September 2021 Update

Dear Parents,

We are the parents of three children ages 10, 8 and 5. Our two older children graduated from Building Blocks a few years ago. Our youngest is currently enrolled in a half day SK program at Building Blocks and a half day SK program at a local public school. All of our children started at Building Blocks at the age of 3 in the preschool program and continued on to complete both JK and SK 5 Day Programs.

We firmly believe that the education our children received from Building Blocks has helped pave the road for their further education and is no doubt the reason why our children are enjoying so much success in school today.

We believe that EVERY one of the staff members at Building Blocks has made a contribution to our children. From each teacher to teaching assistant, co-op student, to other helpers, everyone has positively influenced our children in one way or another. There were countless times when we would hear one of our children excitedly tell us about the interaction or conversation he or she had with a particular teacher or staff member and we can tell right away that he or she had enjoyed it immensely. Just the other day, our oldest who is 10 years old and in Grade 5 told us how he still remembers one of the teachers he had in preschool. He remembered how scared he was going to school for the very first time and how loving and reassuring she was.

Our personal experience with the JK/SK program over the years is that it has continually improved from year to year. The amazing thing is that the teachers still manage to find ways to re-evaluate the program and enhance it even more the following year. This shows the continual dedication of these teachers and staff to the students, the JK/SK Program, and the school as a whole.

Our youngest is excelling in the SK program. She is particularly excelling in reading and writing which are the most important tools for further learning and education. We believe that the afternoon Public School Program has only been a supplement to the Building Blocks Program. We know this because the children at the afternoon public school are only starting to write their name and read three letter words whereas our child was first introduced to all of this more than one and a half years ago. Some may believe that it is too early to introduce reading and writing at the age of 4. We do not think so. We are amazed to see how much our children can actually learn at this age. The teachers have always made a conscientious effort to make learning both effective and fun. The best part is that the teachers only asked that we spend 10-15 minutes a day reading with our children. That was all we needed to do to achieve the success that we have had with our children. What a fantastic way it is to spend more time with them and foster a growing love of reading.

Building Blocks Kindergarten Program also taught my children how to learn. Through their weekly spelling tests in SK, they learned to have good study habits and also take responsibility for their learning. Also, we firmly believe that because they were already ahead of their peers in reading, writing and other curriculum, it gave them the confidence they needed to adjust to the more demanding and rigorous expectations of Grade One.

Not only did our children excel in academics, the years spent at Building Blocks also helped to develop their confidence. As they entered Grade 1, they quickly became comfortable with their new environments and new peers as well as welcomed and embraced new friendships, experiences and challenges. We cannot give enough praise to The Building Blocks Kindergarten Program. We have the perfect example to share with you. Last week while our Grade 3 daughter was studying for her spelling test, our youngest who is presently enrolled in the SK program at Building Blocks asked if she could dictate her older sister’s words to her. Guess what? To my amazement, she could actually read 18 out of 20 words. Wow! Somehow, that did not totally surprise me! She was so pleased with herself that she was smiling from ear to ear!

We truly feel that giving our children their early childhood education at Building Blocks Nursery School was the best gift we could have ever given them. We are truly thankful for the school and the staff. After this year, we will be sad to leave, but we hope that our children will continue to achieve academic and social success in the future and make their Building Blocks teachers proud.