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Photo: Jonathan Gibbs Newly-opened Playground Prep held an open house last Saturday with a number of fun-filled activities for the children and information for adults looking for a place to send their pre-schoolers as well as those who need a place to go after school.Here, Tyler Tefft, 19 months old, takes a tractor for a spin with teacher Stephanie Booth. By JONATHAN GIBBS
There was everything there a child could want, from swings to slides to trucks to books to ice cream and cookies (lots and lots of cookies). There was everything a parent could want as well, attentive teachers, safety fences, alarm bells that dinged when a door was opened or closed, and books – plenty of books.
The ‘there’ was the Playground Prep, East Greenwich’s newest day care facility, which helped its introductory open house last Saturday on Division Road.
Surveying the parents trickling into the schoolyard accompanied by their parents, owner and managing partner Mike McMahon oversaw the affair and arranged tours of the gleaming new facility. With five classrooms, each of which is dedicated to a specific age group from infant to kindergartner, the staff of five teachers and a nurse, the school is open for business and has already enrolled 17 students. Capacity for the school. It has a capacity of 50 preschoolers, with plenty of room to accommodate children who need a place to go after elementary school has closed. “We’re open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and we have a number of payment options for half-days and full days,” says McMahon.
Director Barbara Weiss-Segala says one of the goals of the school is to help the children learn about self-esteem as well as picking up some of the all-important tools for learning. “Each day our infants’ and toddlers’ families will receive a written report on their child’s day,” she says, “What they ate, how they ate how they napped and what they learned and what activities. Our preschoolers will have a generic note telling about the stories they heard, the songs they sang and the projects they did.”
One of the school’s teachersadds that she has also wanted to work at a preschool, and she says her philosophy is to make learning fun. She says she an array of teaching techniques, but her basic approach is to make learning fun and enjoyable. “I have a lot of songs that I have them sing with me, for example,” she says. They think they’re singing a song, but they are really learning.”
Playground Prep can be reached ar 885-7529, and their Website is www.playgroundprep.com) |
