St Thomas School

St. Thomas School believes that education for young children needs to be secure, nurturing, stimulating, creative, and clearly defined. Our understanding of children’s developmental stages enables us to structure a rich, rigorous, and stimulating program for our youngest students. Young children are active learners who gain knowledge by exploring concrete objects. Through these actions they generate hypotheses, predict outcomes, and draw conclusions about the world.

The Early Learning Center includes Preschool (age 2 1/2 through 4), PrePrimary (age 4-5), and Primary (age 5-6). As an integral part of the entire St. Thomas School program, the Early Learning Center provides a solid foundation for the elementary years. Curricular threads, strategies, and learning dispositions are established in these early years and are woven throughout the entire school. Not only is the Early Learning Center integrated into the greater STS learning community, it also embraces a unique and distinct series of grade levels that capture the magic and wonder of early childhood.

One of the highlights of our Early Learning program is an opportunity for children to be part of the larger school. Starting with 2-Day Preschool children attend Music, Movement and Drama class and the librarian comes to the classroom to read stories. By 3-Day Preschool the St. Thomas Specialist faculty is an important part of the program. Children begin to learn Spanish, visit the Library, and attend Music, Movement, and Drama classes led by the specialist teachers. Starting in 3-Day all children attend the school’s community meeting in Chapel where they are included as part of the whole school community.

New research continues to inform our practice and the reshaping of early childhood education. Scientific understanding of early childhood development and of children’s learning and behavior has grown enormously over the past 30 years. A substantial collection of new research continues to provide the foundation for the priorities and features of a coordinated continuum of learning. Each classroom is carefully designed and teaching strategies are intentionally executed to encourage children to make discoveries, construct their understanding, and ask questions. It is the recognition that children are capable and competent that supports the idea that young children can be engaged in research and critical thinking skills.

We believe that key learning outcomes should be clearly articulated, and that our decisions around practice, environment, and resources must be intentional to assure that children will reach these outcomes. We understand that the processes of learning are as important as the final product and we plan carefully to achieve an appropriate balance between child-centered exploration and teacher-centered learning. This balance reflects the importance of discovery, the construction of personal meaning, and the need to carefully guide, support, and monitor student progress so that each child acquires the necessary academic and social skills to be successful within our rigorous program. A young child’s knowledge and understanding comes from authentic experiences that promote inquiry, problem solving, and mastery. Our learning environments are provocative, provide intellectually rigorous content, and challenge children to grow beyond their level of current mastery.

Child Ages:

2.5 years - 6 years

Licenses & Accreditations:

Washington State Department of Early Learning

Preschool:

Yes

Hours of Operation:

Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm