The relaxed and friendly atmosphere is structured enough to offer security, but open enough to foster creativity and independence. This is where children develop healthy personalities, self-direction, inner control and gain satisfaction from expressing their own ideas, completing tasks, and learning to care for and about others.
The Erdman Preschool’s purpose is to provide an enriching and creative educational experience for young children. The school is open to all three, four and five year old children in Scituate and neighboring communities. We welcome children of varied abilities, needs and backgrounds because we believe children learn so much from each other.
The daily routine includes active outdoor play to develop large muscles; a meeting time with stories, discussions and singing; a snack time for socializing and trying new foods; small group lessons full of discovery and exploration through art, science, nature and math to develop thinking skills; and, most importantly, a choice time when children decide where they wish to work and play. Choices open to the children include a woodworking bench with real tools, a dramatic play area with enticing dress-ups and props, easels, puzzles, manipulative materials, blocks, games, nature study, library, water or sand table, clay and an art center.
We believe that children feel best about themselves when they develop new skills and learn to do as much for themselves as possible. The teachers are always alert to promote self-help skills and self-sufficiency. The children are taught to use materials and tools in a respectful and responsible manner so that they can choose them independently.
Children are natural artists. They exhibit the same qualities of inventiveness, creativity, originality and discovery that belong to all adult artists whether they are designers, architects, painters, sculptors, etc. What better place to nurture this natural talent could there be than in the preschool classroom? Here the children’s own creativity and playfulness is the focus of our art program.
The art produced by the children reflects their own interests, ideas, discoveries and inventions. The same energy used in make-believe, dramatic play, block-building, dressing-up, helping to cook at home, playing in the bathtub etc… is what inspires the creations at the woodworking bench, the easel, the clay table and the art center. No adult-controlled “art” project can ever build an appreciation for the uniqueness of each child. Teacher-made patterns and mass produced copy-cat projects undermine a child’s sense of worth, encourage dependency, and soon lead children to believe that they are not good in art.
At the Erdman Preschool children develop healthful personalities, self-direction and inner controls. They gain satisfaction from expressing their own ideas, completing tasks and learning to care for and about others
330 First Parish Road Scituate, MA 02066 781-545-9309
