1. The philosophy of the school is to provide a warm, safe, accepting environment where the child may grow as an individual. The school will foster the child’s total development in the areas of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical growth through a multi-sensory approach to developmentally appropriate activities.
2. The School’s primary goals are to help each child develop a positive self-image, to foster the development of self-confidence as an individual, to foster an awareness of others, and to encourage positive peer relationships.
3. Sunshine Preschool’s developmental philosophy is to offer tasks at which children can succeed, as well as appropriate challenges, and an introduction to basic readiness concepts through play. Learning domains will include:
- Social/Emotional (regulate own emotions and behaviors, establish and sustain positive relationships, participate cooperatively and constructively in group situations)
- Physical (traveling skills, balancing skills, gross-motor manipulative skills, fine-motor strength and coordination)
- Language (listen to and understand increasingly complex language, use language to express thoughts and needs, use appropriate conversational and other communication skills)
- Cognitive (demonstrate positive approach to learning, remember and connect experiences, use classification skills, use symbols and images to represent something not present)
- Literacy (demonstrate phonological awareness, demonstrate knowledge of the alphabet, demonstrate knowledge of print and its uses, comprehend and respond to books and other texts, demonstrate emergent writing skills)
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – STEM (use scientific inquiry skills, demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics of living things demonstrate knowledge of the physical properties of objects & materials, use tools and other technology to perform tasks; use number concepts and observations, explore and describe spatial relationships and shapes, compare & measure, demonstrate knowledge of patterns)
- Social Studies (demonstrate knowledge about self, show basic understanding of people and how they live, explore change related to familiar people or places, demonstrate simple geographic knowledge),
- The Arts (explore the visual arts, musical concepts & expression, dance & movement concepts, drama through actions & language).
4. Teachers interact intentionally with children to purposefully challenge, scaffold, and extend their learning through hands-on activities and discovery. Children build and develop skills vital to a successful transition to Kindergarten.
5. Sunshine Preschool emphasizes acceptance and respect of social and cultural diversity of our families and society including age, gender, language and abilities through our teaching methods, activities and play materials.
Mission Statement
Sunshine Preschool’s mission is to provide a high-quality, developmentally appropriate preschool program where children learn through play, and to meet the needs of the individual child’s total growth. Our teachers plan curriculum, intentionally teaching to achieve goals for their students based on the Massachusetts State Guidelines for Learning Experiences, National Association for the Education of Young Children, and Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment Model. With guidance from our teachers in an enriching environment, skills are fostered for a successful transition to kindergarten.