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March 12, 2025
Finding the Right Pre-K Program for Your Family
Jennifer Horner, Director of Education Development
Choosing the right Pre-Kindergarten program can be daunting, especially given the wide range of options available. Families can choose from private programs, like Doodle Bugs! Children’s Learning Academy, and public programs such as Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK). Ultimately, your decision should align with your family’s values, your child’s needs, your family schedule, and your financial considerations.
When comparing Pre-K options, a few key factors tend to stand out. The topics below are designed to help inform you of all that Doodle Bugs! has to offer and guide your decision-making process.
Scheduling Needs
Doodle Bugs! provides flexible scheduling with wrap-around care, which can be beneficial for working parents. Our centers are intentionally open from 6:30am to 6:00pm to cater to the needs of our families. Our program is also open for the majority of the year, only closing for the Friday before Labor Day for our Annual Staff Development Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. We do close early at 3pm on New Year’s Eve as well.
Curriculum and Enrichment
Doodle Bugs! offers a year-round comprehensive curriculum with enrichment activities that may not be available in all public programs. Curricular goals are cross-walked and aligned with state Early Learning Guidelines in NY, PA, and FL to ensure that lesson plan content covers all learning domains.
Curriculum
At Doodle Bugs!, we believe children are learning at all times and the teacher’s role is to facilitate and enrich that process. It’s why our curriculum perfectly blends guided facilitation and constructive learning in our Infant, Toddler, Preschool, Pre-K, and School Age programs.
Our exclusive BRAVO! curriculum is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, which embraces a self-guided philosophy that encourages children to express themselves in different ways. It combines theme-related, age-appropriate choices ranging from small group dynamic learning centers to whole group community building exercises to one-on-one guided instruction. Lesson plans provide teachers with the framework, but also the freedom to customize the learning environment and experiences to meet each individual child where they are in their developmental journey and according to their unique interests and personalities.
- Introductory Spanish – Through songs, poems, chants and movement children engage in learning simple greetings and gestures of appreciation like please and thank you, numbers, colors, directional words, and some thematic vocabulary.
- ASL (American Sign Language) – Teachers build in exploration of ASL signs as they relate to communication and nurture an appreciation for our diversity in ability. In addition to learning to sign the letters of their names and some word families to promote early literacy, children will learn to sign greetings and different emotions as well.
- Social and Emotional Learning – Many Kindergarten teachers will agree that THE most important part of preparing a child for school is building their social and emotional competencies. Learning to name the emotions of themselves and others and acquiring a toolbox of skills to express and cope with each of them in healthy ways is a lifelong learning journey for all of us. Socially, children need to practice healthy communication skills and techniques for managing conflict with others. Having guided opportunities to do so is built into our curriculum and teaching practices. Once children are exposed to these skills and make them a consistent practice, they can confidently advocate for themselves when needed and be a leader in healthy social conflict strategies.
- Early Math – Our early math program cycles through number recognition, counting with one-to-one correspondence, exploring quantities and comparing them, recognizing shapes, patterning, directional vocabulary, early addition and subtraction, and measurement all through interesting, play-based activities.
- Early Literacy – Children are exposed to a variety of early literacy skills through a hands-on, multi-sensory approach. Teachers guide children in exploring lots of books, songs, poems, fingerplays, movement games and learning centers that build concepts of print, letter recognition, phonological awareness and a rich vocabulary. Children also are encouraged to journal, practice writing their names, and learn to form letters weekly. Letter formation activities include building them with wooden pieces and playdough, tracing them in a sandpaper texture, and writing them with magnet tools, crayons, and golf pencils.
- Child Assessments – Teachers track children’s skill development through an assessment tool built into our Tadpoles Daily Reporting App. This allows them to document evidence of skills through photos and videos on a regular basis and print a report for families each quarter. Our Ignite by Hatch enrichment learning app also tracks Kindergarten readiness skill development.
- Home-School Connections and Center Events – Each unit of curriculum features home-school connections to encourage parent involvement and celebrate our multi-cultural center communities. Center events, such as Grandparents Day, Holiday Sing Along, Music in Our Schools Musical Sharing Event, Mother’s and Father’s Days, and Graduation are special opportunities to gather and celebrate being a part of the Doodle Bugs! Family.
Enrichment
- Music Rocks – Doodle Bugs! has teamed up with Bloom Creative Arts to offer Music Rocks!, an exciting experience that helps children learn through music. Music Rocks! helps develop pre-literacy, math skills, and social-emotional health. Children get to explore professional instruments, sing, dance and create their own music through guided sessions with music therapy professionals.
- Tae Kwon Do – Children develop balance, coordination and gross motor skills through running, jumping, punching, and kicking exercises. It’s the perfect way to nurture healthy habits, build a positive attitude toward physical activity, and burn off excess energy! In the process children learn to take turns, exercise their memory, and practice self-control.
- Ignite by Hatch – This learning app, which can be played both at school and home, is a refreshing take on screen use as it only encourages a total of 30 minutes of playtime per week while still delivering incredible skill development. It uses real life photos in its learning games to build kindergarten readiness skills in math, literacy, social-emotional learning, science and social studies. It features real-time data to help parents and teachers understand what their child knows and where to support them with suggested guided practice activities.
Choosing the right Pre-K program is a significant decision that lays the foundation for your child’s early learning experiences. By considering factors such as scheduling needs, location, curriculum, and enrichment opportunities, you can find a program that aligns with your family’s values and supports your child’s growth.
At Doodle Bugs! Children’s Learning Academy, we take pride in offering a flexible, engaging, and nurturing environment where children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. With our comprehensive BRAVO! curriculum, enriching activities, and strong home-school connections, we aim to provide a well-rounded early childhood education that prepares children for lifelong success.
We invite you to explore our programs further and see firsthand how Doodle Bugs! can be the perfect fit for your family. Visit one of our centers, follow us on social media, or schedule a tour today!
