Bridges to Kinder Early Childhood & Parent Education Program is designed to help children & their families make an easier transition into elementary education. Our classroom location, on Westlake Elementary School campus, provides students and their parents the opportunity to:
- Observe and interact with K-5 students through attendance and participation in school wide assemblies.
- Become recipients of peer mentoring from older students on campus through structured and supervised activities of play, reading, art, gardening, etc.
- Use the library and media center for weekly story time and book checkout.
- Take part in hands on science through active participation in the Life Lab Garden Program.
Bridges to Kinder strives to maintain a close relationship between home and school, parents and staff, teacher and child.
Pre-K/Preschool Curriculum
Bridges to Kinder offers a full, developmentally appropriate academic curriculum, for Pre-K/Preschool students which include early literacy and mathematical concept activities, as well as an exploration of the arts and sciences. Unit blocks, puzzles, manipulative toys, simple board games, picture books, audio recordings and musical instruments, art materials such as markers, paint, glue, and safe scissors, dramatic play materials such as dolls, dress up clothes, props and puppets, sand and water toys are available. Opportunities for cooking, gardening, creative movement and dramatics are also offered.
Teachers provide a variety of activities and materials that are selected to: encourage children to think, reason, question and experiment; encourage language and literacy development; encourage social development skills; enhance physical development and skill; build upon their curiosity to initiate discoveries in all academic areas; encourage sound health, safety and nutritional practices; and respect cultural diversity. Circle times and small group times are part of the daily routine so that the students have the opportunity to share, to listen, to participate and to care for one another.
The Preschool Program is paced appropriately for the younger students and is nurturing and responsive to each child’s needs. The Pre-K Program is designed to meet the transitional needs of the older students and to help prepare them for a successful entrance into kindergarten.
Bridges to Kinder 