St. Martin's Preschool
7547 East Brainerd Road
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421
Phone: 423-855-1011
About BEGINNINGS
The schedule for the BEGINNINGS program for 1’s and 2’s is as follows:
2-year old classes-Monday (9-12) and Friday (9-2)
Tuesday (9-2) and Thursday (9-12)
1-year old ‘Baby Day’ class-Wednesday (9-12)
There are 10 children and 2 Teachers in each of
the Beginnings classes. Our student-teacher ratios are below the State of
The BEGINNINGS
day is a structured program consisting of directed free play inside and
outside, snack and/or lunch and Teacher directed time. This includes circle time, which changes
daily and may consist of singing, felt board stories, reading books, music,
movement, games, aerobics, dancing, puppets, etc. Art activities are also a very important part
of the day as the children produce a cherished ‘work’ as well as learn so many
developmental skills. This is a
wonderful age to begin working on social interaction, small and gross motor
skills, relating to and verbalizing with other adults and children, sharing,
following directions, testing limits and just having fun with friends! The
Beginnings Teachers make the school day very language and vocabulary rich as
these are the ages for acquiring and using words and sentences. We use
developmentally appropriate practices to address early learning skills through
the play, art, music and language we do every school day. Our goal is to meet the child’s individual
needs, start on the educational building blocks that will prepare them for
academic success, foster appropriate social skills and help develop a good
self-image.
The BEGINNINGS
students do not attend chapel like the 3’s and 4’s. The Teachers introduce age appropriate
Christian songs and stories especially around the religious holidays. We believe that if learning is fun and
rewarding from the ‘BEGINNING’ it
will continue for a lifetime!
About 3 and 4-Year Old PreSchool
After the 2-year old BEGINNINGS class, the children ‘graduate’ to 3 and then 4-year old
PreSchool. The PreSchool schedule is as follows:
3-year old classes-Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9-12
Tuesday, Thursday 9-12
4-year old classes-Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9-12
Monday through Friday 9-12
All classes have the option of ‘Stay & Play’
from 12-2 on Tuesdays and Fridays and early care beginning at 8:00 each day.
The 3 and 4-year old classes feature a
departmentalized format, an educational experience unique to our
PreSchool. When arriving at school, the
child will have a directed free-play time in which the child can relax, see
friends and expend some energy. They
have the opportunity to play with any of the other 3 and 4-year olds who come
to school on that day. They may also choose any center, from cars and trucks to
painting to dress-ups to roller racers, for example. Both small and gross motor skills are
addressed. These centers change daily
for variety in the learning experience.
After we clean up, we have an ‘opening’ in which we discuss the weather,
calendar, current events, birthdays, etc.
The preschooler then goes to his homeroom class with his age group for
his first class. If, for example, the
child is a 5-day 4-year old, his homeroom teacher is Ms. Owensby, and he will
start with a snack and then have her Art Class.
He then visits Ms. George for Music and next attends Ms. Schnitzer’s
Pre-reading and Math Class. Weather
permitting, 3’s and 4’s then go outside.
The daily schedule changes to accommodate chapel, cooking and parties as
well as field trips for 4-year olds and other special events. All of the Teachers have college degrees,
some more than one degree, and at least 18 hours of in-service training each
year.
The benefit of this format is fourfold. Rather than spending an entire school day in
one room with one Teacher, the child has the opportunity to experience a new
Teacher and a new and stimulating environment in each of the three subject
areas. No area is ever slighted as that
subject is the specialty of that Teacher.
Secondly, the child has the opportunity to experience preschoolers both
younger and older in the early free play setting and move from learning center
to learning center as he chooses. The
child learns to follow directions and adapt comfortably to both structure and
change as he proceeds from class to class; an extremely important preparation
for kindergarten. Finally, all of the
Teachers and staff get to know all of the children in different settings and
can make educated and first hand evaluations and recommendations.
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