There's a New Kindergarten in Town!

, located at the , is announcing an exciting new option for parents who are looking for a different approach to traditional kindergarten. Pat Chambers, the director of the Center states "This will be a formal, but not regimented kindergarten. Many of the rigors of public school kindergarten may be too much for children who may have late birthdays and miss the Glendale School District cutoff date [December 2] or think that their child may benefit from an additional year of instruction."  

Kindergarten is not required in the State of California, but is a wonderful stepping stone for children to learn social skills, problem solving, and to prepare them for higher levels of thinking and processing.

Meredith Garcia, credentialed in both California and Colorado, will be heading up this kindergarten, offered from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. daily. Since the Center for Children also offers childcare, kindergarteners taking this class can be dropped off before class begins and stay later, as well. Childcare is available through 6 p.m.

Following the State of California Standards for kindergarten, Garcia will also implement the Star Fall program for reading and literature, the "Handwriting without Tears" curriculum, and "Moving with Math," the sister program to "Everyday Math" that is used at GUSD. 

The Star Fall program provides a new approach to explore and discover language and explore new ways to learn reading concepts. "This is, by far, the best program that I have used in my 19 years of teaching," Garcia stated.  The enthusiasm the children express proves Star Fall is engaging and fun.

"The Star Fall program gives every child the opportunity to be successful and confident!" said teacher Patti Walker. She also commented on the Handwriting without Tears program, saying "For most young children, fine motor skills needed for handwriting are not fully developed and children struggle with drawing and writing. [This] teaches writing with body awareness, crayon grip, drawing, letter and number recognition, as well as capital letter and number formation in a way that children enjoy."

The Moving with Math program teaches math through visual, auditory, and "get up and move" activities.  A balanced approach incorporating conceptually based instruction, basic skills, and problem solving. Carefully planned lessons connect manipulative-based instruction to the three stages of learning: concrete, representational, and abstract (CRA) and to the three learning styles: kinesthetic, auditory, and visual.

Garcia commented that "the primary focus will be on academics through hands on activities and active learning. Children will be prepared to go into first grade after this developmental kindergarten, or can go directly into public school kindergarten." 

Registration begins April 1 and is limited to 15 students. With this low student to teacher ratio, children are able to receive extra "one on one" attention that is lacking in so many of our crowded kindergarten classrooms.

Call 818-249-8124 for additional information or to register.