About Us

Philosophy and Curriculum

 

Mr. Luo’s Preschool Academy is a family home facility offering a nurturing environment and a rich experience focused on creative play and life skills development to children from the ages of two to six years.

 

Mr. Luo’s Method           

            While young children are often learning and achieving effortlessly, they are still confronted daily by tasks, feelings, and concepts that frustrate and defeat their initiative.  When a child sees herself as a developing person rather than a fixed entity, such defeats are transformed into manageable obstacles, which she enthusiastically looks forward to overcoming.  As the child becomes more acquainted with feelings that accompany setbacks, frustrations, disappointments and even failures, those experiences lose their power to negatively define the child’s self perception.  A child confident in herself is invigorated by challenges, and free from guilty associations with failure.  We consistently encourage children to make attempts to face challenges, and follow up by celebrating their efforts and willingness to try.  Our goal is to familiarize each child with the feelings we experience at the edges of our abilities, and the feeling of ‘walking through’ those feelings.  When a child makes an attempt and fails, we present her with approval and pride for the moxy of her effort.  We celebrate each child’s victories by recounting the struggles they had on the journey to mastery.  This builds a culture amongst the children; where they celebrate each other’s progress more than each other’s abilities.  We call our school an academy because it is dedicated to the advancement of the totality of the child.

 

Montessori Method

            In the early years of life, children have minds that function very differently from that of adults.  A child’s mind absorbs vast amounts of information seemingly effortlessly. Dr. Maria Montessori named this special ability "The Absorbent Mind."  Children absorb their environment, and in this way they accumulate the understanding, which will later build up their conscious life.  They learn without knowing that they are learning, through activity, play, conversation and investigation.  Dr. Montessori stressed that we should "Never help a child with a task at which she feels she can succeed." We, the teachers, come to prepare the environment and spark their interest, and let them discover for themselves. They become truly absorbed in a subject, when they have the freedom to work with and manipulate whatever they choose.

            *Approximately a third of each day will be aligned with the Montessori approach.

 

Erikson’s Theory: Initiative vs. Guilt 

            Developmental Psychologist, Erik Erikson, used the term “vigorous unfolding” to describe the newly freed energies and autonomy of the early childhood years.  Children in this stage of development relish new feelings of purposefulness, and are invigorated by accomplishments, yet deflated by guilty associations with failure.  Erikson regarded play as the means by which young children learn about themselves and the surrounding world.  Play permits children to try new skills with little risk of criticism or failure. Play allows them to ‘try on new jackets’ as they develop their personalities and abilities.  

            *Approximately a third of each day will be aligned with imaginative play.

 

Kindergarten Readiness and After School Kindergarten Support

            Following the California Kindergarten Standards, my goal is to ensure that children have the social and emotional (as well as intellectual) skills to be successful when they enter either private or public school.  Each afternoon, I work with older students on their homework, sight words, mathematic reasoning, and all other areas that may need support. 

            *Approximately a third of each day will be aligned with teacher directed activities.