the Blue Oak approach

We believe that the early years of a child’s education serve as the foundation for their future academic lives. Knowledgeable educators and challenging materials inspire children to learn and research all of the learning domains. By combining an inspiring environment, engaging materials, and teacher attention to the particular needs of each child, Blue Oak supports broad developmental goals as well as specific learning outcomes for preschool age children.

Our low student to teacher ratio allows us to work with the children in small groups to observe and support their learning processes. This ratio also allows the teachers to spend time individually with each child on a regular basis.

The environment at Blue Oak functions as a “third teacher.” Indoors and outdoors, the environment supports curricular goals and is designed for children to explore hands-on. Every space provides opportunities for children to communicate, investigate their curiosities, and build relationships. Our materials are open-ended, and the children’s projects evolve from their interactions in the environment.

Teachers work with the children as facilitators of children’s explorations, short- and long-term projects, and problem-solving; there are opportunities for both child choice and teacher- guided instruction across all curricular domains. Through careful listening and observation, teachers discover children’s ideas and find out how to tap into each child’s learning modality. With a clear understanding of the children, teachers can create stimulating experiences that support cognitive, physical, and social-emotional well-being. To help make the learning process visible to the school community, teachers document the process of children’s work.

During their time with us, children will gradually deepen their understanding about the relationships among people and things in our world. Our unique combination of an academically challenging, emotionally supportive, and creatively stimulating environment provides our students with a solid foundation for the future.