Early Childhood

From first discoveries to lasting skills, Stuart’s Early Childhood Program (EC) provides girls and boys with a joyful initial classroom experience and a solid foundation for the future. We nurture a sense of wonder and uncover what each child is curious about through frequent one-on-one interactions. We guide children to play it forward by exploring, questioning, and problem-solving—the essence of play. Our social and emotional skills-based curriculum, along with our academic program, provides girls and boys the building blocks for kindergarten. With our faculty’s love and support, the children develop confidence and independence by speaking in front of others and learning to do for themselves. We know each child, and we are dedicated to helping children express themselves, discover their world, and become engaged and enchanted with learning.

The Early Childhood Program’s experienced, caring faculty are dedicated to preschool-age children. Experts in child development, our classroom teachers integrate reading, writing, math, science, and art with visits from specialists in music, religion, Spanish, technology, and creative movement. Our teachers have a genuine love for the children and are as excited by “I did it” moments as the children are themselves.

With wisdom and professionalism, helping hands and hugs, our teachers partner with parents to focus on the individual and the giant steps each will take.

About the Program

We Believe in Your Children

Stuart’s Early Childhood classes are warm, caring, and nurturing environments that truly support and inspire all aspects of your child’s development. It is our belief that all children are endowed with individual strengths and capabilities and by nature are intellectually curious.

We Believe in Community

Your child will work and play in a loving community. It is in this nurturing environment where relationships with other children, the family, the teachers, and the community are formed. We believe one of the most important benefits of being part of the Early Childhood Program at Stuart is that each child is also a member of our larger preschool through Grade 12 community. 

Learning and Play

Children learn best through play. We encourage your child to ask questions, explore, and discover, while interacting with engaging materials.

Problem Solving

We recognize that problem solving is the foundation of a young child’s learning; opportunities for problem solving occur in the everyday context of a child’s life. In this process your child will assess his or her choices, learn from mistakes, and become an independent evaluator of his or her work.

Exploration

Children learn by doing. Here, they have the opportunity to investigate and follow through on their interests. They will master a wide variety of skills in the context of developmentally appropriate activities in:

• Language Acquisition: Expressive and receptive language, phonological skills, recognition of print and phonetics, comprehension, articulation/speech.
• Sensory Motor Manipulation: fine motor skills, strength and control.
• Gross Motor Development: Coordination, balance, strength, endurance, and mobility.
• Social/Emotional: Demonstrates Independence, following directions, appropriate peer play, focus/attention, impulse control.
• Cognitive Development: Reasoning, drawing conclusions, making connections, identify patterns, basic conservation of numbers, identification of numbers and symbols, recall and application.