Preschool Program providing care for children 2.5 to 5 years old
"The wider the range of POSSIBILITIES we offer CHILDREN, the more intense will be their MOTIVATIONS and the RICHER their EXPERIENCES." - Loris Malaguzzi
At Aurora Early Learning Centre, we celebrate our Preschoolers' thirst for knowledge and their endless curiosity in the world around them. Our program provides care for children ages 2.5 to 5 years old. The dynamic educators in this program are dedicated to creating an environment that truly caters to the inquiring minds of our preschoolers. Our qualified educators design and implement a program that fosters the love of learning, exploration and curiosity. Planned experiences and learning objectives are reflective of Ontario's Pedagogy How Does Learning Happen? and The E.L.E.C.T. (Early Learning for Every Child Today)ensuring that our preschoolers receive the support they need to achieve their individual milestones in all developmental domains including Social, Emotional, Communication, Cognitive and Physical. Children's interests as taken highly into consideration when designing the program and truly celebrates their curiosity by integrating all developmental domains within their inquiries. This helps to create more meaningful learning experiences that are child directed and educator faciliated. Our classroom is equipped with developmentally appropriate materials and manipulatives to stimulate and encourage growth in all aspects of learning. To prepare for Kindergarten, our educators provide experiences that enhance fine motor coordination to support prewriting development as well as those that promote critical thinking skills to extract their knowledge. A high focus on experiences that promote Language, Literacy as well as Cognitive development is placed in the Preschool Program.
Our language enriched environment surrounds our preschoolers with a variety of print materials, stories, poetry and music to promote effective communication skills. Our preschoolers are presented with opportunities to engange in experiences that promote exploration using all of their senses. Art is an integral part of our program, as it serves as an outlet of personal expression and communication.
Sense of self and well-being is a critical part of development in the early years. With guidance from our educators, independence is highly encouraged during meal time, dressing and toileting. Our preschoolers develop significant skills as they perform these daily tasks such as feeding themselves, putting on their jacket and successful washroom routines. These skills prepare our preschoolers for Kindergarten and contribute to self-esteem as well as resilience.
Belonging is another pillar of learning where our children have the opportunity to build a strong foundation in. Our tight knit community among the children and the educators help create more meaningful relationships. A sense of family and friendship is consistent throughout the centre celebrating our individualities and how we are all connected. Preschoolers are encouraged to share their thoughts, feelings and inquiries in both group and individual settings while learning how to be respectful and accepting of others. Empathy is a key component of our learning, as promoted in our highly equipped Dramatic Area, where our preschoolers can begin to "see what it's like in someone else's shoes."
