ACADEMICS | Penrose Academy

ACADEMICS
PENROSE ACADEMY

Our Academics

Penrose Academy provides an academic, caring, and safe environment for all children; an extension of home. At Penrose Academy, our teachers meet each child’s individual needs while assisting with the skills needed to develop cognitive, language, and social skills.

Literacy

Writing

Mathematics

Science

Geography

Physical Education

- Infant Program -

Penrose Academy provides an academic, caring, and safe environment for all infants; an extension of home. Penrose Academy provides care for infants ages 6 weeks through 16 months. Infants need to develop a bond with their caregiver through the establishment of a relationship built on trust, allowing brain development to occur within proper developmental timeframes. At Penrose Academy, infant teachers meet each child’s individual needs while assisting with the skills needed to develop cognitive, language, and social skills.

Infants given time to develop muscle strength needed for gross motor development through participation in tummy time activities. Teachers remain in consistent communication with infants throughout their day and read stories to develop language skills. At Penrose Academy, no cry goes unnoticed. Teachers are trained to teach and detect infant communication signals through the use of infant sign language.

The foundation of Penrose Academy’s program is built on a partnership between families and the school, a place where learning and development occur naturally. As a partnership between home and school, parent teacher conferences are held three times a year between teachers and the families of our infants. The brain is rapidly developing in infancy, and the infant program you choose for your child is extremely important! Come visit our program to see why Penrose Academy is the best choice to begin your child’s early learning experience.

- Toddler Program -

Penrose Academy’s toddler program teaches children ages 17 months through 24 months of age. Penrose Academy’s Toddler Program promotes opportunities for exploration and independence, while still lavishing your child with the love and cuddles their developing brains still need to promote healthy self-awareness and social skills. In our toddler program, teachers are focused on the development of language skills and laying the foundation for the love of reading! Teachers read several books throughout the day in both large and small group settings, while always maintaining conversations with children. In our toddler program your child will develop conversational skills along with gaining confidence in their newly developed gross motor abilities.

In addition to language skills, your child will develop the cognitive abilities needed for color, letter and number recognition; along with the social skills required to learn manners, respect, and good social skills. Toddlers are introduced to routines, toilet training (when ready) and learning through all aspects of their action-packed day. Please visit our toddler program to see why our program is the best choice for your toddler!

- Preschool Program -

The Preschool program at Penrose Academy offers our beginning scholars, age three through Kindergarten, a high quality education in a supporting and nurturing environment that is overflowing with opportunities. The foundation for each students cognitive, physical, social and emotional development is built on a curriculum that is child focused and individualized based on the needs of each student! Penrose Academy’s curriculum is built on the researched based truths that young children gain knowledge through their play. Our hands-on preschool curriculum emphasizes engaging and thought-provoking activities that allow each child to explore, experiment and discover themselves and the world around them.

Our preschool scholars engage in the following:

A dynamic and intentionally developed curriculum taught by teachers with knowledge of child development. Low student-teacher ratio allowing the flexibility for individualized attention and instruction, including extra support or additional challenges if needed
A classroom, overflowing in resources, designed to encourage play as the context for learning with a balance of hands-on, child initiated and adult directed play, guided discovery and sensory experiences
A safe, supportive and interactive environment that fosters a joy and curiosity for learning and promotes the uniqueness and growth of the whole child
Outdoor play experiences designed to give scholars opportunities to explore the world they live in
Kindergarten Readiness activities designed to ease the transition into kindergarten ensuring all preschool concepts such as reading, writing, and simple math have been mastered

Infant & Toddler Classroom Ratios & Teacher Assignments:

Infant (6 weeks – 16 months) 1:4 – Max Group Size 8 students
Lead Teacher: Minimum of CDA with Infant/ Toddler specialization – Actively participating in continued education
Asst Teacher: Minimum of CDA with Infant/ Toddler specialization – Actively participating in continued education
Young Toddler (17 months & 24 months) 1:5 – Max Group Size 10 students
Lead Teacher: Minimum of CDA with Infant/ Toddler specialization – Actively participating in continued education
Asst Teacher: Minimum of CDA with Infant/ Toddler specialization – Actively participating in continued education
Older Toddler (24 months & 36 months) 1:6 – Max Group Size 12 students
Lead Teacher: Minimum of Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education or Related Field
Asst Teacher: Minimum of CDA with Infant/ Toddler specialization – Actively participating in continued education

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Reading:

Here at Penrose Academy, it is our goal to help all students develop a love for reading. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps children develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. Reading is a very large component of and begins with individualized story time in our infant program, interactive story time in our toddler program, and self-directed and theme-based story time in our Preschool Program. Our Pre-Kindergarten and School Age program uses the Lexia Core 5 reading program and has a strong reading focus, centered on phonemic awareness, reading fluency, and ensuring all students are reading on or above their grade level.

Writing:

Here at Penrose Academy, we strongly believe the ability to use words and to express innermost thoughts is priceless and learning how to write enables your student to communicate with the world in a more meaningful manner. Within our infant program we work on activities which develop pincer grasps and other fine motor skills. Within our toddler program our focus is on activities which strengthen hand-eye development; while providing large writing tools such as crayons and pencils to develop hand muscles needed to write. Within our Pre-school program we provide opportunities throughout the classroom environment for writing within all learning areas. Our Pre-Kindergarten program focus is on writing with intention bringing your students attention to phonetics and reading comprehension.

Mathematics:

Here at Penrose Academy, Math is a foundational component to our curriculum. Math is critical to our daily living and it is important to help young children develop their mathematical thinking. A child’s math knowledge at the start of kindergarten predicts later academic achievement better than early reading or attention skills.

At Penrose Academy, math is part of our student’s daily routine. Taking advantage of each of these math moments develops math learning. Each math moment is like a steppingstone which helps students become ready for more math learning.

Math begins in our infant program with mathematical language, “You have two eyes, you have five fingers, music and movement, etc. Within our Toddler, Preschool, and Prekindergarten program, Math is measuring, sorting, building, noticing patterns, making comparisons, and describing the environment, as well as counting and knowing the names of shapes. There are many ways we incorporate math learning into every day, teachable moments.

Science:

Science education at Penrose Academy provides begin within our infant program and gradually builds; providing developmentally appropriate activities to all students with opportunities to develop and practice many different skills and attributes. These include communication skills, collaborative skills, team working and perseverance, as well as analytical, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Our science curriculum relies heavily on the exploration of the world around us, providing us with endless opportunities to explore, discover, and research, and document our findings. We intentionally guide our students to an understanding that science is both within us and all around us simultaneously.

Geography:

At Penrose Academy, we intentionally assist students with developing their understanding of the world and their place in it and of the idea that people and places around the world are interdependent. Geographical skills give our students distinctive tools with which to successfully navigate and engage with their world. Our geography curriculum is showcased through thematic units within our social studies and Montessori program; along with our yearly international celebration in which we recognize all the different ethnicities and cultures within our school program.

Physical Education:

Our daily Physical education program at Penrose Academy gives our students the time and encouragement they need to set and strive for personal, achievable goals. Our daily physical education program helps our students both psychologically and socially. Within our infant program we practice tummy time, crawling, pulling up on sturdy items, and using push toys to strengthen the muscles needed to walk. Within our Toddler program we practice the skills needed to balance, walk, skip, hop and jump. Within our Preschool and Prekindergarten program, we build skills needed for teamwork, organized sports, confidence and self esteem building through active play!