Pre-K and Kindergarten in Decatur
Smarties Academy offers childcare as a group learning environment for children ages six weeks to five years of age. Our infant/toddler rooms are designed to be warm, safe, and secure. Teachers feed, rock, hold, and play with infants on demand so that the babies receive the attention and stimulation they need. We have very low teacher-child ratios, which enable us to provide this kind of care.
For preschool aged children, our classrooms are interactive and have a variety or workstations to encourage the development of different types of skills and promote a variety of leaning approaches. With all programs (infants and toddlers through Kindergarten), Smarties Academy uses the Creative Curriculum, which has themes where children explore various concepts and ideas and gradually repeat them.
Children ages 6 weeks through 4 years receive full Spanish language immersion. All activities are in Spanish, rather than teaching Spanish as a separate subject.
Outdoor play is also critical for all children. We make sure that outside play it is not just free time. The outdoors is a continuation of our classroom and there is so much to see and learn! At Smarties, we strive to create an environment that is engaging and helps each individual child reach their developmental milestones through age-appropriate curriculum and activities.
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The Pre-K Program prepares children for Kindergarten
The Pre-K Program builds on the skills developed during the preschool year. The classroom retains the same design elements, but the activities and work stations are organized to help prepare children for Kindergarten. There is an additional emphasis on independent learning.
Children receive their instruction in Spanish and practice an early reading program in both English and Spanish. They continue to build on the phonetics foundation laid in the preschool program, and children are encouraged to learn and master new vocabulary and other pre-reading skills. Based on each child’s readiness, they are encouraged to read and to learn to write what they are reading. Children engage in activities where they are taught to understand one-to-one correspondence, tallies, and the basis of addition and subtraction.
In socialization, children learn more about who they are and their place in world. Many preschool programs focus on academic readiness, but Smarties Academy places equal emphasis on developing the child as a whole and ensuring that they are happy, confident people who can work together as part of a community.
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The Kindergarten Program encourages critical thinking
The Kindergarten Program is a Dual Language Immersion set up: English every other day and Spanish every other day -- in ALL subject areas. This is to continue the language component learned here at Smarties.
We use the Creative Curriculum for Kindergarten. This is a continuation of the curriculum we currently use at Smarties for younger-aged children. The Creative Curriculum is a “research-based, whole-child-focused approach to project-based learning. Through investigations of science and social studies topics that integrate literacy and mathematics, teachers can encourage children to think critically, problem solve, and connect ideas.” This curriculum is in line with the Common Core and Georgia Early Learning Standards.
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Learn more about Smarties Academy
Smarties Academy is a full-time, year-round group learning environment for children ages six weeks to five years of age. Smarties Teachers are native Spanish speakers and most are from various Latin-American countries. We also have families from various ethnic backgrounds. The culture and traditions of families and teachers is celebrated in many ways throughout the year. If you would like additional information, you can contact our staff.
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