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| The Sheffield
Program: |
"“When I think of
the Sheffield Preschool program, the first word that comes
to mind is rich: rich in equipment and supplies, rich in
nurturing, rich in curriculum, music, and creativity.” --Margie Albers
Friel
Please call June Sheffield to
arrange a
tour of our preschool at
(510) 849-9352.
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- Creative
curriculum
- Low teacher
student ratio
- Developmentally
based
- Daily musical
circle
- Cultural diversity
- Conflict
resolution
- Parent
conferences
- Healthy snacks
- Field trips
- State licensed
- Earthquake
prepared
- Parent involvement welcomed
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| Your
children will play London Bridge and hide-and-seek;
climb and jump; dance with scarves; be cuddled and
understood. They will explore sensory materials,
such as clay, sand, finger paint, water, shaving
cream, pudding, pillows, and scarves. We know that
it is not us, but you, the parents, who have the
greatest influence on your child’s development
and education. Therefore, in order for each child
to receive the maximum benefits from our program,
your help and suggestions are vital. |
The
Vision For A Mixed-age Preschool Program
We have a vision
of what our two to three year program will
give to your children:
1. The first
year is a year of investigation and discovery.
2. The second is a year of comfort and mastery.
3. The third is the culmination of the previous
two years, which naturally leads the “senior”
preschooler into positions of leadership and
self-confidence.
Children begin
with us overwhelmed by the newness of the group,
leaving their parents, our expectations, and all
of our toys, activities, and relationships. The
children immediately adore the older children and begin
to trust their teachers, their peers, and their
friends’ parents. By the end of the first
year, each child has found a place in the group
that is comfortable and secure. This can take
anywhere from one to six months. |
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The
second year is usually easy and comfortable. It is like
being a junior in a three-year high school: the second
year preschooler knows all the rules and how everything
works, without having the responsibility of the senior
year nor the confusion of the sophomore year. The second
year children are turning three and four years old and
having a lot of fun.
The third year is one which
always generates a lot of pride in our director and
teachers. These children step into leadership roles naturally because
they know in their bones how things are done at the
Sheffield Preschool, which songs are sung for
which subjects and holidays, how to mediate disputes, and
their own unquestioned position of specialness in the group.
By the time these children leave for kindergarten, they
believe that they know all there is to know about preschool,
and they are ready and eager to get out into
the big world of “real school.”
Some years ago, Erin’s
mother, Mary, told June, “Now, I get it. At first
I didn’t see the advantage of keeping Erin with
you for several years. I was afraid that she would be
missing out on something if she didn’t go to another
preschool before kindergarten, until I started to notice
how eagerly she anticipated celebrating holidays and
studying things like dinosaurs and birds; and I saw
her growth and development illustrated in things like
her gingerbread houses that she made three years in
a row, which became more elaborate and creative each
year.”
We have had many compliments through the years about
our graduates from both private and public elementary
schools. The combination of structure and nurturing that we provide seems
to be a good preparation for kindergarten. We are always happy
to have children with us for as long as we can, but our preference is to
keep them for two, or even three, years.
It is a rare and precious
gift for your child to be provided with a warm, safe,
and challenging place for the years of early childhood
before moving into the demands and rigors of elementary
school life. That is what we provide here at the Sheffield
Preschool Program—and we’re proud of it!
June Sheffield
Director |
Yearly
Curriculum
When planning the curriculum and
daily schedule each year, we take into account the needs
and interests of each of the children in the program.
For example, some years we might have 2 circles instead
of one.
We design a monthly activity calendar to tell you generally what your child will be doing each day. The calendar also includes holidays, field trips, birthdays, and school parties.
A
Great Place To Learn And Play
Sheffield has
two main rooms (formerly a living room and dining room
of a house) adorned with beautiful toys, books, and
games of all descriptions. Items are rotated frequently
and specially themed items are brought our from storage
to match the curriculum. Our library has more than 1,000
books for children. Nutritious snacks are served in the kitchen or outside.
The
backyard is the school crown jewel, with a full scale redwood playground structure complete with slide and monkey bars, a large concrete loop bike path, a sandbox that holds 12 children, a basketball hoop, and sand and water table, easels and paints for art.
We play
outdoors at least 2 hours each morning and 2 hours
each afternoon, weather permitting. Many days we are
outside from 9:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., and then back outside at 3:30 until final pick-up at 5:30 p.m.
Learning By
Doing
We celebrate all major holidays (in a
secular way) because it is fun and a learning experience
for children. We decorate the preschool differently each
week or two, depending on the learning theme or holiday.
We coordinate projects with events: pumpkin-carving and scary storytelling for Halloween, gingerbread houses and holiday songs for Christmas, a pinata for Cinco de Mayo. Each year we seek out new and unusual celebrations from unique cultures from around the world. |
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