Easter Weekend (no school)

My daughter, Emma, has been attending Building Blocks since November 2005. When she started here, our plan was for her to attend the preschool program three mornings per week while I was on maternity leave with our second child. We wanted to provide Emma with a group learning situation for socialization, routine and play. We did not have any plans at that time to send her for JK or SK.

The program turned out to be more than we had anticipated. Building Blocks provides an environment that sets children up for success and facilitates a love of learning. The atmosphere and teaching style develops a more responsible learner and allows children to explore a greater depth of learning. Children are learning skills in the Building Blocks preschool program that many children are still being introduced to in JK, i.e.: the ability to sit in circle and understand the routine. The teachers here are all very caring, kind, calm and professional. Emma could feel that on her first day when she let me know that I did not need to stay with her for the morning.

As registration approached for the following year, Emma asked me if she was coming back for JK. It started us thinking about what path we wanted to take for Emma. Knowing the importance of the early years, my husband (who is a primary teacher) and I started to explore our options. We spoke to other teachers in the Peel Board, parents at Building Blocks and with Emma’s teachers. We realized very quickly that Emma would be missing out on an opportunity to continue to develop her love of learning here at Building Blocks if she did not continue.

After considering different scenarios and speaking with Mrs. Freer, we decided that we would continue Emma for her JK year five mornings a week. She has since continued in the SK program, five mornings, and now our younger child, Evan, is also attending the preschool program, three mornings a week. We cannot imagine making a better decision for both of our children, and our family. Watching how they have both developed here has been an amazing experience as parents. Aside from the academics, learning through play and the opportunity for the development of social skills, both children have developed a foundation for a love of learning. They both love coming to school and are upset if they ever have to miss it. Watching Emma reading and continuing to love learning has been a rewarding experience.

We know that this has given Emma the best start in her school career. We are confident that she will go to grade one next year with all the skills that she needs to be successful both academically and socially.

We plan to continue Evan through another year of preschool, JK and then SK and also plan to start our next child in the preschool program as soon as they can.

Thank you to the teachers at Building Blocks for all that you do for our children and the environment that you provide to them.