Pre IV & Pre V

Because our Preschool Program is designed to suit 3-to 5-year old students, classrooms allow multiple activities to happen simultaneously, evoking a relaxed environment for your child’s growth and development.

Pre IV-classes have two co-teachers each with 18 to 20 students enrolled. Pre-V classroom has one teacher and six enrolled students. The curriculum is based on several avenues, including the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Quality Rating Systems (QRS), and Teaching Strategies/Creative Curriculum. We use these diverse methods to ease the learning process for every child, no matter what type of learners they are.

At the Ivy Academy, we work hard to build a great foundation in your child’s education by using: effective curriculum, guidance of social-emotional development, language expansion and literacy, cognitive development, physical development, aesthetic development, motivation, parent/teacher relations, quality assessment of children, teacher qualifications, and proper staffing.

Your child’s education matters to us! We strive to meet the expectations of your family, and pride ourselves in our ability to find the right combination of tools to assist him or her navigate the ever-growing process of learning. Parents are always welcome to join their child’s class or set an appointment with the teacher.

Come join the fun!

HOW YOUNG CHILDREN LEARN

Young children learn by doing. Learning is a complex process that results from the interaction of children’s own thinking and their experiences in the external world. Maturation is an important contributor to learning because it provides a framework from which children’s learning proceeds. As a child gets older, they acquire new skills and experiences that contribute to the learning process. Physical and cognitive growth leads to better handling and exploration of their surroundings and an improved understanding of others.

The way young children learn determines how teachers from the Ivy Academy of Early Learning Inc. approach lessons. It is a common misconception to define the word “teach” as the simple act of giving information. Teaching requires more than verbal instruction. It is necessary for adults to act as guides or facilitators. The teacher is responsible for preparing the environment in such a way that it will provide stimulating, challenging materials, and activities for your child. During these moments, the teacher will closely observe to see what your child understands and pose additional challenges to push his or her thinking further.

Our program is age-appropriate as well as individually modelled; that is, the program is designed for the age group served and implemented with attention to the needs and differences of the individual children enrolled. Our teaching strategies are based on familiarity with how young children learn and a curriculum that derives from a variety of disciplines, society, culture, and your own requests. Teachers plan the lessons according to each child’s learning pattern and timing of growth and development. All levels of ability and development are accepted in the school and are used to design appropriate activities, and every lesson plan and interaction is aimed toward nurturing your child’s self-esteem and positive feelings towards learning.

Ivy Academy teachers prepare a safe environment and guide your child to learn through active exploration and interaction with other children and teaching materials, including technological and science resources. Your child will be physically and mentally active. The classes are designed to allow the child to choose among pre-established activities or to join classmates in spontaneously initiated activities. We provide concrete learning activities with engaging materials relevant to his or her own life experiences. The teachers move among the groups and individuals, easing your child’s involvement with the distinct activities and materials by asking questions, offering suggestions, or adding complexity to the learning situation.

By using positive guidance techniques such as modelling and encouraging expected behavior, teachers redirect children to more acceptable activities and set clear limits to encourage optimal social-emotional development. Our teachers’ expectations match and respect your child’s developing competencies. Your preschooler will be provided with many opportunities to expand their social skills. Teachers guide them to expand their ability to cooperate, empathize, negotiate, and use communication to solve interpersonal problems.

Language development and literacy skills are essential before formal instruction of letter names, sounds, and word identification begins. We engage these skills through meaningful play and teaching experiences like listening to and reading, taking field trips, dictating stories, seeing classroom charts and other print in use, and participating in dramatic play. Other experiences with language and literacy include talking informally with classmates and teachers, and through experimenting with inventing their own spelling.

Through observation, social interaction, and concrete problem-solving, children’s cognitive development expands to help them understand concepts about themselves and others, as well as the world around them. Your child learns about math, science, health, and other important things through activities like singing and listening to music from various cultures, drawing, painting, and working with clay, building with blocks, measuring ingredients for cooking, observing changes in the environment, working with wood and tools, sorting objects for a purpose, exploring animal and plant characteristics, and through play with water, wheels and gears.

We follow daily routines that help your child keep themselves healthy and safe, however your child will also have plenty of opportunities to safely, freely, and loudly explore outdoor environments to enhance his or her physical development. These daily opportunities to exercise and combine his or her large and small muscles will promote a healthy development and instill active habits. Children at our academy explore running, jumping, and balancing skills in a protected setting. And we use play activities like pegboards, puzzles, painting, cutting, and Legos to improve small muscle coordination.

The arts are alive and well here! Through daily art and music sessions, students experiment and enjoy various forms of music, and a variety of art media for creative expression, including easel & finger painting, and clay.

Group size is limited and our ratio of teachers to children enables individualized and age-appropriate programming. With the right atmosphere and qualified teachers as an advantage, The Ivy Academy of Early Learning Inc. will engage your child’s natural curiosity and desire to make sense of the world to foster their love of learning.