PHILOSOPHY
We believe that the Preschool years should be devoted to socialization, building high
self-esteem and developing a love of learning. We believe that the Elementary Grades
should build on this foundation, developing a sense of competence, fostering children's
exploration and inquiry, and encouraging children's internal motivation to learn.
Preschool
Our Preschool is a place where children can
express themselves at their own level of development while learning mature, cooperative
and effective behavior skills. Through play, a child can solve many of the
challenges of growing up. We cherish growth in freedom and responsibility.
Opportunities for creativity, as well as socialization, are encouraged. Our teachers
have expectations for each individual and they work to set a caring example for the
children at all times.
We neither separate cognitive behavior from the other forms of behavior, nor do we
separate a child's work from his or her play. We uphold Piagetıs belief that play
is the work of the child; play is the childıs way of learning. In a loving,
imaginative setting, children experience the joy of discovery for themselves.
Through exploratory play, children will best remember what they themselves discover.
Elementary School
As early childhood educators, we stress the development of the whole child:cognitive,
social, emotional and physical. As development in one area influences and is
influenced by development in the others, we feel that an integrated approach to learning,
cognizant of the needs of the whole child is the most fruitful. We promote interactive
learning that allows children to make meaningful choices and learn through hands-on
experiences, rather than sitting and listening for extended periods of time. We believe
that children learn best when the content of the curriculum is meaningful and relevant to
the children’s lives, as children are motivated to learn by a desire to make sense
out of the world. Teachers build on and elaborate children’s current knowledge
and abilities as children construct knowledge from experience. Consequently, we
believe that the curriculum should be dynamic and flexible--adapting to the
children’s interests. We feel that it is the school’s job to help children
master the major social-emotional developmental task of the early school years: the
development of a sense of competence. We recognize the children’s need to
acquire the knowledge and skills recognized by our culture as important, primarily the
abilities to read, write and calculate numerically and promote the development of higher
order abilities, such as thinking, reasoning, problem-solving and decision-making.
We strongly believe that children should not only acquire the mechanics, but also the
desire to use them. Lake Shore Prep is a place where a child’s happiness is of
primary importance. We will have done our job properly if our students acquire a
love for learning, a positive self-image and a sense of competence
Admissions
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Lake Shore Preparatory
School
300 W. Hill Street
Chicago, IL 60610
312/266-2020
FAX 312/266-2824
lakeshoreprep@brighthorizons.com
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