Our curriculum is play based and is designed to increase preschoolers levels of social competence and to problem solve in a caring way. At Lakewood we celebrate childhood and believe the most important job of a preschooler is to play ... to play hard, to play long, and to play with others. Numerous studies show that successful students who achieve degrees in higher education have attended developmentally appropriate preschool programs where play is the main agenda. We believe that kids need to use their imaginations, they need to dig in the dirt and find creatures, they need to paint colorful pictures, they need to find out about each other, and they need a place where they can tell their story. At 2 to 5 years, they don't need to act like first graders, sit still, read, or write. Their job is to PLAY and at Lakewood Co-op, they will have lots of opportunities to have fun and PLAY!

For more on the importance of play in child development, see: Working Dad: Playtime packs it in

Lakewood Co-op Preschoolenrolls children in mixed-age classes which allows for both developmental and enrollment flexibility. There are Numerous benefits to mixed-age classes, including:

• Strengthening of compassion and leadership skills for older children.
• Modeling of older children’s social skills, verbal skills, and problem solving by younger children.
• Reduced focus on age, decreasing developmental biases.
• Increased opportunities for the development of relationships between children whose needs/styles complement, match, or supplement each other.
• Sense of family among class members.
• Shift of focus from competition to cooperation.