Nourish’s Early 5 Program
Nourishing challenge for your five year old.
Our Early 5 Program offers a unique perspective for a unique age group: those who fall close to the Kindergarten cut off date for their school district. Early 5 offers an enriching and challenging PreK experience in an intimate setting, small class size and a full day of deep learning. At Nourish, we focus on approaching learning through play which, research has proven, is the way children learn best. (It may be the way we all learn best.)
We can post here the Stanford studies that report the optimal age to start Kindergarten is six and the Harvard studies that speak to a child’s capacity for executive functioning, and this study on improved self-regulation for children who wait a year for Kindergarten. And you can read them and take them to heart or not.
In our many years of experience working with children in this particular age group and trying to help parents make the choice that is best for their child, we have found the dilemma to be that while they may not be quite ready developmentally for the rigorous curriculum, or the emotional and social demands of the modern day Kindergarten, he or she is in fact ready for a challenging and enriching learning experience beyond the typical half day preschool program. With little options available, parents may choose to have their child attend Kindergarten twice.
Ultimately, you know your child best. While thinking about your child’s needs, listen to this video to see if he or she is ready for the challenge of Early 5. Learn more about a few of our students below.
Mason has an August birthday. Cognitively, Mason is brilliant. He’s funny, outgoing, rambunctious and vivacious. He could have easily tested to get into Oregon’s Kindergarten but his mom went with this philosophy: let him be little. The family decided to have him in the Early 5 Program and he has flourished with confidence and self-esteem due to the unique connection Miss Ali and Miss Deanna have created with him.
Noah has a May birthday, months before the Kindergarten cut off. Noah is smart but finds himself impulsive. He thrived off the extra year of individualized needs in a small group size giving him the chance for another year of maturation that will benefit him in the long run.
Abigail gets lost in playful learning; she’s shy and quiet. She’s an October birthday, so would not have made the Kindergarten cut off without a test. She was able to deeply explore subjects that interested her over the course of the year without moving on to the next subject if she wasn’t ready. This allowed her to take ownership of her learning, something we sall deserve to have. Miss Ali and Miss Deanna were able to teach to her elevated level to enrich her love for learning.
Have you been wondering if your child is ready for Kindergarten, particularly in a year when a pandemic has changed the way education has been accessed? In a year when social emotional growth has been hindered with minimal play dates and social gatherings to give children the opportunity to learn in those settings? Have you been longing for connected care in an intimate setting for that last year before class sizes grow?
Do you believe in the philosophy to let them be little?
We encourage you to read over the current Kindergarten Common Core Standards. We encourage you to read the research and speak with Kindergarten teachers. We encourage you to speak with us about your child’s needs to become a life long learner. We created an alternative to this option because the modern Kindergarten curriculum is far different from what it was even 10 years ago and the rigorous academics, as well as the social and emotional demands, can be overwhelming and therefore developmentally inappropriate for some young 5-year-olds. With this is mind, placing a young learner in this environment sets him or her up for feeling frustrated and fosters unhappy feelings about school at the very beginning of his or her long school career.
Our Early 5 Program is an incubator of kindness, confidence, and problem solving skills. Miss Ali and Miss Deanna focus on emotional language expression, joy and connection to foster self-esteem and resilience in Kindergarten. Their goals are simple: build trust to be in relationship with your child so their invitations to playing and learning grow.
The details:
Children who turn 5 between May 2021 - December 2022
Full Day Care, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Monday - Friday
Intimate Child to Teacher Ratios (2:18)
Extended Care Available
No Formal Nap Time
Must Enroll in Kindergarten the Following Year
Testimonials
The Early Five program at Nourish is amazing! Ms. Ali is a wonderful and caring teacher and Ms. Deanna would do anything for her kiddos. We struggled with the decision for our son Fisher, with his May birthday he met the cut off for Kindergarten and he would be one of the oldest ones in the program. He would have done ok in kindergarten but maturity-wise we felt was not ready. It would be beneficial to not push him into something that he was not quite ready for. And it was the best decision we could have made for him. Fisher is very shy and Ms. Ali helped him come out of his shell. He was able to take on Kindergarten in 2019 with no problems! I watched my oldest child struggle in school so it was relieving that we didn’t have to worry about Fisher.
The preparation the Early Five program provides gives each child an advantage when they begin kindergarten. They have to know so much more now before they even start kindergarten. Whether your child needs extra help academically, social-emotionally or their maturity level is not quite there, Ms. Ali and Ms. Deanna will do their best to help your child grow and build their own confidence!
-- Fisher’s Mom, Kathy
Class of 2019
Spirited, animated, vibrant. These are just a few of the positive words people use for little boys, like mine, who are extremely overactive and impulsive. Prior to Early 5, I was worried about starting kindergarten. My son's age fell right after the cut off for suggested age for kindergarten. Could I have started him early based on a kindergarten readiness scale? Probably. Was he socially and emotionally ready for kindergarten? Absolutely not. When presented with the opportunity to be part of the Early 5 class, I knew that this program would ensure success for my son’s future. Throughout the year, not only did Ms. Ali work on the academic portion of kindergarten, she worked on his social skills, behavior, and emotional well-being. We have seen so much growth in areas of our son. He is able to make better choices, control his emotions, and use coping mechanisms that will allow for adequate progression in kindergarten. As an educator myself, this program has taught the most essential skills needed to truly be ready for kindergarten. I am so blessed and thankful for every day at Nourish because my son has truly flourished. We will truly miss all the teachers, they have forever impacted my son’s life.
-- Jeremiah’s Mom, Sarah
Class of 2019
I loved being in Early 5 with Miss Ali, because she gives the best hugs. I loved learning how to count past 100, how to be nice, and when we finished all the letters and numbers in our workbook. My favorite part was the ice cream party.
-- Evelyn
Class of 2019
The Early 5 program at Nourish goes above what any prekindergarten program of its kind. Our daughter learned all of the important skills for kindergarten, including writing all letters and numbers, simple Math operations, and how to read basic words. One of our favorite parts was the emotional “heartfulness” curriculum. She was able to express her emotions, and why she felt a certain way. I have no doubt she will be successful in kindergarten both academically and emotionally.
-- Evelyn’s Parents, Katie and Bob
Class of 2019
The Early 5 program at Nourish was a wonderful fit for my daughter this past year. Reagan had already participated in a preschool program for 2 years prior to starting the Early 5 program. Her late November birthday was past the Kindergarten cutoff, and we felt she needed another year to be emotionally and socially ready for the demands of Kindergarten. Instead of enrolling our daughter in another preschool program, my family began looking for a more structured program that would challenge her academically, while fostering her emotional growth. Her self confidence, curiosity, and a love for learning has truly grown while participating in the Early 5 program. More importantly, we knew the staff at Nourish worked wholeheartedly in preparing a curriculum that was stimulating and fun for this specific age group. Thank you for offering this unique program. It has been such a blessing to Reagan this past year!
-- Reagan’s Mom, Kim
Class of 2019
Resources
Kindergarten the New First Grade?, Washington Post
Ready or not? Stanford researchers weigh in on kindergarten preparedness,
Stanford Graduate School of Education
Improved Self-Regulation Study, Stanford Graduate School of Education
Executive Function and Self-Regulation, Center on the Developing Child, Harvard
Why I chose to delay Kindergarten,
Busy Toddler
