Our Philosophy
Mission Statement
Sequoia Preschool will water the roots of your young saplings by nurturing their inner strength and compassionate spirit. They will grow and stand tall as strong and bold leaders of our community and our world.
Curriculum
Our program is inspired by a creative Montessori model which is designed to meet the needs of the whole child. We have a hands-on approach to learning where children are engrossed and happily engaged with developmentally appropriate materials that make learning fun and unique. Sequoia Preschool teachers support positive self-expression, encourage self-responsibility and independence. These skills help them to gain confidence, self-esteem, and move towards social and personal harmony both in and out of the classroom.
During class time, the child moves at their own pace and chooses activities of specific interest to him/her from an array of different subjects.
Classroom Subjects
*Practical Life* - These shelf materials help the child to develop fine motor skills and control of movement. It also teaches them some practical skills like folding, sewing, and preparing foods. Some examples may be tweezer activities, pouring, and spooning small items.
*Science* - We embrace the child's natural curiosity to discover through experiments and projects. We do science together during circle time, as well as individual exploration with science shelf work. Activities such as creating diagram books of the different parts of a flower, studying the life cycles of animals or insects, creating seed-to-plant and habitat projects, plus fun chemistry activities will all be part of the learning experience.
*Art* - Arts and Crafts are a favorite at Sequoia Preschool! We encourage creativity and individual expression through a variety of unique art activities. We enjoy infusing our science, language, and cultural awareness projects into our art curriculum. Advocating for nature is important to us, so many of our projects will use recycled products and incorporate earth-friendly thinking.
*Language* (Spanish) - Language awareness, vocabulary development, and an introduction to reading and writing is part of our classroom, both during circle time and on our shelves. Children move at their own pace to explore phonics and other language materials. We also give the children an introduction to Spanish words and phrases during circle and throughout our daily communication. Activities in language and literacy vary depending on age, level and interest. Each week we teach letter(s) of the week and/or short words. Teachers also introduce new vocabulary in our day-to-day interaction. Some examples of language activities would be writing letters in fine sand, matching words to pictures or objects, or using a phonetic step board.
*Math* - At Sequoia Preschool we use concrete math manipulatives to help the child discover the meaning of quantity and an overall broad understanding of the number system and geometry. This hands-on approach allows the child to actually see and feel math in a unique and exciting way! Activities such as beading with patterns, stamp booklets with numbers, three-dimensional puzzles, and interactive "golden beads" activities which introduce units, tens, hundreds and thousands place.
*Sensory* - Children get a chance to increase their awareness and differentiate sounds, sights, colors, shapes, textures, tastes, and smells. Examples of engaging sensory activities would include matching different scents in bottles, reaching into a bag blindly to find specific objects, or playing with an array of different materials in the sensory table.
*Geography* - We introduce some geographical information through song, puzzles, and games to give the child an introduction to concepts of the world and its people.
*Cultural Awareness* - At Sequoia Preschool we like to celebrate everything! It's important to us that children learn about other cultures by introducing different foods, music, languages, and customs. Raising their consciousness and understanding of other people in our world will help grow their compassion for all people.
*Music and Creative Movement* - We love to make music and dance! Singing is a daily part of the lives of our students! We have a variety of diverse instruments from around the world that the children are encouraged to explore. We introduce notes, harmony, rhythm and beat during our circle and class time. Integrating cultural awareness into our music program enables us to explore music and dance with sounds from around the world. A fun example of music and movement is making our own drums and instruments and then having a "drum circle" in which each child has a turn to be center stage and show off their moves if they desire.