Pre-Kindergarten—where Learning forward begins
Sierra Canyon prepares children for a life of joyful, meaningful learning
Our full-day, five-day-a-week program nurtures cognitive, social, and emotional growth in equal measure. Our caring teachers spark each child’s curiosity, encouraging them to try new things, ask big questions, and discover the joy of learning.
Students work and explore in various settings: full class, small groups, one-on-one with a teacher, as well as independently. We equip our students with essential skills and concepts to succeed in our Lower School, including logical thinking, cooperative conversation, number sense, and gross and fine motor skills. They engage in hands-on experiences that build early literacy and math skills, laying a strong foundation and growing their confidence through developmentally appropriate learning.
In this special enclave dedicated to Pre-K, children feel safe and are encouraged to wonder, investigate, and make new friends. Your child will become more confident and curious with each passing day, preparing them for Kindergarten and beyond.
Pre-K specialist classes
During the school day, Pre-K students enjoy weekly classes in Art, Music, Wellness, Spanish, P.E., and Library. They begin learning to transition confidently from their cozy Pre-K environment to classrooms, studios, and athletic fields across our beautiful 17-acre Lower Campus.
Enrichment classes and extended day care
A sampling of some of our enrichment classes: Theater, Spanish and French Clubs, Dance, Violin, Cooking, Yoga, Art, Young Ninjas, and various sports clinics (swimming, soccer, basketball, etc.).
The Sierra Canyon school day can extend from 7am – 6pm at no extra charge.
An exceptionally secure campus
At Sierra Canyon, your child’s safety is our top priority. Every car entering campus stops at a locked gate, where a security guard verifies visitor information and runs a background check using the visitor’s driver’s license. Our school perimeter is gated and enhanced by video monitoring, and during dropoff and dismissal, we help your child in and out of the car.
For our youngest learners, a dedicated Pre-K area functions as its own “gated community,” providing an extra layer of protection within a secure, enclosed environment designed just for them.
We create a safe, age-appropriate environment where our teachers attend to every child’s particular interests and talents. We meet children where they are, and prepare them for the next level at the same time.
Parents are partners
Pre-K at Sierra Canyon is a shared journey that involves teachers, students, administrators, and fellow parents.
As your partners in your child’s education, our teachers communicate with you frequently, through a daily folder your child brings home every day, in weekly newsletters, through emails and phone calls, and in person. We make a point of celebrating your child’s achievements, large and small, as well as discussing areas of growth, and simply keeping you updated on everything we’re learning and doing.
We also invite parents, grandparents, and other family members to volunteer by reading to classes, helping us celebrate birthdays, designing and staging theme days and holiday parities, and chaperoning field trips. In this vibrant and welcoming community, it’s not just children who make new friends—parents build lasting, life-long friendships of their own.
Purposeful play and foundational instruction
Our colorful, tactile environment inspires your child to touch, turn over, stretch, draw, and build—connecting fundamental concepts to the real world. We encourage children to make choices and explore, while also providing structured lessons throughout the day. Through our distinctive character education program, children begin learning what it means to be a friend—how to share, show kindness, and build meaningful connections with others.
Sierra Canyon’s Pre-K program introduces and strengthens the essential skills necessary for a successful and joyful Kindergarten experience. We integrate skill development into our comprehensive program of Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Health/Safety, Music, Performing and Visual Arts, Spanish, Wellness, Character Education, and Library.
SOCIAL SKILLS
• sharing and taking turns
•being a polite listener
• participating in cooperative play
• respecting rights and properties of others
• making and maintaining friendships
• problem solving
EXPRESSIVE AND RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE SKILLS
•following oral directions
• speaking comfortably in front of a group
• increasing attention span
• building descriptive vocabulary
•forming opinions
MATH SKILLS
•sorting/classifying/ comparing
• number recognition/ number sense
• patterning and sorting
• shapes
• composing and decomposing numbers
• beginning addition and substraction skills
Go to sierracanyonschool.org for more details. And please do visit us in person, if you haven’t done so already. We’d be honored and delighted to share this special place with you.
READING READINESS/ COMPREHENSION SKILLS
• left to right tracking
• sequencing
• sight words
• concepts of print
• phonological awareness (letter sounds, rhyming, onsets and rimes, sound blending)
•recalling details
• logical thinking/ inferring