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235 Hope Road, Tinton Falls, NJ 07724  /  732.542.4777

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Preschoolers Learn through Interactive Adventures

Ranney’s Summer Program in Interactive Preschool Adventures offers children ages 4 and 5 six weeks of hands-on learning. Each week, the children focus on a different unit, such as “Amazing Animal Architects,” “Marvelous Magnets,” “Musical Instruments on Parade,” “The Young Naturalist,” “Young Authors Literacy Series” and “Primary Geometry,” that allows them to explore the world around them. Hands-on projects and crafts build upon what the students learn each week, enabling them to see and understand for themselves how things work.

Margaret Lawson (Emma '27 and James '25, Colts Neck) says that her 4-year-old daughter came home knowing and understanding words such as “evaporation” and “precipitation.” “She also learned how plants grow from seeds and all about her shapes,” said Mrs. Lawson. “I was extremely impressed with the program. The teachers were fun, kind and caring and Emma had a wonderful time!”

According to Ms. Elise Innocenti, one of the Pre-K course instructors, the program uses center-based learning that incorporates team-building activities and problem-solving to learn or build upon new concepts. “Our adventures program also builds fine motor skills through play and writing and our daily routine allows the students to know what is coming next, which makes transitions throughout the day effortless for them,” she explains. Song and movement are incorporated into the curriculum as well. For example, students learn to keep rhythm to a beat using hand-eye coordination.

Other activities involve the use of iPads and interactive SMARTBoards®. Using this technology, children can review letter sounds, play number games and watch educational videos on topics such as a seed growing into a plant or a sea turtle using its back flippers to build a nest.

“We also incorporate the elements of science by experimenting, predicting, making hypotheses and learning about liquids and solids,” says Ms. Innocenti. “Texture and nature walks allow students to build math skills (e.g., counting, grouping, organizing from smallest to largest and largest to smallest) and use their five senses to explore the world around them. One such walk included examining different types of tree bark on the Ranney campus.”

This program offers summertime learning at its best for bright and inquisitive preschoolers, says Kathleen Deeken, Director of Summer Study and Student Support Services. “By approaching learning through structured and unstructured play, the program provides for the development of personality building skills such as social awareness and sharing, as well as sensory and spatial understandings, fine and gross motor perceptions, and receptive and expressive language and self-expression.”

Read about a game the children played to learn about ordinates and the rules of magnetism.

Watch a video about Ranney’s year-round Early Childhood Education Program.

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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.