The Preschool at CHLG
CHLG's preschool program provides learning opportunities for all areas of a child's growth- spiritual, social, emotional, linguistic, aesthetic, cognitive and physical. We focus on what is familiar to children and on creative play through which children learn social roles, cooperation and problem solving. Our preschoolers learn through experimenting, observing, wondering, exploring and questioning. Additionally, we believe that in order for children to be motivated and engaged in their learning, the topics and purpose of that learning must have genuine meaning and application to their world. At CHLG we work to promote a child's inner drive and excitement about learning by ensuring that our preschoolers are making connections between what they already know and what they are newly discovering. We seek to provide children with the skills that will help them develop a life long love for learning.
The classes at CHLG act a bit like a family and require students to maintain relationships with all classmates due to our small size. With only 10 children per class (and only 8 in the youngest preschool group) children must learn to get along with everyone, and deal with the relational issues that arise instead of just "moving on" to other friends as might be tempting in a larger class. Additionally, because of the small class sizes students interact with everyone, even those who may be very different from themselves. I like the relational resilience that's formed in the smaller setting. Additionally, I think it's important for children to develop some independence from home in the preschool years. Obviously I feel very strongly about the home, which is why we operate as a University-Model school, but I also feel strongly that children benefit from having places outside of home where they are learning to operate with peers and with other authority figures.
CHLG is faith-based and organized in the Christian tradition, and the overall framework within which our students understand their world is very important to us. We desire to bring God's truth to bear in every area of learning, and that starts in the preschool years. Helping children understand who God is and who they are in light of Biblical truth is a priority to us. We desire that our preschooler's thinking is shaped by scripture, which starts with an understanding of God as the creator and sustainer of all life, and as the ultimate authority regarding right and wrong. Our goal is to present these truths in a way that is easily accessible to young minds.
We also believe that socio-emotional development is a very important piece in the preschool years. Preschoolers have so much to learn, such as how to be under authority, how to be patient, how to be kind and generous toward others, how to deal with frustration with others and with situations they don't like, how to ask for help when needed and how to manage their own failures. And the list could go on and on! A strong social-emotional capacity promotes a healthy self-esteem, a healthy identity, and self-control, all of which are vital to success in the school age years and beyond. Our preschool teachers take the time to address the social-emotional development of their students.
Many parents ask me about how our preschool program prepares children for Kindergarten, and I think they are generally thinking along the lines of academics. I am, however, quick to point out things in the social-emotional realm, as I mentioned above, because I believe those things are more important in preparing a student for Kindergarten than academic development, and research bears this out. Educational research over the last 10 years has found that social-emotional development in young children is one of the strongest indicators of future success in the primary school years and beyond (stronger even than academic development). This article is a good read: The Future of Education Depends on Social Emotional Learning: Here’s Why and also this article. The second article states that children won't learn social-emotional skills in school, and encourages parents to get involved in teaching their children these skills. And while I certainly agree that parents should get involved in teaching their children social-emotional skills, I don't agree at all that children won't learn these skills at school, particularly if they are involved somewhere with small class sizes. We are strategic, throughout our programs at CHLG, to capitalize on opportunities to develop our students in the social-emotional realm, and this is particularly the case in Pre-K - second grade, when acquisition of social -emotional skills is at it's height.
In addition to this I find that there is too much of a push today regarding academics in the preschool years. Children are growing weary of letters and numbers before they even reach Kindergarten! I believe that many academic skills can be learned with less effort and more joy when children reach school age. That's not to say that we don't spend time on academic learning with our preschoolers, but just to say that academics come second to the social-emotional piece, and that the academic exposure we provide is accomplished through fun, hands-on learning centers. We want to expose our preschoolers to opportunities where they can enjoy growing in phonemic and numeric awareness, which we have found leads to a natural acquisition of reading, writing and mathematics beginning in the kindergarten year.
In addition to this we believe that play is the child's work, and we encourage both free play as well as directed play and exploration through the use of learning centers. Our preschool classrooms are well stocked with train tables, building blocks, manipulatives, games and puzzles, kitchen toys, dress ups, dolls, puppets, and a reading area. We also believe in the importance of getting children outside to run and play, and each preschool class spends daily time outside, either at Lovejoy Playground (just a few blocks away), or, for the older classes, the playground at Sherwood Recreation Center or Fire Station Park (the name we dubbed the playground at 11th and Maryland Avenue, because of the sliding pole :-). The classes also take nature walks or engage in gross motor activities in our outdoor patio area. During inclement weather the children can spend time in a larger room where we set up obstacle courses, play with the parachute, and engage in circle games.
Please peruse the rest of our website for more information about preschool class offerings, tuition, and the application process, and feel free to pose additional questions to me or request a tour of the school via the contact tab. We also welcome you to explore our K-12 programs (listed under the "programs" tab).
Warmly,
Martha Herndon
Head of School, CHLG
The classes at CHLG act a bit like a family and require students to maintain relationships with all classmates due to our small size. With only 10 children per class (and only 8 in the youngest preschool group) children must learn to get along with everyone, and deal with the relational issues that arise instead of just "moving on" to other friends as might be tempting in a larger class. Additionally, because of the small class sizes students interact with everyone, even those who may be very different from themselves. I like the relational resilience that's formed in the smaller setting. Additionally, I think it's important for children to develop some independence from home in the preschool years. Obviously I feel very strongly about the home, which is why we operate as a University-Model school, but I also feel strongly that children benefit from having places outside of home where they are learning to operate with peers and with other authority figures.
CHLG is faith-based and organized in the Christian tradition, and the overall framework within which our students understand their world is very important to us. We desire to bring God's truth to bear in every area of learning, and that starts in the preschool years. Helping children understand who God is and who they are in light of Biblical truth is a priority to us. We desire that our preschooler's thinking is shaped by scripture, which starts with an understanding of God as the creator and sustainer of all life, and as the ultimate authority regarding right and wrong. Our goal is to present these truths in a way that is easily accessible to young minds.
We also believe that socio-emotional development is a very important piece in the preschool years. Preschoolers have so much to learn, such as how to be under authority, how to be patient, how to be kind and generous toward others, how to deal with frustration with others and with situations they don't like, how to ask for help when needed and how to manage their own failures. And the list could go on and on! A strong social-emotional capacity promotes a healthy self-esteem, a healthy identity, and self-control, all of which are vital to success in the school age years and beyond. Our preschool teachers take the time to address the social-emotional development of their students.
Many parents ask me about how our preschool program prepares children for Kindergarten, and I think they are generally thinking along the lines of academics. I am, however, quick to point out things in the social-emotional realm, as I mentioned above, because I believe those things are more important in preparing a student for Kindergarten than academic development, and research bears this out. Educational research over the last 10 years has found that social-emotional development in young children is one of the strongest indicators of future success in the primary school years and beyond (stronger even than academic development). This article is a good read: The Future of Education Depends on Social Emotional Learning: Here’s Why and also this article. The second article states that children won't learn social-emotional skills in school, and encourages parents to get involved in teaching their children these skills. And while I certainly agree that parents should get involved in teaching their children social-emotional skills, I don't agree at all that children won't learn these skills at school, particularly if they are involved somewhere with small class sizes. We are strategic, throughout our programs at CHLG, to capitalize on opportunities to develop our students in the social-emotional realm, and this is particularly the case in Pre-K - second grade, when acquisition of social -emotional skills is at it's height.
In addition to this I find that there is too much of a push today regarding academics in the preschool years. Children are growing weary of letters and numbers before they even reach Kindergarten! I believe that many academic skills can be learned with less effort and more joy when children reach school age. That's not to say that we don't spend time on academic learning with our preschoolers, but just to say that academics come second to the social-emotional piece, and that the academic exposure we provide is accomplished through fun, hands-on learning centers. We want to expose our preschoolers to opportunities where they can enjoy growing in phonemic and numeric awareness, which we have found leads to a natural acquisition of reading, writing and mathematics beginning in the kindergarten year.
In addition to this we believe that play is the child's work, and we encourage both free play as well as directed play and exploration through the use of learning centers. Our preschool classrooms are well stocked with train tables, building blocks, manipulatives, games and puzzles, kitchen toys, dress ups, dolls, puppets, and a reading area. We also believe in the importance of getting children outside to run and play, and each preschool class spends daily time outside, either at Lovejoy Playground (just a few blocks away), or, for the older classes, the playground at Sherwood Recreation Center or Fire Station Park (the name we dubbed the playground at 11th and Maryland Avenue, because of the sliding pole :-). The classes also take nature walks or engage in gross motor activities in our outdoor patio area. During inclement weather the children can spend time in a larger room where we set up obstacle courses, play with the parachute, and engage in circle games.
Please peruse the rest of our website for more information about preschool class offerings, tuition, and the application process, and feel free to pose additional questions to me or request a tour of the school via the contact tab. We also welcome you to explore our K-12 programs (listed under the "programs" tab).
Warmly,
Martha Herndon
Head of School, CHLG