VPK

 

Innovative VPK Program,
A High Quality Early Childhood Education

VPK

The Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or VPK is a free prekindergarten program for 4 and 5 years olds living in Florida. Children must be 4 years of age on or before September 1 to be considered for the program.

 

VPK Enrollment:

Parents can enroll their child in the state’s free, voluntary prekindergarten or VPK Education Program the same year their child turns 4 years of age which must be before September 1 of that year or they may choose to wait until the next year when their child is already 5.

 

Required Documentation to Enroll your Child in VPK:

• Proof of children’s age (birth certificate)
• Proof of residence (electric bill, telephone bill, cable bill or any other form of residence proof.)
• Parent’s picture ID

 

Our VPK Program:

Our preschool learning program is designed to prepare your child academically and socially for kindergarten.  Our joyful, nurturing and creative learning experiences focus on the whole child and or provide opportunities for him/her to develop socially, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and physically through hands on tasks and a creative variety of experiences in all areas of learning development.  You child is guaranteed to be loved, guided, and encouraged to work at his/her own level of development to reach his/her maximum potential.

 

Enrichment:                                                                                                

Our VPK program is enhanced with Library time, cooking activities, outdoor play, fieldtrips, special parties and programs in collaboration with the Police Department, Fire Department, and other valuable departments of our community. Specialty teachers also provide art, music: guitar/piano, ballet, language: Spanish/French, and physical education.

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is provided through teacher-directed and child-directed activities promoting individual, small, and large group participation.  The Learning Centers promote skills and concepts development in preparation for elementary school while encouraging problem solving and self-discovery. Our Learning Centers allow your child to explore the world while learning to listen, follow directions, take turns, share, and play cooperatively.  Our eight Learning Centers include Art Center, Block Center, Dramatic Play Center, Math Center, Music and Movement Center, Science center, Reading Center, and Writing Center.

Our VPK program ends with a visit to a real elementary classroom where the child will have the opportunity to participate, experience and prepare for his/her new adventure in Kindergarten.

Our Curriculum

Our highly qualified teachers use the Creative Curriculum and Starfall lessons to develop children’s own interests and immerse them in the joys of discovery.

The Creative Curriculum is a comprehensive, research-based curriculum that features exploration and discovery as a way of learning.

Starfall is an educational system that provides interactive content to help your child with the fundamentals of learning: reading, basic math, shapes, and phonics. The site is broken up into four main sections–ABC, Learn to Read, It’s Fun to Read, and I’m Reading-with each addressing different stages of learning development. The site uses animation and sound to engage children in the learning process.

 

Smart Boards

Smart boards are an essential tool in our classroom transforming a typical environment into a fun learning environment.  All our VPK classroom are equipped with smart boards.  Smart boards are an amazing and interactive technology that not only enhances the way teachers teach, but it also enhances the way students learn. Smart Boards provides students with an enriched learning experience by projecting visual elements. The touchscreen option allows teachers to run programs with the tap of their finger.  It makes it not only easy to navigate for the teacher, but also for the students as well.

Studies have shown that using smart technology in the classroom has proven success rates; it rises test scores, improves student learning, enhances literacy, boosts attentiveness, and increases comprehension.

 

FLKRS or Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener

FLKRS is a screening instrument administer to all kindergarten students within the first 30 days of each school year. The FLKRS results provide information about children’s readiness for school, help teacher prepare appropriate lesson plans to meet each child’s individual needs, offer useful information to parents and serve as an indication of the kindergarten readiness rates for the VPK programs.

We successfully prepared our children to excel on the statewide kindergarten readiness tests by motivating the children to think, create, reason, and recreate as they engage in the learning process.  Language Scaffolding is incorporated into activities to enhance language and vocabulary development. Our VPK follows the Dade County Public School Calendar and it is offered during the regular school year and during the summer.

 

APPLE Accreditation

Our center is accredited by APPLE or (Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment. APPLE is one of the larges accrediting agency for early learning centers.  In Florida APPLE is recognized and accepted as one of Florida’s Gold Seal Quality Care programs.