Class Descriptions
Class Descriptions - 3 Day Class
For children 3 years old by Sept 1st
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Our 3 Day kids meet three mornings a week, honing their developing social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills as they participate in indoor and outdoor play, projects, and group circle times in our child-centered, carefully orchestrated play-based environment.
Experiences are designed and facilitated with both our 3 Dayers’ developmental stage, and their individual needs, goals and interests in mind.
3 Day kids spend their school year in the classroom where they can work together on big special projects and out in our large yard where they can interact with a larger group of kids — sharing experiences in: art, science, music and movement, carpentry, gardening, cooking, sensory play, dramatic and imaginative play, block play, climbing, swinging, dress up, games, working out problems, “writing” and drawing, sandbox play, sharing books, construction toys, riding toys, group singing, story times, discussions, & more!
But what are they learning as they “play”?
Cognitive growth:
Foundations for math, reading, language, memory, logic, music, and science are built as children participate in group singing and storytimes, take roles in mini-dramas, play games together, explore the forms and meaning of numbers and letters in relevant, developmentally-appropriate ways, participate in hands-on exploration of science, construct with blocks, explore patterning through art and games, and practice problem solving and questioning about the world around them. Our children arrive at kindergarten excited about questioning, considering, and learning.
Physical growth:
Coordination, fine and large motor skills, sensory processing are practiced through tactile play, drawing and “writing” at the writing center, stringing beads, building with construction toys, climbing, balancing, swinging, and mastering wheel toys.
Social growth:
Social skills, the most important foundation for school success, are built under the guidance of loving adults through conflict resolution, turn-taking, learning to hear others’ needs and perspectives, helping others, learning to be the “expert” and the “beginner”, to seek and receive help. Children learn strategies for joining in, and welcoming others, as they develop friendships and learn to work and play together.
Emotional growth:
Self-esteem and self-confidence are built as children are lovingly supported in waiting for turns, accepting disappointments, expressing feelings appropriately, trying new things, learning strategies to take risks and to handle strong emotions in themselves and others.
3 Day Class is for parents, too!
Sunnymont-Westside 3 Day Parents come to school with their children one day each week to work as a teacher’s aide alongside our experienced teacher. Evening parents’ classes help parents learn about their children’s development and learn techniques for guiding their children’s development at home and at school. Families gain by belonging to a strong, multi-cultural community of like-minded parents who share knowledge and support with each other.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A 3 DAY FAMILY
In our 3 Day Class, with a standard class size of 18 children, we generally have approximately 6 working parents in the classroom.
Parents work one day a week, and can choose to drop off their child on the other days if both child and parent are ready to do so. Once the workday schedule is assigned at the beginning of the year, parents work on the same day each week, with the flexibility to swap with other families to cover sick days, traveling, etc. Parents also sign up for an additional few days throughout the year as “emergency substitutes”.
When you arrive on your assigned workday, you will grab a work-card with detailed written instructions for your area including setup, activity time, cleanup, and other details. When you are working in the classroom, you will be working with the children that come to visit you, which may be the art table, cooking experience, blocks/dramatic play area, motor area, outdoors, or special project! This give you a chance to interact with all the children in the classroom, in addition to your own. You may find that your child will want you to follow you around while they explore, and gently reminding them that today is your workday, and you are working in the classroom and helping the teacher helps them understand. This small separation will give your child a chance to bond with other adults while playing, and making connections with their classmates. Depending on their interests, some days you may see your child a lot, and other days you might not see them at all!
Being part of a co-op preschool means you are ready to engage with all the children and contribute to the school. Our school’s only paid employees are the teachers and a director’s assistant. That means everything you see and love about Sunnymont-Westside is done by the families at our school - from the moment you contact us for a tour, enrollment process, tidy and well-organized classroom, and well-maintained outdoor play area.
There is a Parents’ Aide Training evening meeting once a month with your teacher. The parents themselves are the teachers’ aides on their workdays, so these meetings are important for parents to understand their role, and help us support the children’s curiosity, emotional growth, social learning. It is also a great opportunity to connect with other parents, and to discuss any classroom issues.
Each family holds a “job” to help the school run smoothly. At a co-op school, the parents own and literally run the school, so each family either holds a job, or pays a monthly job buy-out fee, which is used to pay for getting the job done. Some of the jobs require work evenly spread throughout the year, and others are seasonally intensive, with down time between tasks.
For example, some parents serve on the school board, others make play dough, do laundry, repair toys, make library trips, help care for school pets, or help organize fundraising events. Families will receive a questionnaire in their enrollment packet where they can share their their preferences and skills, and the jobs coordinator helps find an appropriate job for each family (or if you’re buying out of this participation requirement).
As part of their contribution to our cooperatively-run school, each family helps with maintenance of our school.
Each family assists at one Maintenance Work Party each year, where adults from several families come together to work on large projects, repairs, and so on. This is for adults only.
Each family also comes in once over a weekend to do routine clean up of our school. Families can come anytime during the weekend, and do the clean up chores on one of the worksheets left for them in the Weekend Clean Up binder. On your weekend shift, the clean up can be completed any time between Friday 2 PM and Sunday 6 PM of that weekend. You may bring your children with you, however, please ensure you tidy/clean up everything they have played with (kids may not play in the 4 Day Classroom).
Every family also helps to support school fundraising efforts by:
Make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to the school’s annual fund, and to participate in fundraising programs as works best for them.
In addition, each family is responsible for a 4 hour shift at a community event (fundraising, marketing, or social) during the year. With the exception of the silent auction (adults only!), all community events are family friendly and your child is welcome to attend with another adult (spouse, grandparents, etc!) so that the whole family can have fun!
Everyone’s efforts, big and small, helps the school and our community thrive! When you join Sunnymont-Westside, you will find a community of like-minded families, dedicated to creating an inviting and supportive preschool environment for all of our children.