Lead / Create / Contribute
235 Hope Road, Tinton Falls, NJ 07724  /  732.542.4777

Early Childhood Builds Foundations for Success

Ranney's Early Childhood program includes Beginners (age 3) and Pre-Kindergarten. Our teachers are specialists in Early Childhood Education and our classrooms are distinctive, featuring intentional spaces grounded in Reggio Emilia, a developmental theory leveraging exploration and creation. In this model, the room becomes another teacher. The classroom starts in September with a blank canvas and evolves through the year as children take on responsibility and demonstrate new knowledge. As a result, each classroom becomes a unique reflection of a particular class of students. Class spaces are in a constant state of growth and change; change that can be impacted by students’ own contributions.

Early Childhood classes are kept small, with low student-teacher ratios so that students can receive nurturing, individualized attention. Throughout a six-day cycle, students have the opportunity to visit the Searle Library and Media Center, the LS music studio, world language classrooms, and the community garden. Early childhood students have the opportunity to work with multiple teachers. Students also enjoy our athletic facilities including an indoor heated pool and outdoor play structures designed with a variety of age-appropriate physical challenges.

List of 2 items.

  • Beginners (Age 3)

    In Ranney's Beginners (Age 3) Early Childhood program, children start to develop the foundation for independent learning, and acquire skills through creative play, projects and activities. Following a daily routine that includes unpacking their backpacks, circle time, morning work, special activities, playtime, rest, afternoon work and dismissal, our Beginners foster a sense of responsibility and pride, which is a fundamental part of the Ranney experience. The Beginners curriculum provides a variety of experiences centered on the introduction to literacy and numeracy readiness skills such as letter recognition and early phonemic awareness, counting to 10, color and shape identification as well as sensory awareness and social emotional development. Each month, the Beginner students are introduced to a color, shape, number and a set of letters, with a goal of having students identify and recreate shapes, numbers and letters using various media. They also construct simple patterns, group items by color and develop sound/letter recognition skills. The Beginners curriculum incorporates themes, such as Thanksgiving, snowflakes, hearts and caring, and farm animals – activities that are intended to make learning interesting and meaningful.

  • Pre-Kindergarten (Age 4)

    The Pre-Kindergarten program continues to cultivate important skills and values first introduced in Beginners while helping children develop self-esteem, creativity and independence. Pre-Kindergarten students also learn the importance of their role and responsibilities within the classroom community.  The Pre-K program emphasizes advancement of socialization skills, the development of math concepts and reading readiness skills. In our language arts program, pre-reading skills are developed with an emphasis on phonemic awareness, letter recognition, sound to symbol relationships, left-to-right progression, sequence, exposure to sight words, and vocabulary development through comprehension of words and language. In mathematics, students work on the recognition of numerals 0-10, number concepts, counting, measurement, the calendar, shapes, patterns, and basic addition and subtraction. The course of study is integrated into monthly and seasonal themes, so that learning is both meaningful and fun.

Early Childhood Focus Areas

List of 4 items.

  • Math

    Math concepts are developed through multiple experiences with numbers in real-life situations and through the use of concrete materials.
  • Reading

    The love of story and language begins with singing, listening, developing phonemic awareness, and introduction to the letters and their sounds. Repetition and review are important because children develop these skills when they are developmentally ready.
  • Social Emotional Skills

    With an intentional emphasis on social emotional skills, activities and experiences are experientially based to foster social engagement and language development. Our Lower School Counselor works with individuals as necessary in addition to providing class and small group instruction.
  • Speech

    The Early Childhood program is rich with language experiences. Children are screened for speech and language during these years providing information for families. Upon entering Kindergarten our students are eligible for speech and language support.

Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777

Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.