Academics

Preschool

Learning lives in the heart and mind.

In BCD's Preschool we believe....

List of 6 items.

  • Small is Mighty

    Every child deserves to be known and loved, and our small class sizes and low student/teacher ratios empower us to live this value every day. BCD Preschool is a unique learning environment where teachers can build meaningful relationships with each student, nurture their strengths, and help them meet goals through focused, individualized attention.
  • Learning Lives in the Heart and Mind

    Preschool is all about learning how to be kind and thoughtful, be a good friend, and give back. That’s why our motto—Respect yourself. Respect others. Take responsibility for your actions.—is emphasized throughout the school, and character development is an important part of each day. Conflict resolution skills are taught on a daily basis as teachers model appropriate communication, behaviors, words, and strategies for expressing emotion.
  • Balance Is a Big Deal

    Our classrooms and routines are structured and follow a general “flow” each day. However, our routines are flexible and maintain a balance in all that we do. We challenge our students to reach their highest potential by using the research-based IEYC curriculum and differentiated teaching practices.
  • A Flourishing Faculty Fuels Excellence

    Our faculty is the heart and soul of BCD, and every member of our preschool teaching staff is committed and passionate about early childhood. Preschool lead teachers have either a bachelor’s or master’s degree in early childhood or elementary education (or a degree in a different field and coursework in early childhood education). Preschool assistant teachers are all qualified early childhood teachers in the State of Colorado. BCD encourages professional growth by providing our faculty opportunities to engage in ongoing professional development and continuing education.
  • All Bulldogs Are Family

    BCD promotes strong and lasting family/school connections. Parents are always welcome and encouraged to actively participate in classroom activities, field trips and school events.
  • Our Campus Marks the Spot

    Our beautiful BCD campus is a safe and secure place for young minds to begin their educational journeys. What’s more, being part of a bigger school means our outstanding facilities are unmatched by any other preschool in the area.

Schedule Options

BCD’s preschool program welcomes students starting at age 2 ½ and runs through Pre-Kindergarten. 

Schedule Options:
3 days until 1:00pm
3 days until 3:00pm
5 days until 1:00pm
5 days until 3:00pm

student ages

Young Preschool - students must be 2 ½ years old to start the program. The cutoff is 2 ½ by October 31st.
 
Preschool - for students who are 3 years old by September 30th and who will turn 4 during the year.
 
Pre-Kindergarten - for students who are 4 by September 30th and who will turn 5 during the year and for 5 year olds doing a 'gift year' before heading to Kindergarten.

Learning Lives in the Heart and Mind

Our preschool program is rooted in the belief that learning to navigate the social world is the most important thing that children learn while at school. Preschool is all about discovering how to be kind and thoughtful, be a good friend, and how to follow the “golden rule” of life. We strive to truly LIVE our school motto—Respect yourself. Respect others. Take responsibility for your actions. With this in mind, character development is embedded in daily real-life experiences that span from the sandbox to the block area to dramatic play. Our preschool teachers lovingly guide and intentionally foster children’s social and emotional growth, with the understanding that learning to work in groups, share, make choices, and respectfully engage with others is an important part of learning and integral to success in life.

List of 1 items.

  • The most important thing is to be kind.


    I AM A BULLDOG
    - BCD Preschool student

Program Overview

Our curriculum and approaches to teaching skillfully weave intentional teaching and playful learning. Our method of teaching incorporates best practices in education and balances children’s need for play while incorporating support with language arts and literacy, number concepts, science, social studies, self-help skills, fine and gross motor skills, and social-emotional development. We carefully monitor and track each child’s progress using Teaching Strategies® formative assessment solution, GOLD®. With GOLD®, assessment is an organic part of our teaching, thus helping to ensure that every child is supported in their individual strengths, challenges, and opportunities for growth. 

BCD’s preschool utilizes IEYC’s curricular units of learning (themes) to guide our teaching and learning. The themes are specifically designed for children ages 2 - 5 years and include a variety of topics such as This is Me!, The Brilliant Bug Ball!, Blast Off!, and Dinosaur Detectives. They support teachers with the implementation of age-appropriate experiences that focus on improving learning and whole child development.

The IEYC focuses on four key strands of social and emotional development: 

Independence and Interdependence: Focuses on personal, social, and emotional development and helps children see themselves as unique individuals with a cultural heritage. It helps in building positive relationships, responding to their own and others’ feelings, and encourages them to approach tasks with increasing confidence and independence. 

Communicating: Develops a broad range of communication skills - including language development.

Enquiring: Supports children in understanding the similarities and differences in people, living things, the environment, and materials. Children are encouraged to investigate, pose questions, and explore ideas.  

Healthy Living and Physical Well-Being: Develops a positive attitude towards health, self-care, physical activity, and overall well-being.
 
Promoting language arts and literacy skills is an important part of BCD’s preschool program. We use age-appropriate and engaging curricula (including Learning Without Tears and Heggerty) that are rooted in hands-on learning experiences that capture children’s curiosity about letters (upper and lowercase), letter-sound relationships, and phonemic awareness. Our teachers thoughtfully engage children as they make connections and build their understanding of how writing connects to the words we hear and how language is used to communicate.  

Numbers and math are a part of life and our preschool program and approach to teaching ensures that children engage in math and science daily - using age-appropriate and hands-on, experiential learning activities that connect to and support their everyday world and experiences while building meaningful understanding of foundational math and science concepts. 

Children are social beings and social studies concepts are nurtured as children discover the world in which we live in connection with their families, neighborhoods, and communities. Respect for people and the world are daily focal points and problem solving, character education, and conflict resolution skills are intentionally fostered.

In addition to our regular classroom curriculum and learning experiences, Boulder Country Day’s preschool program incorporates a “Specials” curriculum that includes instruction in World Language (French and Spanish), Movement, Music, and Library. In addition, all children participate in regular cooking classes and our Pre-Kindergarten students also engage in Art and STEM focused classes. Our Specials curriculum helps to ensure that every preschool child begins to discover their excellence.
We believe that it is a privilege to educate your child and that your child will have the opportunity to discover their own excellence at Boulder Country Day.

Free checklist - Preschool Choice Checklist

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Overwhelmed by choosing a Preschool for your child? Unsure if you want an academic or a play-based environment? Download the attached free Guide to Preschool Choice for guidance.

Inside the classroom

Boulder Country Day School    4820 Nautilus Court North • Boulder, Colorado 80301 • Phone - 303.527.4931 • info@bouldercountryday.org
Boulder Country Day School, where academic distinction meets education with character. BCD is a top rated, accredited private school in Boulder, Colorado where every child has the opportunity to discover their own unique excellence. Distinguished by small class sizes, outstanding faculty, engaging academics and a focus on community, our preschool, elementary and IB middle school teachers strive to create a well-rounded educational environment that balances traditional subjects with the arts, world languages, athletics and knowledge based units.

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