The Village PPP Philosophy

The Village Parent Participation Preschool believes in supporting learning through play. Freedom to play and explore encourages children to develop social skills, self control, self esteem, and gives them a positive impression of the classroom environment.

The Village PPP provides a natural bridge from home to school, nurturing each individual child while providing a supportive introductory group experience. The program content and structure are geared to the needs, interests, and capacities of preschool children, emphasizing flexibility, positive reinforcement, and play.

Teacher, Ms. Lindsey Buchanan shares her
preschool philosophy

Village PPP teacher,
Ms. Lindsey Buchanan
My philosophy on preschool is simple. You need to respect children so they can respect themselves, others, and their preschool environment. I speak to the children with mutual respect because they deserve it.

I once attended a seminar by Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl* who spoke about the principles of preschool education. She stressed that the most important thing to learn between the ages of two to five was empathy. Children don't need to know how to write or read, but they do need empathy so that when they start elementary school, they can interact well with others. In the school system children deal with many different kinds of educators, from logic oriented to art oriented ones. The styles are different, but children with a strong base in social skills adapt more comfortably and quickly.

Children need the freedom to experiment. I want to offer a space in which they can try things and to win and to fail so that they can try again in a safe and nurturing environment. It's not about the right way, but about learning different ways to reach the end. A safe place to be a risk taker should be with safe boundaries set and gentle guidance available for the times when slight set backs occur.

I embrace the PPP umbrella philosophy, "Learning through Play". Play is a child's work. As an Early Childhood Educator, I see this as a wonderful, open ended opportunity for preschoolers to explore concepts, ideas, materials, and social situations in a positive and safe environment. It's an opportunity to take what they do naturally and develop it with the support of their peers and the gentle guidance of their teacher.

I promote practices of self-acceptance, self-assertiveness, self-responsibility, and the practice of integrity.

 

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* Dr. Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, PhD is an Associate Professor at the UBC Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education.