We place the focus on the journey with the biggest questions we ask being WHY and HOW?
We offer individualized education plans for each child.
Yoga
Daily yoga, meditation and mindfulness: Research is showing you’re never too young for the endless benefits of meditation. We do daily yoga and take mindful breathing breaks frequently throughout the day. Young children learn the basics with short meditation practices. We will also do other various forms of physical activity, as well as learn all about the body (names of muscles, bones, functions and diseases…my medical passion creeping back in).
Meals
Meals and snacks: YES! This counts as part of our daily curriculum. Kiddos will help prepare all snacks and meals. Learning to cook and spending more one on one time with a caregiver creates so many wonderful learning opportunities. When possible, we will be all organic. In the summer each child will pick a fruit or veggie to be responsible for caring for. They take such pride and joy in caring for, preparing and eating their very own garden foods.
Books
We have an entire room dedicated to books! My passion in life is to instill a love of books with all their magical possibilities in every child. Majority of children in our program have started reading fluently before entering kindergarten. This gives the children a massive leg up in life as well as the needed confidence for the first year of starting traditional school.
Building Curiosity = Brilliant Minds
Daily Life Lessons
This is what really sets us apart from other daycares/preschool options. Your child will be given a daily life task every day. Examples are loading the dishwasher, doing laundry, gardening, sewing, cleaning up messes, getting stains out of clothing, fixing a clogged sink, learning the parts of a toilet, how to change a tire, cooking and other various everyday life tasks that are often missing from school curriculums. No child is too young to start learning these things!! They are bright and pick it up quick! Adulting can be hard but when we learn to master everyday life tasks at a young age it sets us up for success.
Outings
Learning how to behave respectfully and politely in public places is important! We will also learn about maps, directions, safety, strangers and where to go and what to do if you get separated with your adult. We will attend all possible library events and make weekly trips to the grocery store. This accomplishes multiple things. Kids will learn personal responsibility in putting on their own shoes and getting into the car in a timely fashion. Once at the store we will learn how to shop (sales, coupons, how to read signs and numbers), about different foods, how and where they’re grown. This will be key to our Tea Tuesdays (each child will get to pick out a new food in the store to try out).
We also offer various field trips and partner with others in the community for exciting opportunities.
We make learning FUN
Math & Languages
Kids will forever love math! Children will learn shapes, numbers, counting, basic adding and subtracting, simple patterns and how to read fractions in cookbooks.
We offer two languages: Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. Kids will learn basic phrases and vocabulary through songs, dance, books and learning DVD’s (because while we speak the languages hearing authentic speakers helps children with correct pronunciation).
Nature & Science
After all nature is part of our name! We will conduct basic science experiments (some of these include the chemistry involved in cooking) as well as explore the backyard for different plants and creatures. We learn survival techniques, camping and which plants are edible in the wild.
Meetings
Weekly “board” meetings: Multiple studies have shown weekly “board meetings” with children and their caregivers to be successful in transforming relationships and behavior. First item on the agenda is compliments and giving appreciation, then weekly calendar (organizational skills), brainstorming activities (builds creativity and lets children share their passions) and finally voicing concerns or making suggestions.
So Much More
Tea Tuesdays: This will be a special and big weekly event for the kiddos! We will learn table manners and polite conversation while learning how fun it is to try new foods. This continues to be a kid favorite and makes Tuesdays one of the best days of the week.
Star of the week: Every week one child will bring something in from home to do a show in tell or present something about themselves that they want to share. Public speaking is a fear among most people, we aim to dispel those fears by growing confidence.
Vocabulary word: Eloquent and verbose preschool kids are adorable! We encourage kids to express themselves and use their words.
Monthly special theme: Kids will learn about a culture, historical figure, event or place.
We also celebrate all holidays (from a variety of cultures current and past) as well as all kiddos birthdays and milestone events because who doesn’t love a good party!
**Activities are NOT age based but based on individual education plans, goals and the child themselves. NANA is well aware of state core education standards as well as age-based milestones and uses this as a guideline, however, our students often exceed basic expectations and will be held to higher standards. Our children are brilliant and the sky is the limit!!**
