Days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Times:  1:00-4:00 p.m.

Additional Days: Tuesday, Thursday

Additional Days: Will include additional program specials such as Toddler yoga, Brain Gym, Audiobook Literacy Program

We are proud that FOUNDATIONS has joined the many schools across the country offering blended age classrooms and their success! The Blended Age classroom offers an environment where students develop and flourish in a nurturing community where students from two traditional preschool grade levels are taught in the same classroom.

In the Blended Age program, your child has opportunity to be involved with two new educational concepts !……. Looping (keeping same teacher(s) two years in a row), and Blended Curriculum (multi level instruction). By looping with the same teacher(s) two years in a row, the learning curve of getting to know a student, their strengths, needs, and abilities is absent. The better a teacher knows the student the easier it is to provide appropriate instruction and the relationship is already thereJ Students in the second year make quick progress when looping with a familiar class and/or teacher, and are already accustomed to the teaching style, structure, and routines.

In a blended classroom, students from two traditional preschool grade levels are taught in the same classroom. Students are taught at their instructional level, which may be independent of age/grade level. This means they will be challenged against their own learning. This allows children to master and then progress from one concept or skill level to the next! We have seen this come to fruition every year in our Blended Age Program and it has been very rewarding!

The blended classroom also creates a nurturing community among classmates. Students have the opportunity to mentor and learn from each other. We have watched our younger students look to their older peers for guidance, and look on at their higher and different level instruction with curiosity. Curiosity promotes learning!

The learning environment of a blended class is also ideal for students with strong skill sets. Instruction and classroom assignments are designed to challenge and promote continuous growth. Levels of instruction are continuously changing as individual student’s skill sets progress. Research has shown that older children respond positively when given the opportunity to act as mentors, both academically and socially.

Questions and answers about Blended Age curriculums

Will older or high achieving students be challenged in a blended preschool program?

The learning environment of a blended class is ideal for students with strong skill sets because instruction and classroom assignments are designed to challenge and promote continuous growth. Also, research has shown that older children respond positively when given the opportunity to act as mentors, both academically and socially

Will the younger children be intimidated or influenced in any negative way by older children?

Results and experience in such programs shows quite the opposite! Younger children in blended classrooms have the opportunity to get to know their slightly older peers and develop an open trusting interaction with them. This resembles an older/younger sibling relationship. Many families often notice how much faster their second child progresses with skill sets compared to the first child. Again, both with motor skills and social/emotional skills.

How does having the same teacher for consecutive years affect students?

The benefits of continuing with the same teacher a second year outweigh the advantages of changing teachers. The better a teacher knows the student the easier it is to provide appropriate instruction.  Students in the second year make quick progress when looping with a familiar teacher, and are already accustomed to their teaching style, structure, and routines.

Our blended class was a rewarding success this year and we are pleased to continue it as a permanent program at FOUNDATIONS. We are certain you and your child will enjoy the benefits of this rich learning environment that has found so much success in the preschool and elementary realm.