Unleash your child's Imagination
Building a community of families focused on your child's education!
Unleash your child's Imagination
Building a community of families focused on your child's education!
How it works
Who is involved?
Mom or Dad volunteer together with another parent partner to lead a small preschool class one morning each week. You are scheduled on the same morning each week and may choose the age group you wish to teach. Many (but not all) parents will choose to volunteer with the age group to which their child is assigned. On other mornings when you are not teaching at Co-op, you may leave your child in the care of other parent teachers. You are always welcome to stay and play with your child but you can leave knowing that he or she will be loved and well cared for while you are gone.
Typical Schedule
9:00 am Volunteer parents begin setting up our classrooms with games, manipulates, and other materials from our Resource Room Based on the weekly theme outlines in your curriculum binder.
9:45 - Arrival/Big Circle
This is a time of all groups to come together for opening activities led by the director. We do the Pledge of Allegiance, days of the week, weather, etc. After a few songs, the children are dismissed to their groups.
10:00 am - 12:20 pm
Each group follows its own schedule of indoor and outdoor activities
- Indoor Activity Time- art projects, story times, pretend play, science experiments, free play with age appropriate materials, etc.
- Outdoor Center - messy play, paint, playdough, bubbles, soccer, and parachute games
- Bike time/playground -
- Teacher Time - Teacher will lead age appropriate learning activities based on daily themes including counting, letters, and beginning writing activities.
- Snack/Story Time - Parent provide nutritious sugar-free snacks and 100% fruit juice.
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm - Story Time
All children have story time with the Co-op teacher, while volunteer parents begin clean up.
12:30 pm - Pick up for all volunteer children. Non volunteer parents finish cleaning and pick up their child from teacher's classroom by 12:45 pm.
Parent Training Requirements
Training Day
All volunteer parents must attend a 8 hour training day that will be scheduled in August before the start of the school year.
CPR and AED Certification
All volunteer parents must be certified in CPR before volunteering in the classroom. The directors will assist you in finding a class that you can attend if needed.
Safeguarding Children
All volunteer parents will complete an online child safety course before volunteering in the classroom. Once registration is completed, the parent can begin the online course.
Why choose the parenting experience
Benefits for Parents
Parents gain insight into child behavior by observing other children. They observe how other parents and the professional teachers handle various situations and gain greater understanding and enjoyment of their own children through active participation in their education. They have the opportunity to share their experiences and expertise with others while working together in a cooperative setting. Parents often form lasting friendships with others as they share the joys of watching their children grow.
Benefits for Children
Children participate and learn in a supervised play experience with children their own age. Opportunities to interact with adults other than their own parents help get them ready for VPK. Children have hands-on experiences in creative arts, music, science, reading, math and language geared to their needs and developmental level.
Milestones through Music
All registered co-op children are invited to participate in the Milestones through Music program for free! Classes are held at the Church of Ascension every Tuesday at 10:30! No registration required.
Our Curriculum - Play based learning
- Co-op provides and enriching variety of activities with a "hands-on discovery" approach
- Our lesson plans include activities in math, science, language arts, pretend play and gross and fine motor development
- Children have an opportunity to develop social skills such as cooperation, sharing, taking turns, respect and consideration of other children and adults.
- Through our curriculum and our positive parenting techniques our children develop positive self esteem.
About Us
Michele Gladding
Jennifer Damesworth
Jennifer Damesworth
Director
Jennifer Damesworth
Jennifer Damesworth
Jennifer Damesworth
Assistant Director