Program Overview

Children are natural explorers - they love new ideas and new experiences. We’ve designed the Preschool ‘adventure’ at Browne Academy just for them.

Learning occurs in a gentle, natural and fun manner. Our teachers are careful observers, determining each child’s learning style and unique abilities, and adapting the program to meet specific needs.

Not all children share the same learning styles, and they interpret the world around them in many different, unique ways. It is our challenge as teachers, as well as our reward, to help guide each child through the process of becoming acclimated to the school environment and discovering the means by which they gather knowledge.

While much of the emphasis in the Preschool program is focused on setting a basic foundation for future academic success, including developing strong social skills and understanding how to respect classroom rules and routines, there is a strong academic component as well. Yet each student learns at his or her own pace and is encouraged to make new discoveries every day.

The Preschool program at Browne Academy utilizes a curriculum that can be individualized, allowing teachers to customize the methods they use to disseminate subject material to students. The curriculum allows teachers to provide challenges, or offer more basic exposure, to students depending on their learning styles and needs. The teachers utilize a skills concept checklist that gives them guidelines on what is age appropriate for students, and much of the curriculum is formulated with these skills in mind. In terms of attempting to offer a concrete answer to the question of where students will be by the end of the year, parents can be confident in the knowledge that all of these concepts and skills will be focused on during the course of the school year.

Children work daily with computers and study French frequently. We introduce our youngest students to all the subjects in our Lower School and Middle School core curriculum - including Art, Music, Library, Young Think, and P.E. - through specialists’ instruction, structured learning and play activities.

The Preschool program provides a print rich environment, integration of all disciplines, hands-on learning, and discovery of social and educational core concepts.

In addition, Browne’s Preschool children go on numerous field trips throughout the school year that extend learning, and we also have many holiday shows and celebrations that encourage parent and family involvement.

Good, open and honest communication between teachers and parents is crucial to success, and we take it very seriously. Preschool faculty strive to keep parents up-to-date on everything that is happening in the classroom, with daily lunch slips that provide general information about the school day.

Additionally, all of the Preschool classes offer more detailed information about classroom happenings, either in the form of weekly newsletters, monthly calendars or reports in This Week at Browne. Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled twice per year, and we also encourage parents to contact teachers any time there is a question or concern. Teachers pride themselves on being easily accessible, and there are telephones in each classroom as well as computers where they can check email messages.

Because we believe parental involvement is important to a successful school year in the Browne Academy Preschool, we encourage parents to be part of the Browne community by serving as a chaperone for field trips, assisting with class projects, helping supply class parties and events, and even acting as a guest reader or guest speaker to provide insight into your family’s holiday beliefs and traditions.

At Browne, we believe the Preschool experience is most certainly a journey, not a race - a journey that will begin to develop in each child the inquisitiveness and confidence that will hold them in good stead through a lifetime of learning.