The Preschool at Delmar is a year-round, arts-based program that serves children ages 15 months - 5 years old. The students learn through painting, sculpting, music, dance, drama and kid's yoga. Many of the key experiences for the development of children occur while participating and creating through the arts:
Visual arts - helps children to think creatively, communicate ideas, and develop physical skills utilizing tools
Dance – expressive, children learn patterning, awareness of their bodies, spatial concepts, gain flexibility
Music – children learn coordination, goal-setting, concentration and gain self-esteem with personal achievement. Studies have shown music enhances sports skills, as well as speech-flow, mathematics and reading achievement.
Drama – teaches imagination and social growth
Kids Yoga – enhances their self-esteem, develops imagination, teaches self-discipline, and they learn ways to relax and reduce stress.
A Harvard University study concluded music, visual arts and dance can be used to develop critical thinking, which includes the ability to use logic and reasoning in problem solving.
Delmar uses the High Scope Curriculum, a curriculum designed to help children succeed in elementary school. The fundamental premise is children are active learners, i.e., they learn best from activities they plan and carry out themselves. A professional teacher trained in High Scope understands how children mentally construct the world, and then builds on the thoughts and actions of a child.
In the High Scope classroom children have daily opportunities to decide what they want to do. The trained teacher uses that decision as the starting point for teaching. Each classroom is designed to facilitate this learning experience, beginning with the materials used in the classroom.