The Starting Blocks Staff
Our staff is highly trained and excited to provide your child or children with a safe, nurturing environment full of learning experiences they will use throughout their life. It is important to our staff that your child be provided lots opportunities for exploration, fun, and social growth. We are excited to serve your family.
Tobaise Brookins
CEO
Hello! I am excited that you have stopped by the Starting Blocks Children's Academy website to find out about the exciting opportunities available to your family. Having been in field of education for over 17 years as a teacher, lead teacher, district trainer, social emotional programs developer, and site administrator, I know how important education is to every child. As a pastor, I also understand the spiritual needs that all children have and the value of providing children a safe and caring environment where they can flourish holistically....and did I mention FUN! At Starting Blocks Children's Academy we want our children to have fun while learning and exploring. From inside activities to outside play, our goal is to ensure all children have fun in structured and free-play.
Starting Blocks Children's Academy is more than a daycare center, it is an educational center founded on three key principles. The first principle is simple; all infants, toddlers, and children must be exposed to and taught key skills in a loving, nurturing environment to be prepared for further learning. Second, children that are exposed and taught key skills in Language Arts, Mathematics and Science in preschool, will excel throughout their educational journey and develop the intrinsic power for exploration and motivation. Lastly, children must be exposed to enrichment activities and technology during early development years in order to be equipped for global leadership.
Founded upon Christian values and best practices in infant and children's development, Starting Blocks Children's Academy is uniquely designed to ensure that your child have the experiences necessary to excel in tomorrows educational system and global market.
Developing our future now,
Tobaise Brookins
CEO
Ermelinda Perez
Director
Dear Parents,
WELCOME TO OUR SCHOOL!
We look forward to an exciting and rewarding year for all of our children and families. We thank you for choosing our program and entrusting your children to our care. As an early childhood educator, I understand that children love to learn, and we work diligently at encouraging them in their quest to gain knowledge, skills and a bright beginning for their first educational experiences.
Under the experienced guidance of devoted teachers, and staff, we will provide all children with a safe, nurturing, and secure learning environment. The right balance of learning, play, fun, guidance, and discovery-elements we believe are the starting blocks to a happy and healthy childhood.Our commitment to our families and children includes:
Quality care and education by knowledgeable staff
An environment built on trust and respect
Growth through observation, assessment and support
Staff-Parent Partnerships
Assistance for children with special needs
A diverse center that serves all economic levels, ethnic origins and family units
We encourage you to call or come visit us so that you can see firsthand the wonderful interactions and opportunities we provide for the children each day at Starting Blocks Children's Academy.
Sincerely,
Ermelinda Perez
Program Director
5 Reasons to Enroll Your Child into Preschool
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Preschool is an opportunity for growth
For many children, preschool is their first experience in a structured setting with teachers and groups of children. It’s an opportunity to learn to share, follow instructions, and begin the foundation for learning that will occur in elementary school.
2. Preschool prepares children for kindergarten As kindergarten becomes more academic, many parents look to preschool to launch their child on the path to success in school. At the same time, parents may worry that the current trend to focus on pre-math and pre-literacy skills in preschool cuts into important play time and pushes a child to grow up too fast. It’s a confusing issue,especially with friends and family offering different opinions and advice.
Fortunately, in selecting a preschool, parents aren’t forced to choose between protecting a child’s play time and making sure she’s ready for kindergarten. A high-quality early childhood education program will offer children both.
But how do high-quality preschools benefit children’s learning and development? And what features should parents look for in a preschool program? One answer to these questions is that the staff at high-quality preschools and child care programs understand the particular ways that young children develop and learn. And they organize space, time and activities to be in sync with children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical abilities.
3.Preschool promotes social and emotional development In order to learn, a young child needs to feel cared for and secure with a teacher or caregiver. A 3-year-old child is able to spend time away from parents and build trusting relationships with adults outside the family. High-quality preschool programs nurture warm relationships among children, teachers and parents. And teachers build a close personal connection with each child in their care.
Children thrive when there is consistency in care between home and school. In high-quality preschools, teachers value parents as the experts on their children. Parents get daily reports on their child’s activities and regular meetings are scheduled for more in-depth conferences with staff. Teachers strive to understand and respect parents’ child-rearing goals and values.
Young children learn social skills and emotional self-control in “real time.” Three- and 4-year-olds learn through their experiences and good teachers make time for those “teachable moments” when they can help children learn to manage frustrations or anger. They don’t automatically step in to resolve children’s conflicts for them; they have a well-honed sense of when to let children work out their own problems and when to intervene. Without shaming a child, they encourage her to notice the impact of her aggressive or hurtful behavior on another child.
4. The preschool environment is structured, although it may not appear that way
A highly structured environment helps young children learn to make friends and play well with others. This doesn’t mean there are lots of rules or that adults constantly direct children’s activities. On the contrary, the structure of a high-quality preschool classroom is largely invisible to children. Classroom space is organized to encourage social interaction, and minimize congestion and conflicts.
5. Children get to make choices
Children have several choices of activities; a child who is wandering aimlessly is encouraged to choose one that interests him. Teachers are alert to a child who can’t figure out how to enter other children’s play and may offer him suggestions on ways to join the group.
5. Preschool promotes language and cognitive skills Preschool-age children’s language skills are nurtured in a “language-rich” environment. Between the ages of 3 and 5, a child’s vocabulary grows from 900 to 2,500 words, and her sentences become longer and more complex. In a conversational manner, and without dominating the discussion, teachers help children stretch their language skills by asking thought-provoking questions and introducing new vocabulary during science, art, snack time, and other activities. Children have many opportunities to sing, talk about favorite read-aloud books, and act out stories.
A young child’s cognitive skills are strengthened by engaging in a wide range of hands-on activities that challenge her to observe closely, ask questions, test her ideas or solve a problem. However, teachers understand that preschool children are not logical in the adult sense of the word; their explanations of what makes a plant grow or why people get old, may not involve cause and effect. For example, “people get old because they have birthdays.” They may rely on their senses and “magical thinking” rather than on reason to explain why wood floats in water and rocks sink – “The rock likes to be on the bottom because it’s cooler.”