy, so expect your child to come home wearing his or her day!

Answer: At PRCP we try to promote a peaceful and respectful environment for all children, families and teachers. However, as in all communities, conflict does sometimes arise. We see conflicts as learning opportunities where children can begin to practice using valuable life skills such as effective communication, empathetic listening and problem solving techniques with their peers. Young children are still gathering the ‘tools’ they need to resolve conflicts and teachers work closely with the children to support them in this process peacefully and in making sure all voices are heard. We have a peace corner in each classroom where children may meet together to work out a problem or just go to get some quiet thinking time to themselves.

Answer: At Parker River Community Preschool all of our classrooms are multi-age. Our toddler classroom provides care and education from children ages 15 months to 3+ years and our preschool classrooms provide care and education for children ages 2.9 years to 5+ years.

Research has shown that there is greater social responsibility among children in mixed age groupings. In multi-age classrooms children have opportunities to nurture and model skills for younger children, be nurtured and encouraged by older peer models, participate in more complex activities with older peers, and develop at their own pace knowing that there are a variety of developmental expectations in the classroom not just one.

Our teachers are the backbone of our multi-age classrooms. Successful multi-age environments rely on a teacher’s ability to foster appropriate social skills and also their ability to get to know each child’s individual skills and strengths. Teachers provide varied learning opportunities depending on age and developmental level within the classroom environment or current curriculum project.

Read further about support for multi-age groupings at: The Benefits of Mixed-Age Groupings by Lilian G. Katz

Answer: PRCP follows the holiday and vacation calendar for the local public elementary school. We close for approximately 10 holidays and 4 vacation weeks. PRCP is open in the summer for families who want to enroll their child in our summer camp program and for working families who need year-round full time care.

Vacations and holidays are an opportunity for children to spend time with family or a one-on-one caregiver. Children work hard at playing cooperatively with peers and opportunities for down time and family time are invaluable. Vacations and holidays are also special times for your child’s teacher to visit with his or her family members. Our teachers give their all to the children in their care and vacations are a valuable opportunity for them to relax and be with family as well.

Vacation and holiday closings also help to limit the amount of colds and sicknesses that get passed on at PRCP. We play and work in close proximity and time away from one another prevents some illnesses from continuing to spread. We also use vacations as an opportunity to clean PRCP from top to bottom!

Please see our CALENDAR for all closings.

Answer: At PRCP we see parents as the primary educators of their own children and seek to nurture parent and child relationships. Parents are required to be familiar with and follow all PRCP policies and procedures as presented in the Parent Handbook.

Parents are also expected to maintain open and frequent communication with their child’s teachers. Communication methods such as child mailboxes, newsletters, calendars, blogs and other notes are valued tools for maintaining open lines of communication and help ensure your child a successful school experience.

Parents of children who attend PRCP are strongly encouraged to volunteer in their child’s classroom at least once per month. Each classroom will post calendars of activities and events that are opportunities for parents to volunteer in the classroom. Ideas include: supporting teachers’ documentation of curriculum projects by taking pictures and writing observations, helping tend the school garden, helping out during daily activities such as morning meeting or clay sculpting, volunteering during special events such as mother’s day tea or school yard sale, reading a book to a small group, and any other ways you’d like to be involved in our program!