Our Educational Philosophy
At Morrow Memorial Preschool, we believe young children learn best through active exploration, meaningful relationships, and hands-on, play-based experiences. Our curriculum uses open-ended materials and activities that are accessible to every child, so each child can participate meaningfully and experience success every day.
Teachers observe children’s interests and discoveries and plan engaging experiences across all developmental domains. Through a balance of guided experiences and free play, we nurture the whole child—socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and creatively—and foster confident, curious learners with a love of discovery.
We value strong partnerships among children, families, and teachers, and we are committed to a welcoming, inclusive community that celebrates diversity and encourages kindness, empathy, and respect. Our experienced educators create nurturing environments where children feel safe to explore, take appropriate risks, and build a strong foundation for future learning, including a deep commitment to outdoor play and community service.
Our Developmental Goals
MMPS’s curriculum is responsive to children’s interests, developmental needs, questions, and discoveries. We provide a variety of enriching activities each day and allow ample time for children to make choices and explore at their own pace. Experiences may grow from children’s interests and questions, books, classroom discussions, community events, and spontaneous discoveries.
We design our environment, daily routines, and interactions to support growth in key developmental domains that are vital to each child’s overall learning and well-being:
Social-Emotional: Helping children feel safe, welcomed and seen, build friendships, and develop self-confidence, independence, empathy, community and conflict-resolution skills.
Language: Building communication, listening, vocabulary, and early literacy skills through conversations, stories, songs, and print-rich experiences.
Cognitive: Fostering curiosity, problem-solving, reasoning, and collaboration through hands-on discovery and play.
Physical: Developing coordination, strength, and confidence through activities that use large and small muscles while teaching safety and promoting healthy habits.
Creative: Encouraging imagination, self-expression, and innovation through art, music, dramatic play, movement, and open-ended materials.
A Day Filled with Play-Based Learning
At Morrow, children explore a variety of learning areas through hands-on, age-appropriate and, relatable play-based learning experiences:
CREATIVE - Art materials such as paint, clay, play dough, water, and finger paints invite experimentation and self-expression. Block areas with varied sizes and types of blocks support building, collaboration, and physical play.
MUSIC - Children listen, sing, play rhythm instruments, dance, and move creatively, often connecting music to stories, themes, and other learning areas.
SCIENCE - Hands-on exploration includes observing seasonal changes, plants, and animals, as well as cooking and studying nature in natural or zoo habitats.
LANGUAGE & LITERACY - Daily conversations, stories, songs, fingerplays, and a diverse classroom library provide rich opportunities for communication, early literacy and a love of books and storytelling.
CULTURE, TRADITIONS & BELONGING - Books, music, conversation, family sharing, and age-appropriate celebrations help children learn about themselves, one another, and the wider world while building a sense of belonging.
COGNITIVE & CONCEPTUAL - Games and activities introduce colors, letters, numbers, shapes, measurement, position, and body parts in playful, developmentally appropriate ways.
GROSS MOTOR - Climbing, balancing, riding trikes, and using large blocks build strength, coordination, and confidence.
COMMUNITY - We help children understand their role in the wider community by meeting local helpers like police officers, firefighters, and postal workers through local field trips. Monthly family service projects cultivate empathy, kindness, and stewardship from an early age.