Our Curriculum

The preschool curriculum at Parachute Express Playschool is organized and planned in such a way as to stimulate the growth and development of the whole child. We teach from the inside out. Specific developmental areas are carefully considered during the implementation of our teacher –led, theme-based lessons and child-directed lessons. These areas include guiding and assisting the child in Physical, Intellectual, Language and Social/Emotional areas.

Physical skills are important for future tasks in reading, writing, scientific explorations and math. For example, when children string beads, line up shells, or complete a puzzle, they are refining their eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, sense of directionality and strengthening their pincer grasp. Physical development also affects social/emotional development. As children learn what their bodies can do, they gain self-confidence. The more they can do, the more willingly they try new and increasingly challenging tasks. This positive attitude means that children are more willing to try out new physical skills without fear of failure. This increased self-confidence positively influences their attitude toward learning in other areas of development.

Intellectual or cognitive development is the process of learning to think and reason. Preschool age children are developing cognitive skills that prepare them for content work in all of the disciplines. They are becoming skilled observers and questioners and learning how to organize and represent new information. In the early childhood years, children are not only gaining knowledge, skills and concepts, but also acquiring the “learning to learn” skills that are so important for the future.

A solid foundation in language development gives children the skills they need to become successful learners. Children who have rich language and literacy experiences in early childhood are more likely to develop strong language and literacy skills. These skills—the ability to listen, speak, read and write—develop interdependently in children. At Parachute Express Playschool, we foster this development by presenting many different types of language experiences throughout our day, from puppetry, to flannelboard stories, to library books, songs, fingerplays and creative movement.

The preschool years are a prime time for developing social and emotional skills that are essential to children’s well-being and success, in school and in life. Three major social/emotional objectives include “Sense of Self” (how children feel accepted and valued by others), “Responsibility for Self and Others” (developing habits and character traits such as independence, self-regulation, self-direction and following rules and routines), and “Pro-Social Behavior” (traits that will help children get along in the world, such as empathy, sharing, taking turns). At Parachute Express, one of our most important tasks is to promote and reinforce positive relationships between preschoolers. We fulfill this role by empowering each child to make positive choices, supporting positive behavior and helping the child to begin to understand the natural and logical consequences that each behavior holds.