Preschool
Hilltop has seven full-day Preschool rooms for children 3 to 5 years of age:
- Chipmunk Room (3-4 years)
- Salamander Room (3-4 years)
- Sunflower Room (3-4 years)
- Dragonfly Room (4-5 years)
- Prairie Dog Room (4-5 years)
- Meadowlark Room (4-5 years)
- Cottontail Room (4-5 years)
These rooms are designed to offer a stimulating learning environment in preparation for school, while maintaining a play-based approach with developmentally appropriate activities. Each classroom is staffed with two full-time Teachers, as well as several part-time aides throughout the day. The teachers plan engaging projects and use innovative ideas that address the diverse needs of each group and promote creativity and exploration. The older Preschool rooms (Dragonflies, Prairie Dogs, Meadowlarks and Sunflowers) have a more pronounced emphasis on Handwriting, Pre-Reading and Pre-Math skills as they approach the transition to kindergarten.
Children in all of the preschool rooms experience a well-rounded curriculum that draws from many areas of development, including:
- Language and Memory
- Large and Small Motor Skills
- Dramatic Play
- Art and Sensory
- Health and Safety
- Music
- Pre-Literacy
- Pre-Math
- Pre-Science
They continue to build on the foundation of self-help skills, independence and social development. There is a balance of child-initiated vs. teacher-directed activities, and children have many chances to participate individually, in small groups or as a large class. Children begin to make more complex choices in the Preschool classrooms, providing them experience in controlling their own activities.
To enter a Preschool room, children must be at least 3 years old by Aug. 1 of the school year in which they begin and must be toilet trained. Ratio is 1 adult per 10 children with a total of 20 children per room.
