At Walnut Creek Academy, we don’t believe in the term “terrible threes.” It’s the “terrific threes” we encourage.

A three-year-old’s imagination is rivaled only by their impressionability. But it’s not just their minds and creativity that need activity. They need physical exercise as well. And our Creators program stresses the perfect balance of social skills, complex problem solving, and physical activity in an atmosphere designed to stimulate as much as it’s designed to instruct.

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We focus on play not merely as physical exercise, however. We know that play promotes independence and decision-making skills. We view play time as being both an emotional and physical activity. And with the right balance of creativity and imagination, your three-year-old will develop on much more balanced sense of self-esteem.

What Can You Expect From Our Creator’s Curriculum?

• Our Creative Curriculum© program for preschool uses exploration and discovery as a learning tool and is designed to encourage confidence, creativity and problem-solving skills in your two-year-old. Social skills, math, problem-solving, art and even technology are combined throughout each day to ensure a balance of nurturing, learning, curiosity and fun.

• Our Beginner’s Bible Curriculum, introducing children to the stories and characters of The Bible with engaging stories, fun activities and animated videos.

 

We conduct a biannual evaluation based off age-appropriate benchmarks in order to assess each child’s growth and development. Below are some of the basic milestones we look for in a child entering the preschool classroom, in addition to specific academic and developmental achievements:

Motion

• Hops and stands on one foot for up to 5 seconds

• Kicking a ball forward

• Throwing a ball overhand

• Moving forward and backward

• Uses riding toy

Social/Emotional

• Cooperating with other children

• Playing “mom” and “dad”

• More inventive in fantasy play

• Greater independence

• Hand and finger Skills

• Copying square shapes

• Drawing a person with 2 to 4 body parts

• Using scissors

• Drawing circles and squares

• Copying capital letters

• Feeding themselves with a spoon

Language

• Basic rules of grammar

• Speaking in sentences of 5 to 6 words or more

• Telling stories

Cognitive

• Correctly naming colors

• Understanding the concept of counting and may know a few numbers

• Beginning to have a clear sense of time

• Following three-part commands

• Recalling parts of a story

• Understanding cause and effect