Welcome to Our Newly Renovated Preschool Center
Preschool
Your preschooler is becoming more verbal, continuing to explore new things around them and is beginning to develop social skills. A balanced routine and flexibility is important at this age as your child’s developmental needs are different from their peers.
To do this, your child’s preschool teacher and our classroom create a nurturing, home-like classroom environment where your toddler is treated as a capable individual, whose opinions, actions and thoughts are respected and valued.
Our Reggio Emilia-inspired, emergent learning curriculum is designed to stimulate the whole child through experiences in math, science, language, arts and music. Language development is rapid at this age, so we also take this opportunity to help increase their vocabulary. All lessons are presented in a way to help develop each child’s imagination by learning through play.
Pre-Kinders
Your pre-kinders is growing up fast, potty-trained and eager to learn new things. At this age, your child is more coordinated and is absorbing lots of information every day.
At Little STEaMers, your child’s day is carefully planned out with a variety of hands-on activities to encourage learning and socialization. Your child is taught to write their name and recognize letters, numbers, colors and shapes. Preschool teachers introduce concepts like opposites, identifying emotions and basic directional skills. At this age, we also put a large focus on teaching self-awareness and fostering independence by helping your child master their self-help skills.
We design our preschool classrooms with these developmental milestones in mind and equip each classroom with age-appropriate, educational toys to help continue inspiring your child’s curiosity and desire to learn and engage with their classmates and their environment.
Food
Our programs provide healthy and freshly cooked meals prepared by a retired chef.
Tuition
Effective August 1, 2022: Infant-Toddler and Preschool Tuition
COVID-19 Protocols
LS adheres to all local, state and federal COVID-19 guidance.
Reggio-Inspired Preschool with STEaM
“No way. The hundred is there.”
-Loris Malaguzzi-
The child is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking of playing, of speaking.
A hundred always a hundred ways of listening,
of marveling, of loving,
A hundred joys
for singing and understanding
A hundred worlds to discover
A hundred worlds to invent
A hundred worlds to dream.
Principles of Reggio Emilia
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Children are capable of constructing their own learning.
Children are the main initiators of their own learning process and should be treated as active collaborators in their education, as opposed to passive observers.
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Children are collaborators and learn through interaction within their communities.
Learning is based on relationships across all spectrums of learning. In Reggio Emilia there is a close interaction between teachers, parents, and children.
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Children are natural communicators and should be encouraged to express themselves however they feel they can.
Children learn through words, movement, drawings, paintings, buildings, sculptures, and more.
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The classroom environment acts as the third teacher.
Children thrive in welcoming, aesthetically pleasing environments that are suited to their interests and developmental stages. The layout of the classroom promotes relationships, communication, collaboration, and exploration through play.
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Teachers are partners, nurturers, and guides who help facilitate the exploration of children’s interests.
Teachers guide experiences, discovery, and problem solving. A teacher listens and observes the children, as well as questions and looks for opportunities to encourage further exploration of a child’s interests.
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Documentation is a critical component of communication.
Teachers document the learning process within the classroom and transcribe the verbal language used by children using photos, videos and a portfolio of artwork.
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Parents are partners in education.
Parental participation in their child’s education as a critical component of the learning philosophy. Parents should always be invited to play an active role in their child’s learning experiences as well as help to ensure the welfare of the children in the community around them.
Mission & Vision
We believe all children should realize their potential to transform the world, and in the “hundred-languages” of each child. We define our education as research and believe it is based on reciprocal relationships among children, teachers and parents. We strive to create learning experiences that facilitate each child’s unique emergent interests.
Our program allows students to deeply engage in learning, in a fun and challenging way which provide preschoolers various opportunities for growth in STEaM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math).
Core Beliefs
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We believe that each child possesses internal resources and talents which need support, time, and quality relationships (with adults and peers) to come to fruition.
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We believe every child has a "hundred languages," through which he/she can express thought and feelings, questions and doubts, dreams and desires and build knowledge.
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We believe it is more important to listen than to be heard; more challenging to ask questions than to require answers; more beneficial to scaffold choices than to micro-manage behavior.
In order to cultivate beneficial lifelong characteristics like pro-active communication, group conflict resolution, intrinsic motivation, healthy risk-taking, and resilience to failure, we are deeply committed to intense interventions in each child’s journey.
Our Program
The first Reggio-inspired and STEAM-based preschool in Fremont area, Olive Children Preschool | Little STEaMers offers a stimulating educational program in a warm, nurturing setting. Imagine your child creating, designing, playing, and learning using a variety of materials, loose parts, and resources. All while a dedicated teacher intentionally asks your child questions to engage them in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math of what they are doing.
Reggio Approach
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Children, even very young children, are capable of constructing their own learning
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Teachers and students co-construct knowledge together through inquiry
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Teachers analyze student understandings and offer invitations or questions that deepen student learning
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Children are capable of expressing themselves in various “languages,” many of them involving arts or construction, and should be offered the opportunity to do so.
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Teachers are not “fountains of knowledge”, they are “fountains of questions”
STEaM for Young Children
Innovation and creativity go hand in hand with our developmentally appropriate STEAM curriculum. The curriculum will
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Engage children with the knowledge and life experiences
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Teach children to navigate challenges and generate solutions
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Develop critical thinking skills, and be a problem solver
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Challenge children with interesting problems and help facilitate their journey of discovery in solving them.
The child is an explorer and researcher of the world. The teacher's role is that of a fellow investigator and partner-in-learning.
Tri-Lingual Languages
Why Little STEaMers Preschool
Role of Teachers
We as Educators are not only nurturers, we are partners, facilitators, observers, and co-learners who have a deep understanding of developmentally appropriate practices
Role of Parents
We will succeed more if we join hands together, we believe that every child can bond stronger with the teachers if they see their parents and teachers are a strong team
Planning of Emergent Curriculum
We plan learning beginning with observations of children in action, then a thoughtful response.
"Child initiated, teacher framed", both have a voice-- therefore curriculum is a collaboration.
The Learning Environment
The environment itself is viewed as a teacher, inviting children into action and guiding them into individual and small group play
Observation and Documentation
We learn best about children by watching them in action and taking note of he learning that they are experiencing.
Areas of Development
Preschool
2.5 - 4 Years old
Our Preschool class is our hands on, learn by doing classroom. Preschoolers are active in observing, exploring, and investigating their environment. Provocations are set in the classrooms for natural learning through exploring their curiosity for learning. Phonics, Math, Science & Investigation all come together through their natural curiosity.
Areas of Development
Pre-Kinder
4 - 5 Years old
Our PreK classroom are making the connection between letters and its’ sounds to forming words and words can make a story. Different shapes and sizes are composed of numbers and measurements. Our PreK classroom is an extension of our exploration classroom and the children are able to document what they are learning.
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Daily Routine
Our daily routine helps children feel safe and secure. Children quickly internalize the predictable order of the day and know they will have opportunities to self select activities, participate in large and small group, as well as interact one-on-one with a teacher.
Circle Time / Large Group includes movement, music, pretending games and physical fitness activities. In addition to the joy that comes from shared experiences, children build their ability to listen, express emotions and take turns.
Small Groups Hands-on activities are planned and led by the teacher using research based school readiness curriculum resources that bridge to higher learning standards.
Plan-do-Review We support children’s ability to make plans, carry them out and reflect on them. Our teachers ask children to choose something they would like to do from among the many classroom options and then fully participate with them as they follow through with their ideas. Review follows with a small group discussion of how the plans went, what they discovered and possible next steps.
Parent Cooperative
We value the participation of families in enriching children's experiences and forging connections between home and school.
Parent Jobs
A variety of roles in school management and support.
Classroom Support
Parental assistant, teaching in classrooms, preparing snack, sharing interests, about once every month.
Olive Events
Family events and fundraisers occur throughout the year and are largely created through family assistance.
Work Days
Twice a year parents come together for work days taking on school wide projects, support classroom readiness and staging
Schedule a Tour
We would love to have you and your child tour our school. The goal of the tour is to help you gather as much information as you need to make the best decision for your child’s education. It is highly recommended to schedule a tour.