Academy Advantage

Often, kindergarten teachers tell us that they know which children came from our program, as they tend to outperform other children on entrance exams and are better prepared socially, as well as academically. Nothing makes us more proud. A total approach to learning in the five main areas of development - Language, Cognitive, Socio-Emotional, Physical and Creativity - is the key to kindergarten readiness. And in recent years, we've also introduced an emphasis on Character Building.

While other child care centers use off-the-shelf, dated lesson plans, La Petite Academy raises the bar with custom lesson plans supported by over 35 years of innovation in early childhood education. We present activities in ways that create the best learning opportunity. For example, during art lessons, children self-select a project and their materials. This way, children learn to make choices and take responsibility for their work - further igniting creativity. Moreover, children create their own picture instead of "filling in the lines" of a coloring book.

Five Areas of Development

In conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education and State Boards of Education, we consider these five areas crucial for kindergarten readiness. Be sure that any preschool program you choose places appropriate emphasis on these vital areas.

Language Development: Our hands-on, developmentally appropriate curriculum helps children master the ability to articulate thoughts, form sentences, communicate through writing and understand that words and letters all carry meaning.

Cognitive Development: Our Math, Science and Social Studies curricula are designed to develop your child's abilities to perceive, recognize, judge, reason and imagine.

Socio-Emotional Development: Our personal development curriculum encourages your child to better interact with peers, make friends, respect the teacher, follow classroom rules and routines, and settle disputes in a calm manner.

Physical Development: At the Academy, we focus on large gross motor movements that should be present at each age, fine motor skills that lead to successful writing and manipulation of small objects, self-help skills that ensure necessary independence, and basic health and fitness ideas.

Creativity and the Arts: Our children engage in open-ended, creative and unique art activities, which foster self-expression and success in other developmental areas. A variety of visual and tactile activities, as well as music and dramatic play, help children develop spatial, reasoning and communication skills along with fine motor skills.

The lessons and activities your child's teacher implements in the classroom allow your child to learn at his own pace and move forward when he is ready.

Infancy to Preschool

From infancy to preschool, children learn best when learning is engaging. In our programs, teachers work with children on language and literacy skills, beginning letter/sound recognition and identification, and recognizing names in print. We help foster a love for reading and books, as well as for counting, sorting and categorizing through activities that are stimulating and fun. And we help encourage acceptable social skills, like cooperation and respect.

Pre-Kindergarten

Our Pre-K curriculum has over 200 different learning objectives. Here, children participate more in group learning and interact with each other in activities, projects and experiments. They get the basics required to start reading - learning to identify each letter sound and how sounds and letters combine to form words. They're exposed to beginning addition and subtraction and more acute observational and analytical skills.

And teachers challenge children to share thoughts and ideas, to expand oral vocabulary, imagination and creativity.

Kids of Character

This important and unique feature of our curriculum was introduced in response to the aftermath of September 11th, and has helped children learn about tolerance, perseverance, honesty, teamwork and self-discipline. Each month a different trait is featured, and the children learn and discuss the trait through various group activities. Each month you will receive a newsletter that describes the upcoming month's Kids of Character trait and activities.