What is a co-op?
What are the benefits of a co-op?
What makes Cedar Cross Co-op Preschool a great school?
Why is preschool important?
Am I able to bring my younger child into the classroom with me when I am scheduled to work?
What values are derived in the different play centers?

What is a co-op?

A co-op preschool has trained teachers, but is operated by members (parents of the students) and it heavily relies on member participation to function.

What are the benefits of a co-op?

• Lower monthly tuition rates
• Lower adult/child ratio (1:3 ratio in 2-3 year old program; 1:4 ratio in 3-5 year old programs)
• Parent education opportunities
• Child does not need to be potty trained
• More field trip opportunities
• Being part of a community that supports our children and school

“What a wonderful place for our small children to begin learning about God, social interaction and just plain having fun.” –Angie Pishue, CCCP parent 4 years

What makes Cedar Cross Co-op Preschool a great school?

Cedar Cross is a developmental preschool with a clear belief that children learn best through play. Our curriculum is set up in a way where the learning experience is embedded in our environment and activities.

For instance, during the month of October some of the activities the children have the opportunity to explore are…

• Playing at the sensory table with dirt, shovels, tiny pumpkins, etc… which enhances their math and fine motor skills. How many pumpkins have you buried in a row? And how many of them will fit in the wheel barrel? Are common questions that are asked to the child to help them bring their experience and learning to the next level.
• Visit a pumpkin patch and draw/dictate memories of their experience. This is a great social development experience and also gives value to the children’s memories and promotes language art skills.
• Graph pumpkins and sizes which again help with building math skills.
• Listen to books and sing songs, which enhance language arts learning.

Through these activities and many more the children’s learning soars. Connecting all of these skills through different applications that are seen purely as play to the children and having the teacher and parents asking the right questions throughout the process allows for a deeper more enriched learning experience for our preschoolers.

“My favorite experience at CCCP was the pumpkin patch at Craven Farm. The picking of the pumpkin, splashing in the mud, and running around with friends! Looking forward to it every year and hope that we will continue to do this even when Howie is out of the school”
-Casey Graham, CCCP parent 3 years

Why is preschool important?

Preschool is important because it promotes the social and intellectual development of children and their language literacy. Preschool offers a place where children can have a sense of community and enables them to figure out how to handle social conflicts. Teachers will help the children find a solution that is acceptable to all participants and offers an environment that offers opportunities for both cooperative and associative play. Preschool is a time for experimentation. The preschool environment should be full of opportunities for the children to work with and figure out science and math concepts. Reading stories aloud and having all types of art materials readily available promotes language skills.

Am I able to bring my younger child into the classroom with me when I am scheduled to work?

Cedar Cross does not allow younger siblings to stay in the classroom while the parent is working since it takes the attention away from our students. However, we have set up a babysitting co-op to help our members deal with this scheduling issue. Please click here to find out more info.

What values are derived in the different play centers?

Art Center
Experimentation
Creative expression
Comparison
Sensory exploration
Stimulation of imagination
Development of eye-hand coordination
Small muscle control (prewriting)
Development in three stages of art (manipulation, patterning, and representation

Dramatic Play Center
Role playing
Expression of feelings
Develops language and imagination (pre-reading)
Develops a sense of real and pretend

“The dramatic play center was so awesome.  I liked it best when it was the pizza place.” — Natalie, CCCP alumni

Block Center
Sense of position and direction
Concept of space
Balance
Vocabulary development
Problem solving
Patterning (pre-math)
Shape awareness
Role playing

Mathematics Center
Conservati8on of numbers
Math vocabulary
Comparisons
Following directions
Number/Amount discovery
Matching numerals
Rote counting

Sensory/Play dough Center
Understanding of space, weight and volume
Comparisons
Tactile exploration
Outlet for emotional release
Vocabulary development

“I remember playing with the seeds and rice in the sensory table.  I sifted the seeds through the spinner.”  — Stephanie, CCCP Alumni

Science/Cooking Center
Observation and verbalization skills
Identification and classification
Problem solving techniques
Measurement
Observing element changes
Make meaning for themselves
Seriation - conservation, ordering, ranking and sequential arrangement

Book/Language Centers (along with Circle time and backpack activity)
Builds vocabulary
Sense of phrasing, rhythm and rhyming
Sequence of events - logical sequencing
Relate/recount a story
Taking turns
Listening
Dictating stories
Symbol to spoken word representation
Alphabet recognition
Visual skill development
Patterning
Develops word and sentence usage

Manipulative Center
Visual-motor and eye-hand coordination
small muscle development
Patterning
Kinesthetic development
Prewriting

Large Motor Play
Gross motor skills
Sense of balance and coordination
Sense of laterality
Skill in jumping, running, skipping, and hopping
Creative movement opportunity

“Bike day was one of my favorite times at preschool.  The spaceships were cool too.” –Trevor, CCCP Alumni

Music Activities
Sense of rhythm
Rhyming sounds
Form of self-expression
Learning of basic skills (counting, alphabet)
Vocabulary development