Preschool

 

Cincinnati Public School Preschool

Preschool is a very important stepping stone to your child's future. It is one of the most important ingredients to becoming all that you can be. Our preschool staff members teach students how to think, make good choices and learn to act with purpose through play, lessons and activities that will prepare them for kindergarten.

Cincinnati Public Schools provides quality, comprehensive preschool programs and collaborative services to support young children and families for lifelong learning — CPS has a long history of providing quality preschool programs. All CPS preschools are evaluated by the Ohio Department of Education, the majority of which are rated five stars, the state's highest rating.

For more information, call our Early Childhood Department at (513) 363-0240 or fill out the preschool interest form and you will be contacted about a high-quality preschool for your child.

Preschool at Pleasant Hill

Over the course of the school year, we build an appreciation and respect for our natural world and learn the value of our natural resources. We learn about the life cycle of plants and sustainable agriculture in our school garden with the help of the Cincinnati Garden Center, Tony Staubach from Ohio State, and our community partner members. We also watch the amazing growth in our tower gardens that are scattered around inside our school building! We learn about the life cycle of animals as well. We have a wide assortment of classroom pets that we study and care for. Some of our pets include a field mouse, a hermit crab, American toads, and a Lazarus, or wall, lizard. We are even attempting to hatch baby chicks this year! We have some amazing outreach programs that come to our school, including the Cincinnati Zoo, Hamilton County Parks, and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful. All of these partners teach us the value of taking care of nature, recycling and conserving resources.

Another integral part of our environmental science curriculum is our involvement in expedition learning. We get to take part in real-life nature experiences around the city. We take trips to the Cincinnati Civic Garden Center, the Cincinnati Zoo, Sunrock Farm, the Cincinnati Nature Center, and Green Acres Arts and Science Center. These trips give us concrete examples of how we can get involved in environmental science, and the lessons we learn on these trips can be brought back with us to expand upon in our classroom. We are so excited about environmental science, and thankful for all the opportunities we have at Pleasant Hill Academy to learn from science experts around our community.

Areas of exploration

Students in our preschool have multiple areas to explore:

• English Language Arts Center (speaking, listening, writing and reading): Through the language arts areas, children develop oral language and vocabulary, listening skills, letter recognition, rhymes, phonics, reading readiness skills, social skills and a positive attitude about reading.
• Library: In the library area, children can improve oral language, listening skills and reading readiness skills, and can learn new concepts and develop a love of books and reading.
• Computers: Research indicates that computer technology can help support learning and that it is especially useful in developing the higher order skills of critical thinking, analysis and scientific inquiry.
• Small Motor Area: In the small motor areas, children develop small muscles and eye-hand coordination, increase their attention span, improve social skills, and build concepts about size, shape, color and pattern.
• Math Area: In the math area, children learn counting, grouping, patterns, comparisons, time measurements, addition, subtraction, small motor skills, geometric shapes, problem solving and social skills.
• Blocks: Through playing with blocks, children develop concepts of number, size, shape, space and weight. They also improve manipulative skills, language, social skills and self-confidence while deriving personal satisfaction.
• Music/Listening Center: Through music, children can improve auditory discrimination and auditory memory, verbal expression, motor skills, and creativity. They also learn about beat, rhythm, tempo and melody, as well as derive personal enjoyment.
• Dramatic Play/Kitchen/Toy Shelf: Through dramatic play, children learn cooperative play and social skills using appropriate interactions, practice language skills and express creativity.
  Science: Through the science area, children are able to experiment, explore, investigate, solve problems, make decisions, develop concepts about science and nature, improve language, interact socially and develop sensory skills and math concepts.