Beliefs, Values & Mission
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Our Core Beliefs
Children have an unlimited potential to love and to learn. Our Values Empowering children, parents, educators, and communities who will shape a more empathetic, creative, and loving world. Our Mission We honor children by providing an environment that nurtures their inherent desire to direct their own learning through play while supporting families and educators to preserve childhood. |
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Choosing the Right Preschool
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One of the most important decisions a parent will make is where to entrust their young child. These formative years of birth to five are both unique and pivotal to your child’s development, and it’s important you feel they are in the best hands possible.
Barron Park Preschool is your child’s home away from home. With highly trained and experienced staff, a loving touch and a playful yet intentional setting, Barron Park Preschool is where your child will thrive. |
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Our Hidden Gem
Preparing children for life is vastly more important than focusing on preparing children for kindergarten. Embracing mistakes and failures is more important than pursuing success. Having a love for life-long learning will take you farther than talent alone.
What's Our Secret?
Our environment and teaching practices reflect our view that children have an unlimited potential to love and learn. Parents feel they are given the resources and encouragement needed to be the supportive and loving parents they want to be.
This community of learners finds its center in relationship. Over and over again we hear comments from parents and visitors stating, “There is something very special about this school.” We will let you in on our secret…people here feel connected and loved…and they have plenty of time to play.
What's Our Secret?
Our environment and teaching practices reflect our view that children have an unlimited potential to love and learn. Parents feel they are given the resources and encouragement needed to be the supportive and loving parents they want to be.
This community of learners finds its center in relationship. Over and over again we hear comments from parents and visitors stating, “There is something very special about this school.” We will let you in on our secret…people here feel connected and loved…and they have plenty of time to play.
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Barron Park Preschool Offers Your Family:
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A Loving Environment Which Serves Families
At Barron Park Preschool we strive to understand the needs and wants of children and parents. Every aspect of our program has thought and intention behind it.
Teachers
We have carefully selected our teachers for who they are as people and as educators. Our team is warm, focused, and energetic. Our teachers learn, mentor, teach, and present workshops to parents, educators, and college students on various topics related to child development, the importance of play, and fostering creativity. But above all, our teachers love children and their work as educators, and this is evident in their interactions with children and parents.
We have carefully selected our teachers for who they are as people and as educators. Our team is warm, focused, and energetic. Our teachers learn, mentor, teach, and present workshops to parents, educators, and college students on various topics related to child development, the importance of play, and fostering creativity. But above all, our teachers love children and their work as educators, and this is evident in their interactions with children and parents.
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Environment
Our environment is intentional, creative, playful, exploratory, experimental, and open ended. Every day children will experience new and exciting opportunities where they can explore their interests, strengths, and needs. Throughout the day children engage in free play, structured play, group activities, and ideas emerging from their own conversations or observations. We embrace and foster the development of each child's unique personality. We recognize the importance of engaging with friends and activities, and acknowledge that deep learning happens with hands on experience and reflection. |
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Curriculum
In a world driven by competition, there is increasing pressure for academics to be introduced at younger and younger ages. This pressure has resulted in the systematic decline in time for real play in schools and in homes. The correlating result is an unprecedented increase in diagnoses of ADHD, obesity, depression and anxiety, and a decrease in creative thinking skills. The American Academy of Pediatrics states in their position statement about play that, “without adequate time for play, children lack the opportunities to build social skills, expand their creativity, or gain problem solving skills.” The United Nations identified play as a legitimate right of childhood. And although it is widely accepted in the Early Childhood Education field that children learn best through play, many programs struggle with defending this practice. At Barron Park Preschool play is at the core of everything we do. We believe that learning starts from exploring, and play is the best way for curious young minds to engage with and learn about the world. You will not find children sitting at “learning centers”, reciting numbers, practicing the letters of the week, or filling in worksheets. You will find your child digging, exploring, creating, engineering, taking risks, being inquisitive, and getting their bodies and clothes dirty in the process. We take a transformational approach to the learning processes at Barron Park Preschool. Teachers, parents, and children are in a constant state of engagement, inspiration, and discovery. The children are immersed in open ended play throughout the day, making connections with materials, ideas, and people. The teachers learn from interactions with children, parents and other educators, as well as, on-going professional development. Parents are provided opportunities to learn and grow with parent education, one-on-one coaching, and teachable moments which happen organically through observation of our practices. |
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Outcomes for Your Family
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We have created an environment where children want to play, learn, and stay all day long. Children feel confident and empowered because their ideas have been listened to and encouraged. Expect that your child will come home from school messy, joyful, and confident with new stories and ideas. Children come into our program when they are two years old and leave for kindergarten as warm, caring, curious, creative, and confident individuals. Parents feel that they have been given the tools and encouragement needed to be the kind of supportive, loving parents they want to be. Parents also find a community of other parents and families to help support and nurture their children. It’s common for parents to develop lifelong friendships that expand way past their child’s years with us.
Parents often ask us if their child will be academically ready for kindergarten. It’s our strong belief—based on forty years of experience and connecting with current research—that children who are socially and emotionally ready, and have a strong foundation built with play experiences and self-efficacy are ready for anything the world has to offer. We often say we are not getting children ready for kindergarten, we are getting them ready for life. Academics will be learned for many years to follow – when children leave our program they leave with the potential to make the world a better place. |
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Program Highlights
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Our center is a dynamic, play-based, emergent curriculum program that includes: daily art experiences, music and movement, outdoor time, dramatic play, circle time, plenty of time for self-guided play, and neighborhood walks. The school's environment is child centered, rich with sensory and exploration opportunities.Teacher-child relationships are based on respect, love, and shared enthusiasm.Our daily routine is predictable and flexible, allowing plenty of time and opportunity for discovery and play.
Capacity & Teacher-Child Ratio We are licensed for 24 children per day. We have four teachers per day to provide a 1:6 teacher to child ratio. Our program is grouped with mixed-ages. Due to COVID-19 we have established two separate mixed-age groups of 12 children each. This configuration allows younger children to be mentored and learn from the older children. This also allows older children to mentor and help guide the younger children. Location & Hours Barron Park Preschool is a neighborhood preschool and child development center, located south of the Stanford campus near the intersection of Page Mill and El Camino. The school is within walking distance of neighborhood parks and gardens. We are open Monday through Friday, from 7:45 am to 5:00 pm. |
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Daily Schedule
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Manifesto for Children
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Dr. E. Paul Torrance (1915–2003) known as "The Creativity Man" was a pioneer in creativity research and education for more than 50 years. He created the Manifesto for Children based on his findings after a lifetime of research. The Manifesto for Children helps guide us in what to do, and what not to do, if we want to embrace our creativity to its fullest.
By Dr. E. Paul Torrance |
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