Our preschool is part of a laboratory learning classroom for juniors and seniors at Cypress Ranch High School. The high school students learn about developmentally appropriate practices and the role of an early childhood educator. As the students become the teachers, they strive to work in the spirit of excellence and provide the very best care, interactions, and guidance to the preschoolers in our program.
The wonderful benefit for the preschoolers is that we have a very low ratio of children-to-teachers, giving us the opportunity to utilize both large and small group activities that keep the preschoolers engaged and make learning fun. This also helps us meet each of these little ones where they are developmentally (social/emotional and academic/cognitive) and move them to the next level, as we get them closer to being ready for Kindergarten, one step at a time.
The preschool is a center-based classroom, which supports hands-on discovery and exploration as children learn through play. A center-based classroom environment crosses learning domains so that the preschoolers are exposed to science, math, social/emotional skills, and literacy throughout the day. We also incorporate gross motor (big muscles) and fine motor (smaller muscles – like fingers and hands) development through large group music and movement, as well as free play on the playground. Finally, the preschool uses the Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) curriculum to help preschoolers work on handwriting readiness.
Cypress Ranch Preschool is the epitome of hands-on learning for the high school students and the preschoolers!