Welcome to Pocket of Preschool Academy! We are so excited that you are considering joining our family! In our classroom, we promise to love and respect your child. We will help all children grow and develop emotionally, socially, physically and academically!
If you have any question about our handbook, our classroom or our policies, please ask. To download the Pocket of Preschool Academy Handbook, click HERE.
We know that children learn best through play and experiences. We firmly believe that children learn by doing, getting messy, investigating their questions and problem solving with their friends. They learn by playing games, using their imaginations, expressing their emotions, creating and exploring the world around them.
As teachers, we set up intentional play activities and explorations that meet the needs of individual students. We question and extend their thinking and play to help them learn and grow. We provide high quality instruction and care for every student who comes into our classroom. We intentionally plan and organize the classroom so students have the opportunity to develop in the areas of social/emotional, language and literacy, math, science, creative arts, fine motor and gross motor.
It is our goal for students to develop the dispositions and skills to become lifelong learners and be successful in kindergarten and life (both socially and academically).
Eligibility
In order to register for preschool, a child must meet the following criteria:
- Be 3 years old by August 1
- Proof of current required immunizations
- Complete all forms
- Pay registration fee
Hours of Operation and School Calendar
Pocket of Preschool Academy is from 8:15 am – noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the school year.
Our calendar is similar to Francis Howell. Please see our calendar for exact dates. We also follow Francis Howell inclement weather closing and delays.
Licensing
Pocket of Preschool Academy is licensed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Child Care Division. The preschool will continue to have inspections and the results will be available online.
Jackie, her husband and all employees have had criminal and child protection services background checks. Jackie and all employees (Miss Jenni) have current First Aid and CPR certifications as well.
Curriculum
Pocket of Preschool Academy implements a theme based curriculum. It is designed to facilitate learning through hands-on activities both teacher-led and student-led. We offer lessons and activities in the areas of language and literacy, math, science, creative arts, gross and fine motor and social skills (character education). It is based on current research, state and national standards, common core and aligned with the kindergarten curriculum.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent teacher conferences will be held in the fall and spring. It is a time we can talk about your child in all areas of development, review their student portfolio and set goals for your child.
Teacher Training and Ongoing Education
Jackie is the owner and operator of Pocket of Preschool Academy. She earned her Bachelors and Master of Education from Maryville University. She is licensed to teach birth to sixth grade by the state of Missouri. She taught full day preschool in Rockwood for over 11 years.
Many of her theme units, games and lesson plans are utilized by teachers all over the country. She is also a member of NAEYC (a professional early childhood educator organization) and teaches a variety of professional development trainings to other teachers in the area. As part of licensing, she is required to attend at least 15 hours of teacher training every year.
Communication
It is important for us to work as a team to ensure your child’s success in preschool. If you ever have any questions, concerns or other important information that you believe we should know, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Newsletters
Each month, Jackie will publish a newsletter to update you on what new exciting topics we are learning about and other things happening in preschool. The newsletter will include important dates, upcoming activities and events, a summary of previous learning, previewing new centers and studies. We will email the newsletter every Monday to all the families. We will also post the newsletters on the family board.
Emergency Drills & Supplies
We strive to make sure our children are safe at school every day. We do this by making sure that our children are prepared for a variety of emergencies. We will practice fire drills, tornado drills, and earthquake drills monthly.
Our classroom is equipped with an emergency backpack.
Snack
Each day we will provide a healthy snack and drink each day. The snack menu is posted in the classroom.
Food Allergy or Special Diet
If your child has a known food allergy or special diet, please provide us with a doctor’s note or plan.
Behavior Management
At Pocket of Preschool Academy we are committed to proving a safe environment for learning. Universal support strategies are available to all students to support their social emotional development by teaching expected behaviors (ex: visual supports, reteaching, class meetings, etc.) and teaching various social skills (sharing, taking turns, problem solving) all year long. We try our best to provide a consistent, challenging learning environment with physical activity which will prevent boredom and promote good behavior.
If a behavior issue arises, teachers may use a precorrection, verbal redirection, state the expected behavior, give behavior choices, provide a visual support and/or go to the safe spot. The safe place is a quiet, cozy place in the classroom a child can go when they are feeling upset, sad or just want to be alone. The safe place also has a Calm Down Kit. It is a bucket with items and visual supports to help a child calm down (sensory bottle, squeeze fidget, deep breath chart). The photo on the right is our Calm Down Kit, brag tags, book and chart.
We use Green and Red Choices to teach students appropriate “green behaviors”. You can see it in action on the website HERE. It is our goal for students to be happy, confident learners who can problem solve and work collaboratively with others. Students being able to make good (aka green) choices when they are alone and interacting with others is a big part of that. The photo on the left is of our Green and Red Choices poster, book, shout out notes and coloring book.
Email today to schedule a tour [email protected]
Check out our classroom!
Our classroom has 5 centers: Library, art, pretend, blocks, and discovery.
Library Center
Art Center
Pretend Center
Discovery Center (math & science)
Discovery Center (math & science)
Blocks Center
Blocks Center
Bathroom & Safe Place
Student cubbies, student coat rack and parent nook
Kitchen
Thank you for considering Pocket of Preschool Academy! We are so excited that you are considering joining our family! In this classroom, we promise to love and respect your child. We will help all children grow and develop emotionally, socially, physically and academically!
Email today to schedule a tour [email protected]
