Best Preschool – Loving. Beautiful. Safe.‎

Choosing a preschool can be a difficult and confusing task. You may be wondering how much structure to expect and whether your child is really ready for the challenges to come. For the first time, academic issues come into play in your decision, for there are as many different educational learning philosophies as there are preschools in Austin. Which one is right for your child? Sorting through all the options might make you feel like you’re drinking through a fire hose.

At Austin Children’s Academy (ACA), we take your concerns as seriously as you do. Preschool is your child’s first foray into a more structured and academic setting than they may have experienced in daycare or nursery school, so deciding on the perfect place is vital. The preschool years are full of enormous motor-skill and mental growth, as children of this age absorb language, basic mathematical concepts, and develop creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and social adeptness. Ideally, a preschool will prepare your child so that she’ll be steps ahead socially, academically, and emotionally when he or she finally enters kindergarten. If your child loves the preschool you choose, you’ve taken the first big step toward putting him on a joyful path to learning.

Yes, we may be biased, but we consider ACA one of the best preschools in Austin in part because of our facilities. Our large, eco-friendly campus provides lots of space for your child to explore. Two ample, monitored, and enclosed play areas have age-appropriate equipment to allow kids to run freely, have fun, and develop their gross motor skills. Other open areas can be used for nature walks, water play, and sporting events. In bad weather, we have an indoor gym and recreation area which is also used for special events, gymnastic, and art classes.

 
Inside our facility, we have ten classrooms that encompass programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners, allowing your child to step up through the levels while still staying in one school. Each classroom has its own dedicated computer lab and library with age-appropriate books, multimedia materials, and, yes, well-guarded internet access. We limit the amount of time your preschooler will spend on the computer engaged in educational games, but we also encourage a measure of the technological savvy that they’ll need in the greater world.

When you tour our North Austin preschool, you’ll notice several unique qualities of our classrooms. The rooms are neat, organized, wide-open spaces, specifically designed for the age group within. The toys are bright and attractive and crafted for very specific developmental needs. This attention to child development detail is all part and parcel of the well-known and much respected Montessori educational method.

The Montessori Method is a tried-and-true philosophy of child-centered education that has spread across the world. In a Montessori environment like our Cedar Park preschool, you won’t find children sitting in neat rows of seats while teachers drone on in front of a blackboard. You’ll find children all over the classroom, fully engaged in learning-oriented play. Our Montessori certified teachers are trained to watch your children carefully, engaging and guiding his interests so that his curiosity serves as the engine through which he advances through academic milestones. Children develop a love of learning when they are self-motivated, enjoying what they’re doing, and allowed to follow their own boundless curiosity.

ACA is a member of the American Montessori Society and we are currently engaged in the rigorous process of full accreditation. In our preschool, we engage the Montessori Method in six general areas of preschool-age academic and social development:

• Independence and Self Reliance Preschool is the age when children learn how to tie their shoes, button their shirts, and zip their backpacks. They learn to return toys to their bins once they’re done playing, hang their backpacks upon pegs, and clean their own lunches from the table. We hope to instill a sense of pride in encouraging children to do things for themselves, which helps them socially by prompting them to help younger children do the same.
• Language Arts and Early Reading Skills Our program uses whole language as well as phonetic methods to help children learn their letters and their associated sounds, and make their first forays into word recognition through rhyming stories and songs. We work on small motor skills gripping pencils and crayons and writing out letters.
• Mathematics Math fundamentals begin with preschoolers learning and recognizing their numbers, but they develop with other skills such as pattern and shape recognition, identifying relative sizes, counting skills, telling time with an analog clock, and the recognition and use of basic math in the course of the school day.
• Spanish. Studies have shown that the earlier a second language is introduced, the more easily children adopt the sounds and meanings. Bilingual children have cognitive advantages that last well into the later years.
• Science and Social Studies Preschoolers are fascinated by the natural world. At our Cedar Park preschool we take advantage of this curiosity to explore topics like the weather, plants, animals, the environment, geography, culture, history, and music.
• Socialization A unique element of a Montessori education is that each class consists of a three-year age group, giving it a family atmosphere. The older children, brought up through the program, act as mentors for the younger children. The younger children have older “siblings” to look to as role models. Our Montessori-certified teachers are observant and well-trained, intervening to negotiate disputes and nurturing qualities of fairness, sharing, and mutual respect.

We know that you have many choices in your search for the right Cedar Park preschool. That’s why we encourage you to give us a call, take a tour of our facilities, and talk to our staff and Montessori certified teachers. Once you get to know us better, we’re confident you’ll be convinced that the Austin Children’s Academy is the best preschool in Austin.