Preschool Overview
It’s important for young learners to have plenty of early learning experiences for them to build the skills they need, not only when entering school, but also later in life. Therefore, CCACC Academy makes it a priority to embed these 21st Century Skills within our daily schedule.
We offer a nurturing, modernized program with age appropriate content from a research-based curriculum for each year of development, alongside a Chinese language immersion component in day-to-day teaching. In addition to in-classroom learning, students are involved in a plethora of enriching weekly STEAM experiences throughout the facility. CCACC Academy currently has four preschool classrooms for each age of development.
Bilingual Program
In our bilingual program, children can become proficient in two languages simultaneously. This offers numerous benefits for children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. It promotes empathy, tolerance, and respect for diversity as children learn to understand and communicate with people from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Concrete Learning
Children need to experience their physical world in concrete ways to organize certain concepts, such as classification, quantity, comparison, and time. These concepts are not instinctive, they are learned. When children are six years of age and under, learning is largely tactile. Concrete and hands-on activities are essential to a child’s understanding of the world around them. It enhances their engagement with the physical world. Utilizing tools and activities lays the groundwork for abstract thinking, moving concrete and visual into abstract learning. Hands-on materials are designed to prepare the child for higher cognitive learning. When children work with their hands, they gain a concrete understanding of the materials and make neural connections.
Child Directed Education
CCACC preschool has adopted a child-directed curriculum inspired by Dr. Maria Montessori’s teaching philosophy. Dr. Montessori was one of the first female doctors in Italy. She was best known for her philosophy of education and her writing on scientific pedagogy. Her education philosophy and practice foster self-motivated growth for children and adolescents in all areas of their development, to nurture each child’s natural/innate desire for knowledge, understanding, and respect. Scientific research has proven that the young child from birth to age 6 experiences a period of intense mental activity that allows the child to learn from their environment without effort, naturally, and spontaneously. Magic is happening, children are like sponges, and they are absorbing whatever is happening around them.
Environment
At CCACC Preschool, we intentionally prepare the environment so each child can flourish and thrive naturally. The staff of CCACC Preschool is dedicated to a positive and supportive environment for children, their families, and themselves. Our faculty members understand their role in shaping the future by nurturing and providing a stimulating environment while emphasizing the importance of respect for all people. Focusing on the holistic development of each child, we encourage strong bonds and the development of a caring community between staff and our children’s families.
Curriculum
At CCACC Preschool, we cater to the needs of young children through a prepared environment that fosters cognitive, social, and emotional development. Our curriculum emphasizes spoken language, literacy, mathematics, self-help skills, physical and emotional development, science, geography, art, music, sensory, and global awareness. Teachers observe and support each child’s journey. An extended, uninterrupted work period and a well-maintained environment ensure a high-quality experience.
Our classrooms are prepared environments in which the children are encouraged to explore, discover, and select their work based on individual interests. This helps the child gain independence and confidence. Teachers are there to guide each child through the learning process. By using materials designed to meet their individual needs and pace, solid foundational concepts are learned step by step. Our classrooms are filled with an array of sequenced learning activities. Each lesson builds on the previous one and provides the learning necessary for the next. The materials are displayed on child-height open shelves. Each object has a specific place on the shelves, arranged from the upper left-hand corner in sequence to the lower right. The materials are arranged in sequence from the most simple to the most complex, and from the concrete to the abstract.
What makes us unique is our educational approach. Children are encouraged to learn by manipulating, feeling, and doing. Hands-on learning understands the need for plentiful concrete experiences before the mind is ready for abstract concepts. When children work with their hands, they gain a concrete understanding of the materials and make many more neural connections. Based on their concrete experiences, more abstract learning will naturally come.
“Hands are informational pipelines to our brain” – Dr. Steven Hughes
We invite you to visit and see the magic for yourself.
Our Calendar
Healthy, Nutritious Lunch Made with Great Care
At CCACC Academy Preschool, we provide healthy, nutritious lunch that CCACC Kitchen chefs especially made with great care for our students ages 2-5. If you go to our CCACC Academy YouTube channel, you will definitely enjoy watching this 2-minute interview done by our Principal Ms. Avery Wan with Mr. Dongxiang Zhang, the CCACC Kitchen Executive Chef.
USDA Nondiscrimination Statement
