MUSCATINE, Iowa–For young children, the world offers a lot for them to explore, and with their brains rapidly growing and developing, having stimulating learning experiences prepares them for success ahead, at school and beyond. Preschool helps children reach their full potential by teaching them through age-appropriate play-based learning. “Because this is an important stage where children are developing their executive functioning skills, such as self-regulation and control, organization, and working memory, a play-based program is an ideal structure to practice and develop these skills,” said Muskie Early Learning Center Principal Jessi Freers. Starting Jan. 19, families may register their students for three and four-year-old preschool classes at the Muskie Early Learning Center, starting them off on their educational journey on the right foot.
The Early Learning Center offers several types of classes designed to meet the needs of Muscatine’s youngest students. Both three and four-year-old preschool classes provide integrated learning opportunities for students with and without special education needs, helping them get used to interacting with all sorts of people while working with highly skilled and experienced teachers. “Our integrated program models allow children to gain an appreciation for children of all abilities and it also means our teachers are all highly trained to meet the needs of all learners,” detailed Freers.
For the second year, the Early Learning Center will also offer bilingual four-year-old preschool, which provides a dual language experience for both native English and Spanish speaking students. A wonderful introduction to the larger bilingual program Muscatine Community School District will start for the 2022-2023 school year, Freers shared that this approach can benefit students in numerous ways. “Along with increasing an appreciation for different cultures, research shows that learning a second language helps improve cognitive function and vocabulary development,” she shared.
Along with these classes, the Muskie Early Learning Center also houses a variety of additional resources to benefit young children and their families. These include Early Childhood Iowa Muscatine County, which works to connect parents of young children with a wealth of different resources. Parents as Teachers also works out of the Early Learning Center, providing home visits to low-income families to help their little ones have the best start possible. The Shared Vision preschool classes for at-risk students also take place at the Early Learning Center, making them easily accessible along with all of the other resources it provides.
Because children thrive from hands-on experiences in many subjects, the Early Learning Center has created a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) Stop classroom for teachers to use to give their students chances to experience different subject areas in ways suited to their development. From exploring the natural world, to experimenting with light, and even trying out some very basic coding, kids get the sort of introduction to different subjects that will get them excited to keep studying them as they grow up.
If you would like to enroll your child in preschool, you may do so by visiting the Muscatine Community School District website or the Early Learning Center itself at 149 Colorado Street in Muscatine on Jan. 19. After registering, the district will use a lottery system to place students in three-year-old and bilingual classes. Because the district offers more four-year-old preschool classes, they go on a first come first served basis.
