Community Update

I was looking for a 2 year old program and have found through past experience (with my older child) that the best way to determine how good a fit the school will be is to observe the classroom (the teacher, assistant, their interactions with the children, the activities, etc). I had observed 9 preschools before finding Little Sprouts by the Sea Preschool! I was shocked to see all that was lacking. What was being offered was either "playgroups" (majority of time was free play), including little to no structure/circle time (saying the children need to learn social skills, with which I agree, but certainly not for the majority of the time), too much structure/circle time (where children had to sit patiently waiting while each 1 individually washed their hands until their turn was up for snack time), or worst of all, either the teacher or assistant was moody & lacked any enthusiasm/ happiness to be around the children (I wondered why anyone would choose this profession if they didn't absolutely love children!). I was beginning to give up hope. Then, finally, I was so relieved and thankful when I came upon Little Sprouts by the Sea Preschool! The 2 year old instructor, Ms Amy, has a degree in Special Ed. She completely understands how to effectively communicate with children to get their undivided attention, and knows how to get creative with her education. She also has a music background, & incorporates music in her lessons, getting the children to learn by having fun with music, singing, and dancing! She senses when the children are getting antsy and immediately incorporates movement in the lesson to exert their energy. She is enthusiastic and loves the children, and it is obvious that the children feel the same way! She uses expansive vocabulary with them, such as habitat and camouflage (brown bears are brown as the forest while polar bears are white as the arctic), and the children are receiving such a great education without even realizing they are getting anything but a fun and exciting day! My daughter always comes home with such beautiful and creative art projects, so worthy of being displayed, that I am running out of wall space! The school even offers the children a choice of snack, encouraging independence!! To top it all off, the director, Laura, has been exceptional. At first, I was considering putting my daughter in for only 1 of the 2 days of the week. Contrary to some other schools, Laura volunteered, without me having to even ask, that my tuition would be 50%, and even 1/2 of that for the month when we would take a 2 week vacation! This is all without me having to request it! Thank you Laura for being so wonderful and for having such an exceptional school with outstanding teachers!! There is NOTHING your school is missing and I see no area whatsoever which could need improvement!! There is even a large gym that the children use when they cannot use the outdoor playground, which has such toys as riding cars, shopping carts, indoor slide, etc, in addition to the playroom which has different toys such as a kitchen set, pretend food, vanity set, castle, car/train track, baby dolls with bassinet/crib, strollers, blocks, vehicles, puzzles, etc. Even the venue is great - it is two blocks from the water in Northport Village and parallel to the famous Main Street in Northport Village!! I can't wait till summer to enjoy taking fine walks by the water!! I loved it so much that soon after my daughter started, I put her in for both days! Thank you again Laura, especially for giving us a great way to give our children a strong foundation and building a love of learning!!!