Early Childhood/Pre-Kindergarten

The Early Childhood/Pre-Kindergarten Team:

• Margie D'Astici
• Kate Majewski
• Diane Hultsch-Melone
• Meredith Leonard
• Danielle Lamke-Davis
• Claire Quasthoff
• Amy Murphy
• Megan Estep

In order to qualify for the District’s Early Childhood or Pre-Kindergarten Programs, children must reside within the Homewood School District 153 boundaries and be between the ages of 3 and 4 years old. Each child is required to participate in the District’s preschool screening process. Eligibility for the programs is based upon the results of the screening, parent interview, and consideration of possible risk factors. Each family will be contacted as to whether or not their child is eligible for one of the programs.

Our half day programs serve 3-5 year old children. We address their fine motor (small muscle), gross motor (large muscle), social-emotional, language, and cognitive (thinking) skills each day. Our preschoolers accomplish this by learning through play. We utilize centers to encourage development in our students. Centers are areas of play/work for children to develop or enhance their skills.

Our students are enriched by a multitude of professionals each day. Each classroom not only has a teacher, but a teacher’s assistant is present, as well. The children also have access to occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech/language therapists. However, the key ingredient for your child’s success is parental involvement. Therefore, our programs strive to keep you connected! We accomplish this by encouraging parents to volunteer in the classroom, attending monthly parent/child fieldtrips and by offering parent educational programs.

The Early Childhood and Pre-Kindergarten programs have been designed to create a positive first school experience. It is our goal that your child will bloom at Willow School and excel throughout their academic career.