Ann's Preschool and Kindergarten

Ann's Preschool and Kindergarten updated their information in their About section.

Ann's Preschool and Kindergarten updated their information in their About section.

**Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic we are not able to schedule in-person tours at this time. We are happy to offer you a virtual tour via FaceTime or Zoom if you'd like.**

Tours of the preschool are scheduled by the director Monday-Friday mornings from 9:30 am-11 am and Monday-Thursday afternoons from 3:30 pm-5 pm. Please call or fill out the online contact form on our website to schedule a tour.

We are actively monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and the health and safety for everyone is our top priority. While we remain open, staff will continue to be diligent in cleaning, disinfecting and practicing thorough and frequent hand washing.

The following measures have been put into place in an attempt to ensure the safety of all concerned.

*Parents are asked to sign in and leave children at the front door. There will be a clean pen for each parent and lunch boxes and backpacks will be sanitized.

*All staff and children will have their temperature taken upon arrival.

*All children and staff will wash their hands upon arrival as well as frequently throughout the day.

*All staff and parents are required to wear a face mask while inside the building.

Any person who meets any of the following criteria will be denied entry for 14 days or until the person provides medical verification of a negative COVID-19 test.

*A temperature of 100.4 degrees or above;

*Signs or symptoms of respiratory infection, such as cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, and low-grade fever;

*In the previous 14 days has had contact with someone with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 or is ill with a respiratory illness.

We had a new air conditioning unit including all new duct work installed in July 2019. The unit has an excellent filtration system and filters are changed frequently.

Ann's Preschool and Kindergarten updated their website address.

Ann's Preschool and Kindergarten updated their website address.

We currently still have some spaces in our 2+ year old class as well as our 3 year old class for the 2020-2021 School Year. We are beginning the School Year on August 17th. We do not currently have any spaces available for VPK or Kindergarten.

We are currently enrolling for the 2019-2020 school year! We have only a few VPK spots left! Call now to book a tour and become part of our family!

Ann's Preschool and Kindergarten updated their business hours.

Ann's Preschool and Kindergarten updated their business hours.

We have a great summer readiness program and summer spots are filling up quickly. Call 850-386-5827 to schedule your tour today!

We are currently accepting new children for the summer and fall of 2018. Please call 850-386-5827 to schedule a tour!

Experts agree that those children who enter into a high-quality early childhood program, such as full day kindergarten, are able to develop superior skills in communication, numbers, problem-solving, reading, and socialization in future grades and through their entire education.

In preschool, children learn to raise their hands, take turns, and share the teacher’s attention. What’s more, they learn to separate from parents who often stay at other sorts of programs like gymnastics or music classes. All of these things make for an easier transition to kindergarten.

Kindergarten students who attend full day class tend to get over shyness, attachment issues, and other challenges faster than students who attend half-day classes. This is because they have more time to adjust to their new environment.

Full day kindergarten is cost-effective in the long run for schools, parents, and children. Lower retention rates, higher grades, and fewer drop-outs help build a stronger community with less crime and social delinquency.

When you see your child every day, it can be difficult to gauge how mature he or she is without any outside frame of reference. Once your child begins kindergarten, you may discover that your child begins to mature in ways you didn’t know were lacking as he or she develops his or her social skills.

What should you expect in preschool? While curriculums differ around the country, your child will be exposed to numbers, letters, and shapes. Above and beyond that, he or she also will learn how to get along with other kids and how to respond appropriately to teachers in a classroom setting.

One recent study showed that lower-income and minority students who attended a full day kindergarten not only performed better on academic tests, but also saved their school districts millions of dollars as a result of reduced grade retention. This was especially noticeable in grades first through third.

The trick to getting your child ready for preschool is to help them adjust in short doses. Start with just a half day and see how they handle it. As they get more used to their environment, you can gradually work up to a full day.

One of the greatest advantages offered in preschool is the introduction to the classroom setting and the rules and protocols of a classroom education. Kids who take music or art classes don't learn how to raise their hands for their turn with the teacher or how to share with other students.

Teacher Elizabeth Harrison was largely responsible for the spread of early childhood education across the United States in the late nineteenth century. She believed it was important to teach children the connectedness of all things in hopes of building a better society.

Preschool teachers are sneaky! Preschoolers are not ready to be "taught". Their "work" at this age is to learn through play. Through reading, games, songs, and dramatic play teachers are able to lay the fundamental foundation for reading, writing, and math.

Certain practical realities help determine whether or not children are ready for preschool. For example, many schools require them to be toilet-trained and most expect them to manage with only one nap a day, usually following lunch.

Your child’s social development is just as important as their academic development during the preschool years. A child that can’t get along with other kids or is unable to share or be patient will struggle in kindergarten. Social skills are a point of focus in preschool.

The best way to ensure that your child gets the most out of preschool is to partner with his or her teacher to ensure that what is being taught in school is being reinforced at home. Your child’s teacher will be able to tell you what behaviors and academic skills could benefit from home reinforcement.

Binney & Smith Company released the first Crayola crayons in 1903. The original set only included eight colors. Today, Crayola produces over 120 varieties of crayon, the most recent of which were added in 2003 for its100th anniversary.

Studies have shown that children learn best by doing the types of activities they find interesting. This is why play, storytelling, and music play such an important role in a preschool education curriculum.

In the early 1960s, preschool, particularly for low income families, was virtually unknown. Only 10 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in a school setting in the early part of the decade. That changed with the creation in 1965 of Head Start, a federally-funded preschool program.

Studies show that the benefits of preschool extend beyond simply a more comfortable first year in kindergarten. Fourth graders in Michigan who were part of early childhood classes performed better on the literacy and math assessment exams mandate by the state than others without the early childhood educational exposure.

According to one study that looked at physical stress and fatigue in full day kindergarten students, parents who enrolled their children in full day kindergarten found that their kids experienced very little if any stress as a result of a full day. In fact, they found that, once their children got used to full day care, in most cases, they enjoyed it and preferred it to half day kindergarten.

It’s important to remember that preschool for even young children is about more than playing games and singing songs. These relatively simple activities lay the groundwork for more complicated educational concepts in the future.

Are you trying to make the first day of kindergarten stress-free for everyone involved? About one month before your child’s first day of full day kindergarten, start changing your daily routine by waking your child earlier and feeding him or her meals at the same time as the school’s meals are scheduled. This will help minimize any stress your child may feel being separated from you, especially if your child did not attend a pre-school program.

Allowing children to become involved in the arts provides them with the opportunity to develop meaningful academic skills and improved thinking skills. Children also have a better understanding of other cultures and different types of thinking, and are exposed to different styles of learning in full day kindergarten.

An important part of any preschool curriculum is the strengthening of socialization skills. This includes everything from how to share and compromise to how to be respectful of others and how to problem solve effectively.

If your child tends to be more of a free spirit who dislikes structured activities, the transition to kindergarten could be difficult. Rest assured that our preschool program can help your child get used to the structure of school while still providing ample time for play.