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"I believe the most important thing in a preschool for gifted children is a focus on social development. Challenging them is important, but it doesn't matter how high they can count if they can't get along with the other kids." - Parent of a Bellevue School District gifted student
| OUR TEACHING PHILOSOPHY - Young children learn through play.
- Children construct their own understanding of our world.
- Children need to feel physically and emotionally safe to be able to learn.
- All children deserve to have a nurturing, joy-filled preschool experience that supports their innate desire to learn.
- Gifted preschool education includes three forms of enrichment: a broad introduction to our world, an individualized focus on appropriate academic skills, and support for self-directed learning.
A note from a 2007-2008 Bellevue Discovery Preschool parent: "Bellevue Discovery Preschool is fantastic. Our son has been challenged intellectually, nurtured emotionally, and guided appropriately in his social development - all by teachers who understand and appreciate his unique strengths and challenges. The BDP teachers bring an energy and creativity to their program that is priceless. Our child absolutely delights in attending Bellevue Discovery Preschool, and as a parent, nothing makes me happier!" 2008-2009 CLASS Teacher-Child Ratio of 1:4 We have one master teacher for every four children. In addition, we have a part-time teaching assistant. During small group activities we have a 1:3 teacher-child ratio, and our reading instruction is one-on-one. All of our master teachers have their Master's Degrees, and training and experience in both early childhood development and gifted education. Days and Times Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., with a September through June academic year. Ages Our multi-age class serves children ages three to five. Children must turn three before September 1, 2008, and may not turn six before June 1, 2009. Preschoolers at Bellevue Discovery are not required to be fully potty-trained; they are welcome to wear pull-ups. 2008-2009 Tuition Our monthly tuition is $850, with a September through June academic year. There is no volunteer requirement at Bellevue Discovery Preschool, although parent volunteers are welcome! Class Size 12 children Our 2007-2008 Pre-Kindergarteners We had seven pre-kindergarten children during the 2007-2008 school year. Their families are excited that they will be moving on to the following schools: Chestnut Hill Academy (1 child) Open Window School (2 children) Puesta del Sol (Bellevue School District's Spanish immersion program - 1 child) Seattle Country Day School (1 child), and UCDS (1 child) Congratulations to a wonderful class!
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DAILY SCHEDULE Our daily schedule is flexible to accomodate emergent learning and special events. Our curriculum includes the three parts of gifted education: general enrichment, individualized basic skills development, and inquiry-based project learning. Choice Time (around 45 minutes) Choice time, part of our general enrichment curriculum, is an opportunity for children to explore teacher-created learning centers. Some centers, such as blocks, dramatic play, the painting easel, and the touch table, will be permanent (although the specific materials will change to challenge children with new experiences), while other centers will be designed to provide enrichment in language, math, science, art, construction, imagination, and sensory experiences. All of the centers are hands-on, allowing emergent learning to occur through games, manipulatives, experiments, and creative construction. Some children are more self-directed, and they will move freely among activities as their interests lead them; other children will prefer more teacher support in exploring new areas. Choice time provides teachers with an opportunity to observe and assess children's abilities and interests - you'll see us walking around with clipboards taking notes during this time, as well as interacting with the children. Teacher-Directed Activities (around 15 minutes, rotating through all three classes each day) Math: hands-on games and open-ended activities exploring patterns, number awareness, geometry, measurement, and graphing. Language: small group reading, storytelling, work with sounds and letters, journaling (with words and drawings), and dictating stories to teachers. During most weeks, each child also meets one-on-one with a teacher for direct reading instruction, individualized to the child's level. Kindergarten Readiness: fine motor skills practice with drawing and writing, along with teacher-directed listening activities to prepare children for kindergarten
Project Time (45 minutes to an hour) Project Time is when true gifted education comes into play. Teachers support child-directed investigations in which both the process and the final product are valued. Project topics, which frequently revolve around science, are based on emerging interests in the classroom, and may be explored by individuals, small groups, or the whole class. Projects may last for several days, weeks, or even months, depending on the children's discoveries. Basic skills (including research, language, math, and art) will be taught and assessed throughout the projects, and projects will be documented for parents to see and enjoy what their children are learning. Sharing Time (around 10 minutes) Sharing Time is important for social development and building community. At the beginning of the year, children meet in small groups with a teacher to share projects they are working on (including important things they have created at home), to listen, to ask questions, to express their ideas, and to learn how to participate in a group. As the year progresses, we move to larger groups and finally whole class sharing times, preparing children for "big kid school" sharing. Outdoor Time (around half an hour, depending on the weather) Children will have free time to run, dig, explore nature, and play outside using a variety of equipment: tricycles, balls, gardening tools, and art supplies; and enjoying structures such as the slide, playhouse, logs, and mini-rock climbing hill. Teachers will supervise and interact with children as they play, as well as observe children's social, physical, and language development. Our wonderful play yard allows us to conduct science, art, and large movement teacher-directed activities outside on beautiful days. Snack Time and Lunch Time (15 to 30 minutes each) Children will eat their snacks (prepared by the class) and lunches (brought from home) together while a teacher, or parent volunteer, reads a story. Snack and lunch times are also a wonderful opportunity for teachers to listen and talk with children, and gently encourage mealtime manners. Thursday Sing-Along (30 minutes) Families are welcome to join us on Thursday afternoons when we bring out the keyboard, guitar, and children's instruments to enjoy a lively sing-along.
OUR TEACHERS Qualifications All Master Teachers at Bellevue Discovery Preschool have their teaching credentials and have been certified by the state of Washington. They have training and experience in early childhood development, gifted education, and elementary education, and all have taught or interned at preschool, primary, and intermediate/middle school levels. Our teachers enjoy working with young children who are curious and active, who learn quickly and feel deeply, and who think about the world differently from other children their age. We have a high tolerance for the organized chaos of a classroom where bright children are free to explore and create as they pursue their own interests at their own pace. On-Going Teacher Training All of our teachers receive initial and continuing training in working with highly capable preschoolers. This training focuses on: - Health and safety policies and emergency procedures
- The intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of young gifted learners
- Normal childhood development and classroom discipline
- Curriculum development, and
- Student observation and assessment
Teacher Bios Ren Cedar Fuller, B.S., M.A. I started teaching preschool the summer when I was nine, working two days a week at my youngest sister's preschool as a "helper." I loved working with preschoolers, and by the second week was assigned a small group of children to teach on my own. When the preschool aide quit half-way through the summer, they didn't hire a new aide until I left for fourth grade in the fall. I've been told that my childhood dream was "to have 100 children." (I've assured my husband that refers to teaching!) I did a high school internship in early childhood education, and worked in a Montessori preschool in college. After a stint in the business world (interspersed with studying ethics for my Master's degree), I became an elementary school teacher. I have taught preschool through grade six in California, Oregon, and Washington. I have worked with gifted, special education, behavior disorder, English as a Second Language, and wonderfully average students in multi-age and multi-ability public school classrooms, BCC preschools, and independent preschools. I have my Certificate in Early Childhood Education, and have completed graduate coursework in Gifted Education. (I was part-way through my Master's program in gifted education when my advisor told me to stop talking about the gifted preschool I wanted to open and just do it.) My eight-year-old daughter, who attends a local independent school for gifted children, will not follow me into teaching: she's going to be an astropaleontologist. I am a member of: National Association for Gifted Children, Early Childhood Division (NAGC) National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Washington Association for the Education of the Talented and Gifted (WAETAG) Jan Ellichman, B.S., M.A.
After growing up in Ecuador and going to college at the University of Minnesota, I began teaching gifted students in 1958 - just after the launch of Sputnik created a focus on gifted children in this country. I have taught preschoolers through adults in California, Tennessee, and Washington. I have taught Spanish, English as a Second Language (E.S.L.), and literacy at all levels, as well as high school English. I earned my Masters in Education at age 56, and am continuing to take early childhood coursework in my seventies! One of my favorite parts of working with preschoolers is my one-on-one "Reading with Grandma Jan" time.
I raised four gifted daughters (always believing their hearts were as important as their minds), and am now a devoted grandmother to my three grandchildren. I love to read, be with friends, play the piano, volunteer as an E.S.L. tutor, and be outdoors. All the children I teach and love call me "Grandma Jan." Sinclair Sawhney, B.A., M.A.
Although I tried to deny it for a few years after college by becoming a business journalist, education was in my blood. With both my parents and grandparents as educators, no one blinked when at age six I transformed half of our garage into a classroom and began "tutoring" neighborhood children on the finer points of reading, poetry, and addition. I realized I needed a classroom of my own when, after college, I became more enamored of teaching writing workshops to freelance journalists and school children than I was of my real job: editing five business magazines.
After completing my teaching program at the University of California, Irvine, I moved to the Northwest and taught in the Edmonds and Bellevue school districts for seven years, specializing in innovative curriculum for excelling (gifted) and honors students, as well as curriculum design and articulation. I hold a Masters from the University of Washington in Education, specializing in curriculum design, and am now immersed in my early childhood education and gifted child studies. When I surface for air, I love to take nature walks with my children and practice my round-robin storytelling technique, as well as dream up new scenarios for a series of young adult novels I'm (slowly) working on (now that my children no longer take naps.) |
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