Early Childhood Department

Helping Young Children Grow and Learn Through Hands-on Discovery - -

From preschool through first grade, the early childhood years represent an important period in a child’s life when many social, emotional, and learning skills develop. The Early Childhood Department at Laughlin Center addresses the needs of young learners with services that include academic evaluations, a small-group program called K-1 Skill Builders, and The Village Preschool.

 

Collaboration with other departments and open communication with parents are important aspects of the Early Childhood Department. The department’s array of services target the development of the whole child by stimulating physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth in ways that are developmentally-appropriate and honor the age and socio-cultural background of each child.

 

Our Early Childhood Department staff has professional training and credentials in child development, early childhood education, and elementary education, and our programs are licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

 

THE VILLAGE PRESCHOOL at Laughlin Center: The Village Preschool gives young children a solid start to their school experience in a nurturing, developmentally-appropriate atmosphere where it’s fun to learn. 

 

What makes The Village Preschool special?

•Our family-friendly scheduling: parents choose 2, 3, or 4 mornings  (9 am to 11:30 am) or afternoons (12:30 am to 3 pm) a week. Parents can pick the mornings or afternoons (Monday through Thursday) that work best for their families!

 

•Our mixed-age classroom: allows three-, four-, and five-year-olds* to interact in a structured setting, creating opportunities for mentoring and peer modeling while still preparing children for more formal schooling with age-appropriate activities and lessons

 

•Our credentials: The Village Preschool is  accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education

 

•Our teachers: are well-qualified, experienced, and caring, and can draw upon Laughlin Center’s 50 years of multi-disciplinary experience in working with children

 

How The Village Preschool works: Parents choose the number of mornings (9 am to 11:30 am) that best suit their child, then choose which days of the week their child will attend (Monday through Thursday). Class size is limited to 16 children, with 2 teachers.  Cost is $105/month for two days/week; $155/month for three days/week; and $210/month for four days/week.  There is a $40 registration fee. 

 

The Village Preschool’s developmentally-appropriate preschool curriculum:

•Understands children’s need to learn through play

•Stimulates the development of physical, social, emotional, & cognitive skills

•Promotes each child’s self esteem

•Includes age-appropriate activities, such as:

creative play         

language enrichment

circle time                      

snacks    

stories                            

themes

singing                            

reading, math, & science activities

 

*Children must be at least three years old by September 1st to attend. 

 K-1 SKILL BUILDERS: This program is for kindergarten and first grade children who may be at risk due to delays in one or more areas of normal development that affect readiness to learn. It is designed to nurture the growth of age appropriate skills necessary for success in school.

Each child is tested in six developmental areas including visual, auditory, language, gross and fine motor, social/emotional, and academic skills; individual goals are developed for each child. Groups of up to 6 children participate in enjoyable activities that build skills in all areas. Each child receives individualized attention and is helped to build a positive self-concept as a successful learner. The children's progress is tracked, and regular conferences are held with each child's parents. Groups meet weekly during the school year, or in the summer, daily.

The K-1 Skill Builders program: 

• is for children in kindergarten and first grade

 

•meets in small groups of up to 6 children, weekly during the school year and daily in the summer

 

•uses targeted academic & psycho-educational evaluations before instruction begins, to identify where help is needed

 

•addresses language, visual, auditory, motor, social/emotional, and academic skills

 

•nurtures the growth of age-appropriate skills necessary for success in school and helps child build positive self-concept as a successful learner

 

•includes post-testing and progress reports, which assess improvement, outline what has been taught, and specify areas of continued need

 

EARLY CHILDHOOD EVALUATIONS: Parents gain information about a child's developmental and early academic achievement through evaluations. Laughlin Center offers two different early childhood evaluations.  Test results and recommendations from both evaluations are shared with parents in a conference as well as in a written report.

EARLY CHILDHOOD ACADEMIC EVALUATIONS

•provide information about children’s developmental and early academic achievement

 

•can offer insight regarding readiness for kindergarten or first grade

 

•include a comprehensive report and parent conference to review tests administered, student performance, specific strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations

 

 

COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENTS

•are composed of a psycho-educational evaluation and the early childhood academic evaluation, conducted by an experienced school psychologist and an academic diagnostician in separate visits

 

•provide a complete picture of the child as a learner, identifying emotional and behavioral characteristics, as well as intellect and academic ability

 

•offer a comprehensive report and parent conference to review tests administered, student performance, specific strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations

 

 

PRESCHOOL SUPPORT SERVICES: Designed especially for preschoolers, these unique services are offered to parents and early childhood teachers, and may include observation of the child and consultation with the teacher(s). Preschool Support Services focus on helping parents and teachers work together to identify concerns and to solve problems. A certified school psychologist schedules the observation and/or consultation on a fee for service basis.

 

 

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