Petaluma Village Preschool

We recognize the infinite worth of each child.

We believe that every community has a responsibility to adequately meet the needs of all its children, regardless of socioeconomic status. We believe that the community is responsible to its children for ensuring that they have a safe, nurturing, child-friendly environment in which to grow, learn and thrive. We firmly believe that a societys success can only be measured by how well it addresses the needs of its most vulnerable, underrepresented members children. Petaluma Village Preschool derives its vision and values from the underlying philosophy that in any given community, children are its most important citizens. We first and foremost exist to serve our communitys children and to provide a rich, dynamic, challenging learning environment that will give our children the skills they need to realize their full potential.

At Petaluma Village Preschool we realize that a childs early years set the stage for a lifetime of learning. We strive to help foster a true love of learning and to establish early critical thinking skills. We believe these are determinant of a childs future academic success. We believe that each day holds unique opportunities for your child to investigate and learn about the world around them. We strive to provide an environment that encourages organic learning opportunities that minister to a childs innate curiosity. Children possess many forms of expression. The Reggio Emilia approach refers to this as the Hundred Languages of Children. Our goal is to give children the tools they need to adequately explore and interpret the world around them through art, language, music, dramatic play, and more. Traditional academics, such as science, math, and reading are never neglected, but rather incorporated into learning concepts that are explored in-depth by the children. Our curriculum is emergent, in that as these learning concepts are explored, the childrens interests help determine the direction that each concept takes. We encourage hypothesizing, questioning, investigating, and exploring. This approach allows children to participate in their learning in profound ways. It honors their personal interests and natural curiosity.

We also recognize the tremendous importance of early, healthy socialization for children. Because our program is small, our ratios are below state mandated levels, and we offer a multi-age classroom, we are able to provide a wonderful stage for helping your children develop proper interpersonal skills. Among other things, we help your child learn how to properly express their needs and wants, to find their voice, to negotiate with others, to share, to cooperate and work as a team, and to follow instructions.

We believe that early childhood curriculum must address larger social issues in addition to traditional academics. We strive to provide learning opportunities that help teach: respect for others, appreciation for cultural differences, and an age-appropriate awareness of social justice issues. We also place a high level of importance on concern and care for the environment. We believe that stewardship must be woven into the learning environment, so that children understand their role in protecting and caring for it. We believe that we can empower our children to think and act differently than previous generations, and through them we will experience a huge shift in our current global paradigm. We believe that our children will become the decision-makers and leaders of tomorrow and that if we prepare them, as we should, they will help create a sustainable future for the whole world.

It is our goal that each graduate of our program leaves with:

Healthy interpersonal skills

A love of learning

Full academic readiness for kindergarten

A high regard for nature and the environment

Love and respect for others

An age-appropriate concept of social justice

An attitude of stewardship and civic engagement