History
Pine Tree Preschool has been serving the community for sixty years! We have been providing care and education to children for generations. Pine Tree Preschool is more than a childcare center in our community; it has provided children with a nurturing, home-like environment where children feel safe to learn and explore the world.
The school’s interior makes families feel as if they are at home as you see children watering the garden, parents talking, smiling faces, and the smell of a delicious meal being prepared in the school´s kitchen. Your child will feel welcome and safe in our school.
Philosophy
“Play is an active form of learning that unites the mind, body, and spirit.”
It is the intention of Pine Tree Preschool to provide a child-oriented, developmentally appropriate curriculum where children learn through play and exploration of their environment. These activities promote success for children, because they are geared to developmental stages and individual ability and interest. Our program supports the use of learning through experience for intellectual growth, cross-cultural awareness, social responsibility, as well as personal growth. Furthermore, our curriculum materials and furniture arrangement are designed to facilitate children’s construction of knowledge by encouraging them to explore, experiment, problem-solve, share ideas, and apply knowledge.
Mission
Pine Tree Program’s mission is to provide our community of children from diverse ethnic, linguistic, and economic backgrounds with developmentally and culturally appropriate quality care and academic preparation so that each child can have a happy, successful, and productive childhood.
Programs
Extracurricular Activities
Gardening
Children get a chance to cultivate vegetables, fruits, and herbs here at our center. Children get to clean the garden, plant, as well as harvest what they have planted. Gardening helps children to naturally calm themselves and reduce the stress they may experience in other environments or due to developmental challenges. It also helps promote exploration and discovery as well as increase physical activity. Above all, we want to establish early healthy patterns in the children we serve as these are determinants of later eating and physical habits.
Farm to Preschool Curriculum
As part of our effort to teach children healthy eating habits that will hopefully last a lifetime, we will be implementing the FARM TO PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM in all three age-groups. This curriculum is taught two to three times a week. It teaches children to make healthy food choices, prepare healthy snacks, and learn about the healthy properties of many vegetables, fruits, grains, and herbs. As part of the curriculum, we will carry out different activities such as field trips to the farm, farmer’s market, and continuing to grow our own garden here at Pine Tree.
Free Art
Free art is taught once a week. Children get a chance to express their creativity as well as thoughts and feelings through art activities.
Admission
We are open Monday thru Friday from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Procedure
Pine Tree Preschool strives to achieve diversity in its student body that reflects the community it serves. To this end, Pine Tree Preschool does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, language, disability, or cultural heritage.
1. We are open year-round and only closed on legal holidays and the last week of the calendar year.
2. Parents interested in enrolling their child (en) at Pine Tree Preschool for the first time should schedule an appointment for a tour and obtain an enrollment packet from the Director.
3. All immunizations required by California state law must be current, including TB testing.
4. After completing ALL forms, a second appointment will be set up with the Director to go over the enrollment packet and the Parent-Preschool Agreement.
5. Two play-dates are arranged prior to the child’s first day of attendance at Pine Tree. This ensures a proper transition for each child and allows us to make a final determination if we feel our program is suitable for the child and family. Families are also responsible for deciding whether Pine Tree Preschool will meet the needs of their child. After these play-dates are completed, the child’s parents and Director will sign the Enrollment Agreement and Parent Handbook (at which point enrollment will be considered complete).
Meals
A meal and snacks are at no additional charge. Here at Pine Tree Preschool, we pride ourselves on the variety of fresh and nutritious foods we offer to children. We have a full-time cook who prepares all the meals every single day. Many of our food products such as pasta, fruit, vegetables, jam, bread, and crackers are organic. We also provide other healthy food products such as brown rice, 1% or non-fat milk, 100% fruit juice (no sugar added), 100% whole wheat bread and pasta. We also do our very best to serve fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible. In addition, we incorporate the vegetables and herbs we grow in our garden.
Tuition
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Full Days
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Part Time
Gallery
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Request a tour and learn how we set our students into motion with a will to learn and a love for learning that will carry them into their grade school years and beyond.
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