Preschool Ages and Programs

Programs Offered

Our mission to “elevate humanity through learning with Dots” is visible in every classroom here at Dot To Dot. We understand and believe that each child has their own unique ideas, personalities, and perspectives. We also understand that children of all ages develop in their own way, we provide them with intentional classroom experiences that align with their inquiries. Below are the classroom names and age ranges of each classroom.

children
Seedlings is a mixed-age group classroom of 18 months - 30 months that we offer at our Carmel Valley location. The Seedlings are boundless in their discoveries, creations, and imagination. Our Seedlings are the first great researchers of Dot To Dot and explore the natural world around them with wonder and awe. Our Seedlings classroom is designed to provide endless opportunities for exploration of an environment that is multisensory, encourages and supports experimentation and investigation, contains open ended materials that promote curiosity and imagination all facilitated by educators that provide encouragement and further research into their inquiries. A focus on socialization, empathy, and self-expression are essential in this classroom to build relationships amongst other children through shared experiences and negotiated play
sprouts
The Sprouts, a group of 2 - 3 year olds, are exploring the world around them, and discovering their relationships to the world, materials, and people. Many children begin their journey at Dot To Dot in the Sprouts classroom, both the Seedlings and Sprouts are the foundation for the rest of the Dot’s learning journey. We engage in dialogue about mark making, relationships, exploring materials and boundaries, discovering different tools, self-expression, and social interactions. The Sprouts children begin developing their self-help skills, such as, taking care of oneself and belongings, introducing and understanding emotions, testing schemas, and immersion in everyday life and the natural world around them.
roots
Our Roots classroom, a group of 3 - 4 year olds, continues building on the strong foundational skills and research that is introduced in both Seedlings and Sprouts. While in the Roots, the children begin to strengthen and develop their social skills and relationships. A primary focus within the Roots is building a strong sense of voice and ability based on the children’s acquired skill sets. The languages that have begun developing in previous classrooms are further explored and tested by the children through deeper focus, longer periods of time, that can lead into short-term and long-term inquiries of research. Our Roots become aware and empathic problem solvers and collaborators. They grow in confidence of responsibility for themselves, peers, and Dot To Dot. They are competent researchers, hypothesizing with peers and educators. The Roots have developed the skills to communicate their feelings, address problems, and have the desire to find solutions that keep everyone in mind.

stem
As the last class the Dots enter prior to their transition to Kindergarten, the Stems children dive deeper into the skillsets they have been exposed to in all of their previous classrooms. The Stems have a focus on establishing a strong sense of self, and their relationship with the world and others. Our Stems are researching and creating their own learning journeys, consistently reflecting, questioning, and hypothesizing collaboratively alongside their peers and educators. Literacy presents itself throughout the year along with mathematical concepts and intricate, detailed building through collaboration and imagination. The Stems develop skills in attention to details and keeping an eye on their inquiries. They are strong solo thinkers, seeking recognition, interaction, and perspective of peers and educators around them to help scaffold their explorations into new meanings. The Stems show confidence in themselves and their potentialities, this is transparent in their thinking and response to the world around them.

Enrichment

Public Speaking

Public speaking encourages children to use their voice to express themselves, build their confidence and speak up when needed! Mr. Freddy is our public speaking coach. He is passionate to engage with children in a very dynamic style and unleash their voices and confidence they hold within. He uses different activities and props to promote eye contact, social gestures, listening and the skills one needs to communicate effectively and powerfully. The goal is for each child to take away what they need from his classes and be aware of the power of their own voice and body language. Children will be able to use these skills throughout their life, from raising their hands in the classroom, resolving a conflict with a friend and using their voice whenever needed in order to make a positive change. Public speaking classes are an energetic, fun-filled time all the student look forward to!

Music and Movement

Starts off with a Hello song to engage with each child at their own pace. It then quickly ramps up in energy and action while engaging the children in making music, moving to the tonality and rhythms in the music, using instruments to bring in awareness of the tools as well as enhance the hand eye coordination while using the instruments. The classes are high energy, you can’t help but sway!