Willow Tree Teachers Help Students Reach Their Fullest Potential
Willow Tree Learning Center, Inc. offers a creative curriculum to assist our students with learning all of the basics that they will need to be successful Kindergarten students, as well as forming a solid base from which to continue reaching for and achieving their goals throughout life both academically and socially.
Our teachers are highly trained and experienced with assisting our students to meet their developmental milestones, as well as achieving their fullest potential during their time with us. Our teacher-to-student ratio is the lowest in the state and we strictly monitor the development of our students and limit enrollment to ensure that the needs of each student are met. Children are segregated in their own age groups. Infants are in a separate wing from the toddlers and the toddlers are not among the after school kids.
We Encourage Social & Emotional Development
To encourage our children to develop a healthy sense of self through physical and emotional development, we use a variety of traditional methods to help each of our students to be able to successfully adapt and adjust to new situations, learn to trust adults, recognize his or her feelings (and manage them appropriately), and stand up for his or her rights. We also encourage our students to take responsibility for themselves and for others.
Our children are encouraged to demonstrate a robust level of self-direction and independence, take responsibility for their own well being, respect and care for other students, as well as the classroom environment and materials, and follow classroom rules and routines. Prosocial behavior is a very important skill for our students to develop prior to attending a formal educational setting.
We help ensure that our students learn how to interact well with others and recognize the feelings of other children (and respond appropriately). In addition, we promote the use of critical thinking skills to help resolve conflicts and to help our students learn to share and respect the rights of others. At Willow Tree our teachers help students reach their full potential.
Ample Oppurtunities for Physical Development
Our teachers provide ample opportunities for our students to physically develop their gross and fine motor skills. We encourage our students to participate in all types of locomotor skills including running, jumping, hopping, and galloping, as well as balancing, climbing up and down, pedaling and steering manual wheeled vehicles, and developing their throwing, kicking, and catching skills.
We work with our students individually and in groups to assist them with developing their fine motor skills including controlling the small muscles in the hands to assist with using and manipulating tools, such as drawing and writing instruments. In addition, we work with your child to help him or her increase his or her skills in the area of hand-eye coordination.
Cognitive Development Through Play & Pretend
Learning and problem solving go hand-in-hand. To encourage the cognitive development of our students, Willow Tree Learning Center, Inc. promotes the observation of objects and cause-and-effect events, and encourages our students to approach problems with a sense of flexibility as well as persistence. We also promote the skill of being able to apply existing knowledge gained through prior experiences to new contexts. Our teachers promote logical thinking by encouraging our students in the following areas:
- CLASSIFY & COMPARE OBJECTS
- MEASURE
- ARRANGE OBJECTS IN A SERIES
- RECOGNIZE & REPEAT PATTERNS
- BE AWARE OF THE CONCEPTS OF TIME & POSITION IN SPACE
- USE ONE-TO-ONE CORRESPONDENCE
- UNDERSTAND & USE NUMBERS & COUNTING SKILLS IN REAL WORLD SITUATIONS
Our students enjoy working on their representative and symbolic thinking skills by playing make-believe with objects, as well as simulating pretend roles and situations. We Also work with children to help them create and interpret representations of objects and ideas.
Language Development is A Significant Part of Our Curriculum
To best encourage your child’s language development, we present him or her with extensive opportunities to speak, listen, read, and write. Through a variety of activities, we offer him or her the chance to:
- HEAR & DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN THE VARIOUS SOUNDS OF OUR LANGUAGE
- EXPRESS HIM OR HERSELF USING WORDS & SENTENCES
- ASK & ANSWER QUESTIONS ACCORDINGLY
- ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN CONVERSATIONS
- UNDERSTAND & FOLLOW ONE STEP & MULTI-STEP ORAL DIRECTIONS
Our teachers encourage our students to value and enjoy reading. Reading and literary appreciation make up a significant part of our curriculum here at Willow Tree Learning Center, Inc. We help each student to develop his or her knowledge of the alphabet and phonics, as well as understand print concepts by applying his or her emerging reading and cognitive skills. We do our best to ensure that your child is able to comprehend and interpret the meaning of books, as well as a variety of additional printed materials. We also devote time to helping our students write words and letters.
To learn about the specifics of our toddler, preschool, and pre-K curriculum, please contact School Director Jacki Lincoln of Willow Tree Learning Center, Inc. at (724) 439-0110.