Mighty Oaks is currently accepting applications for our summer sessions (offered week by week) and for the 2013-14 school year. Limited spaces are available. Contact us to schedule an informational tour! Visit our website at www.mightyoakspreschool.com or check us out on facebook at:www.facebook.com/mightyoakspreschool
- We offer 2, 3, or 5 day options in the AM (9-12:30)
- We offer 2 or 4 day options in the PM (1-4)
- 6:1 student/teacher ratio
“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”-Montessori
Mighty Oaks is an Eco-Healthy Certified preschool in Grant Park that offers a play and discovery based curriculum in a warm, nurturing learning environment. At Mighty Oaks, children will engage in a student-interest led, play-based curriculum which encourages creativity, independence, and problem solving skills while incorporating academic skills. The curricular inspiration comes from a variety of constructivist theorists including Maria Montessori and John Dewey. We believe that children learn best by doing and experiencing life first-hand. At Mighty Oaks students have the opportunity to create art, engage in dramatic play, get dirty, get inspired, discover favorite books, explore, learn, laugh, and grow together. Children also have the opportunity to explore their natural environment on our nature walks, while digging in the organic garden beds, and while interacting with the school’s three chickens, Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose. Academic skills are incorporated into our play-based activities to promote kindergarten readiness. Mighty Oaks’ Director, Brittany Smith, is a licensed teacher with nearly a decade of experience working with young children, as well as a Masters in Teaching Early Childhood and Elementary Education.
“…what most develops a feeling of nature is the cultivation of the living things, because they by their natural development give back far more than they receive, and show something like infinity in their beauty and variety.” -Montessori
Baba Dioum said, “In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.” The more children learn about the delicate eco-system, of which we are all an integral part, the more enthusiastically they will advocate for protecting it for the future. That love of nature should begin locally, right in their own backyards and classrooms. At Mighty Oaks we spend a great deal of time exploring our outdoor environment. We dig in dirt, cultivate gardens, tend to chickens, search for bugs, peer through microscopes, and simply take in the beauty of nature around us using our senses. We look forward to the opportunity to nurture the seeds of ecological awareness in our students.
At Mighty Oaks Preschool we feel a predictable schedule helps children to feel secure in their environment. Our daily rhythm is a guide so that we can provide the stability of a schedule while still maintaining the flexibility necessary for our play and discovery-based curriculum to thrive. While we strive to follow this rhythm, we do make allowances to best meet the needs and interests of the students. Our rhythm is as follows: Arrival and greeting, Thematic work activities: During this time we engage in actives to further explore our student-interest led theme including: dramatic play, creative art, stories, music, sensory trays, building, science experiments, etc, Tea time (snack): A healthy, organic snack will be offered. At Mighty Oaks we believe in the social importance of family style dining and will serve snacks as such. Children may have the opportunity to help prepare parts of the meal. (Allergy sensitive: gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian options available), Outdoor exploration*: During this time children will have the opportunity to explore nature in a child friendly environment. Our outdoor classroom provides plenty of inspiration for dramatic play as well as space for little scientists to learn and grow. Lunch (AM only): At this time we ask for parents to provide a healthy lunch for their child. Children may have the opportunity to help prepare additional parts of the meal. (Allergy sensitive: gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian options available) Goodbye circle: In the goodbye circle we calm our bodies while reflecting and sharing about our days
