The PreK Program | Corlears School | Chelsea/West Village, NYC

Program Overview

PreK students are encouraged to participate in an active learning process — to ask questions, consider deeply, reflect mindfully, and contemplate the larger social world of shared experiences and opportunities.

Language, literacy, math, art, and science are woven throughout classroom investigations, learning experiences, and small- and large-group activities. The environment — inside the classroom, in our backyard, and in the neighborhood — is considered the "third teacher" as a provocation for inquiry, furthered understandings, and hands-on explorations are offered as extensions on themes and threads of inquiry.

The PreK classrooms invite an emergent curriculum, one that celebrates each individual child and what they can bring to the community of learners while also capturing student curiosity, prior knowledge, and cognitive skill sets rooted in and reflective of critical thinking, cultural awareness, representational thought, and causation.

The children’s intellectual and social development is enhanced through active experiences, which prepare them for Kindergarten readiness as they engage in meaningful learning rooted in hypothesizing, questioning, exploring, and problem-solving at the intersection of play and wonderment.

Corlears School's Early Childhood Philosophy

"Early childhood education is of utmost importance to the foundational construct of growth, learning, and achievement for the youngest of learners. Educational opportunities for the burgeoning child represent a critical cornerstone at which every encounter, engagement, and experience holds meaning and significance. Our youngest of children enter the world motivated by interest, emotion, and curiosity. Children are eager to engage — with others and the environment — to contemplate and consider, as well as to create and experiment. It is these same characteristics that manifest for the ever-inquisitive child as an abundance of knowledge, skill sets, attitudes, and responsiveness as they develop and prosper. This is the result of cultivating intentional, motivational, and meaningful learning activities where children can thrive, learn, and grow, which paves the pathway to lifelong achievement and educational success."

Colleen Goddard, Ph.D.Early Childhood Division Director

Experience ownership and responsibility of their classroom environment by taking care of themselves, their belongings and actively helping others.
Bring a sense of self, family and culture into the thriving community of active learners by sharing their family books, portraits, home stories, and explorations and expressions of their social-cultural and familial values, beliefs and considerations.

Engage in social studies that encompass neighborhood walks and field trips that support and celebrate the larger, social world of shared experiences.
Explore, examine, consider, and contemplate wonderings and curiosities related to pre-academic skill sets rooted in language and literacy, mathematical thought and thinking and scientific concepts as well as cross-cultural approaches to learning. These learning experiences are evident in studying the lifecycle and habitat of a beetle, map-making from a peripheral and bird's-eye view which supports perspective-taking both from a primary initial lens and also as a comparative differential viewpoint. In addition, home, land and neighborhood studies are also observable in the PreK classroom.

PreK student having a blast learning about food -crop

Engage in expressing new understandings and appreciations in art, music and movement, while developing broader understandings rooted in cognition, perception and imagination.
Form an appreciation of technology as a tool for connection and engagement, influence, and inspiration.
Prepare for Kindergarten, ready to engage in an expansion of knowledge, relationships, and skills sets.

Aligned with New York State Standards

The early childhood educators at Corlears School foster growth in key developmental domains through sensory-rich activities, thoughtfully designed classroom stations, and child-led exploration. Aligned with New York State-recognized standards in early childhood development, the PreK curriculum promotes:

Approaches to Learning How children become involved in learning and acquiring knowledge.

Physical Development and Health Children’s physical health and ability to engage in daily activities, both outdoors and inside.

Social and Emotional Learning The emotional competence and ability to form positive relationships that give meaning to children’s experiences in the home, school, and larger community.