A quality preschool where optimal learning opportunities are created that nurture growth, inspire achievement, and maximize a child’s potential!
owner/director Beata Welsh, M.A, SLP-CCC and the lead teachers, create specialized instruction plans tailored to each child’s particular strengths and needs. They bring with them, twenty plus years of therapeutic and curriculum experience, respectively.
OWL CURRICULUM
OWL combines a strong, research-based curriculum with children’s natural curiosity, resulting in a well-rounded and thorough early educational experience. Based on different themes, such as “Friends,” “Family,” “The World of Color,” “Shadows and Reflections,” and “Things That Grow,” as well as skills and concepts, each day is carefully crafted within an activity-center day.
The OWL curriculum covers all domains of early learning:
- Language and literacy
- Social studies
- Science
- Mathematics
- Art
- Physical development
- Social and emotional development
SECOND-STEP CURRICULUM
The Second Step Program is a 28 week-long evidenced-based program designed to increase children’s school readiness and social success by building their social-emotional competence and self-regulation skills. It supports skill development in four key areas of social-emotional competence: empathy and compassion, emotion management, friendship skills and problem solving, and skills for learning. Equipping children with the Second Step skills helps ease their transition to kindergarten and sets them up for successs in school and life.
Unit 1 Skills for Learning
The first unit focuses on four skills: listening, focusing attention, using self-talk, and being assertive. These skills for learning help prepare preschoolers for a successful transition to kindergarten and promote academic achievement in the early school years.
Unit 2 Empathy
In the Empathy Unit, children build their emotional literacy by developing skills for identifying and labeling a variety of emotions in themselves and others. Young children with high levels of empathy tend to be less aggressive, better liked, and more socially skilled, and they make better progress in school.
Unit 3 Emotion Management
In the Emotion Managment Unit, children expand their feelings vocabulary and learn strategies to cope with strong feelings, reduce stress, and stay in control in emotional situations. Children who can manage their strong feelings are more successful in the transition to formal schooling.
Unit 4 Friendship Skills & Problem Solving
Positive social connections with peers’ support children’s school readiness and are important for their happiness and successful development. In the Friendship Skills and Problem-Solving Unit, children learn steps for solving interpersonal problems with peers and skills for making and keeping friends.
Unit 5 Transitioning to Kindergarten
The fifth unit in the Second Step Early Learning program provides a review of the previous four units while encouraging children to think about how the skills will help them in kindergarten.
Our Mission & Vision
Our goal is to produce happy, creative, kind, respectful and well-adjusted children through a play-based curriculum of learning opportunities while applying research-based practice at our therapy office. Our mission is to provide optimal learning opportunities that nurtures growth, inspires achievement, and maximizes their potential. Our goal is to support every child’s mental, social, and emotional wellbeing at their own level. We have a team of resolute educators, clinicians and staff that work with families to address each child’s individual needs with personalized care plans and goals.
Our philosophy
Our philosophy is that every child, regardless of ability, is entitled to equal access to a successful and productive life. Success and growth come from encouragement, praise, and quality childcare services. Our staff focus on building every child’s skill, self-esteem and confidence through play, positive feedback, and rewards so that they may improve their skills. Our goal is to provide the absolute best therapy services, childcare and classroom atmosphere in a friendly and nonthreatening environment. Our staff and clinicians spend time nurturing children’s strengths while developing the skills that they need to succeed in school and in life. At Bright Start Childcare and Learning Center, we believe that every child is unique and will grow at his or her own pace. Therefore, we have created a center that caters to these needs, that we believe in and that welcomes all families to become a part of their child’s journey in a collaborative manner.
Our Values
Communication – We encourage our families to be part of their child’s learning experience and to ask questions.
Integrity – We are committed to honesty, transparency, and strong moral principles.
Safety – We are committed to a safe, clean, and non-threatening environment for our children and families.
Fun – Research shows that play is an integral part of a child’s development and learning. Therefore, our curriculum is not only structured, but play based as well as research based.