Westlake Little Explorers Preschool (WLE)

Westlake Little Explorers Preschool is currently accepting applications for the 2012-2013 academic year beginning February 1st, 2012.

Westlake Little Explorers Preschool is a developmentally appropriate, high quality, safe, and nurturing preschool program that supports the mission of WCS by better preparing students in our community for future school success.

Westlake Little Explorers is excited to announce that we are looking to add full day program in addition to the existing half day prekindergarten program for the 2011-2012 school year. The full day program will be available for the 2011-2012 academic year only.

The full day program will operate from 7:00 to 3pm with an extended day option as well. If you are interested in enrolling your preschooler in this program, please contact Ann Panzica at apanzica@natomas.k12.ca.us, or fill out a preschool application available in the WCS office and indicate that you are interested in the full day program.

Westlake Little Explorers will also continue to offer a high quality, affordable half day prekindergarten option in addition to the full day program beginning August 15th.

To be added to a class waitlist, please contact Ann Panzica and provide your child's name and birth date. Please see the Program Brochure for additional information.

Enrollment in the preschool program does not provide additional priority, nor guarantee admission into Westlake Charter Elementary School.

However, priority enrollment for WLE will be given to founding families, siblings of students currently attending Westlake, children of employees and children of current board members.

WLE Curriculum

Westlake Little Explorers Preschool integrates Westlake Charter's International Curriculum as well as the Responsive Classroom approach into the program. WLE also uses the Open Court Curriculum for phonemic awareness and writing as well as Houghton Mifflin Math which is in currently used at Westlake Charter School.

Westlake Little Explorers also utilizes the Project Approach to learning. The Project Approach fosters not only academic knowledge and skill sets but what many educators refer to as the >whole child. The use of the word whole stems from research indicating that students need more than content mastery to succeed in the 21st century—they need to be physically, emotionally, and socially healthy; they need to be intellectually challenged and supported by caring adults; and they need to be interested and engaged in their school learning.

Research indicates that there is a link between a child acquiring positive social strategies and achieving academic success. We focus on helping each child to develop strategies to help them problem solve and to promote social understanding. At Westlake Little Explorers, we use the California Preschool Foundation's standards and integrate these standards into areas where our students show interest. Teachers collaborate together and identify the needs of the students on an individual basis, and then take that knowledge to create dynamic projects for the students that are based on their interests.