News
Intelligym’s stimulating, theme-based curriculum: a solid beginning for lifetime learning skills By MARíA EUGENIA GUERRA
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isters Janyne Jordan Haralson and Pamela Jordan, rounding the corner on the first-year anniversary of Intelligym, the school they opened last September, are preparing for another great year of innovative, high stimulus pre-school curriculum. The learning center at the corner of North Point and Calle del Norte is dedicated to preparing youngsters between the ages of two and four with well-developed learning skills before entering formal education. Intelligym’s theme based, developmentally appropriate learning curriculum offers both structured and hands-on learning opportunities in two sessions, the morning session from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and the afternoon session from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Enrollment is limited to eight two-year olds, 10 three-year olds, and 10 four-year olds per session. The school’s teachers are all degreed instructors. ”Experience is the basis of learning, and so we offer center-based activity areas that engage children in learning while offering them fun and unique experiences,” Jordan said, adding, “The centers allow children to develop skills and self confidence as they use their imagination, solve problems, explore, and exercise decision making and independent thinking skills. We are happy to announce a new addition to our staff, Ashley Person, who will teach American Sign Language twice a week. We are also offering formal music instruction for all ages.” The curriculum introduces certain letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and three themes each month. The activity centers for reading, math, science, social studies, art, and music WWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
follow those themes with concepts that offer hands-on immersion. The school is equipped with Lego activity centers and sand and water tables. Its movement center, a small indoor gym, is equipped with sensory stepping stones and other activities that inspire movement. Science activities include experiments, magnets, making snow, following the life cycles of ladybugs and butterflies, and “green” lessons about taking responsibility for recycling and the environment. “Everything in Intelligym is educational and everything is scaled to size,” Jordan said, adding, “Children will have a sense of the world as well as the country, state, and city in which they live. Those lessons will be bolstered by
being greeted in the language of the country being studied, language dolls, maps, costumes, and interactive storytelling.” According to Jordan, Intelligym’s exceptional academic curriculum and its art/music/ movement program aim to stimulate intellectual growth by pairing the best educational resources with personnel who can meet the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical needs in an environment of patience and respect. “This fosters the development of a positive self-image, respect for each other and other cultures, and the earth,” Jordan said, adding that she has researched curriculum for a learning center over the last 20 years. She and her sister, she said, have purchased the best, most intelligently written curriculum possible to have a school
on par with the Acorn School in San Antonio. Summer enrollees at Intelligym have enjoyed a variety of short-term classes – everything from meditation to natural science discovery instruction based on the books of Eric Carle. Some of the more light-hearted and creative summer classes include I Want to Be A Princess; I Want to Be A Pirate; Dinosaur Dig; Fancy Nancy; I Do Believe in Fairies!; I Like to Move It, Move It; Cowboys and Indians; Spa Science; Beginning Quilling; Ocean Animals; Quiero Ser Periodista; and Farm Animals. “Intelligym offers a clean, safe, and nurturing environment for exploration, discovery, and learning,” Jordan said, adding, “We want to provide positive guidance for discipline. There is no punishment or time out at Intelligym. There’s a ‘How do I feel today?’ mirror to help identify emotions, and if emotions look like they need attention, there’s an area for reflection and quiet time in every classroom.” Jordan said parent participation is welcome. She added that Intelligym provides “only healthy snacks.” The Jordan sisters are no strangers to education or the concept of an escuelita in Laredo. Their great-grandmother Mary Ward was the founder and director of Laredo Preparatory School on Victoria Street. Their grandmother Margaret Peterson was a 50-year educator and a principal in the Laredo Independent School District, and their mother Sharyn Peterson Jordan was an LISD trustee for eight years. Lifetime educator Haralson is Intelligym’s director of Academics. She holds a Master’s in Education from Incarnate Word in San Antonio and an undergraduate degree in Child Psychology from Pine Manor University in Boston. Pamela Jordan is the school’s business manager. For further information on fall enrollment, call (956) 717-1142. u LareDOS | JU LY 2009 |
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