Give Your Child a Good Start in Life

Give Your Child a Good Start in Life
As a parent, you want to do what’s best for your children. From the time they are born,
you do what you can to ensure the best start in life for them. One important step you can
take is to enroll them in preschool. Doing so is a proven way to better prepare them for
kindergarten and beyond.
At Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), we know that a preschool education provides
a child with the best possible environment to prepare them fully for entering kindergarten.
We can help you find a low- or no-cost quality preschool within the LAUP network for your
child near your home or work throughout Los Angeles County. With hundreds of sites in our
network, we offer you a great choice of preschools, including public, private, charter-, faith- and
home-based facilities, at little or no cost to you.
What you do as a parent is up to you. But if you want your child to benefit from a high-quality
early childhood education, then preschool is your right choice. This guide will provide you
with valuable information as you ponder that important decision.
1
How Preschool Benefits Your Child
According to research, a year of high-quality preschool greatly benefits children during
their formative years. Preschools are no longer just about finger-painting and snack-time.
Instead, most preschools teach important basics like the alphabet, numbers, colors,
days-of-the-week, and more. If your child learns these basics when he/she enters
kindergarten, then they will have more confidence and be able to learn more effectively.
More importantly, our preschools are designed to encourage a child to explore, experiment
and fall in love with learning.
Sending your child to a high-quality preschool will also help him/her to develop important
social skills that build confidence and relationships. Not only will your child make new
friends, but they will also learn how to share and learn the importance of following
directions, something you and your child will benefit from for years to come.
Another benefit of enrolling your child in preschool is that they are less likely to suffer
from separation anxiety when it’s time to send them to kindergarten. Having attended
preschool, your child will eventually be accustomed to being more independent as they
learn that when you drop them off, you will return. They will learn they are not being
abandoned and can have fun at school, while you will have peace-of-mind.
2
At LAUP Preschools, a Safe and
Nurturing Environment is Our Promise
When it’s time to select a preschool for your child, we expect you to have high expectations
regarding quality, safety and results. At LAUP preschools, those are all important factors
that have been the cornerstone of our success. As a parent, you have the right to set high
standards for your child’s education, including having a safe and nurturing environment
that promotes learning and development of social and behavioral skills.
That is why LAUP takes the time to evaluate each preschool before it joins our network.
Every site is expected to provide a quality program and meet high standards when it comes
to teacher qualifications, student-teacher ratio and health and safety.
Each of our preschools is rated according to a five-star quality rating system, intended
to promote and maintain excellence, and ensure that your child receives the high-quality
education they deserve. All LAUP preschools begin with a minimum of three-stars.
Our in-field staff coach each provider to make each site a five-star preschool offering
the highest quality possible.
As part of our commitment to excellence, we also employ staff whose responsibility is to observe
and assess each preschool to ensure that quality standards are being met and maintained.
3
Brain Development in a Four-Year-Old
Learning Capability
Brain activity at 4 years old
The brain of a four-year-old has an enormous number of connections, a thousand
trillion of them, and the brain is amazingly active – twice as much as an adult’s
brain. The preschool child’s brain is not only ready, but is “hard-wired” to learn
at an amazing rate given appropriate, often play-based learning opportunities.
The youngster’s brain needs to learn how to make the right kind of connections,
and it develops its brainpower through talking, singing, reading and playing.
Picture books, alphabet books and early reading primers, nursery rhymes, and
poster paints at preschool offer endless sources of entertainment and stimulation,
but nothing can equal the joy of being read to by a loving parent. Studies show
that environments with diversity (intellectual, game playing, etc.) can have
beneficial effects on the brain of a 3-5 year old. By the age of four, a child knows
1,500 words. (Their favorite two words seem to be why? and how?). By the age
of five, children typically have doubled their vocabulary to 3,000 words.
By comparison, an adult knows about 20,000 to 30,000 words. In every-day
conversation, however, an adult uses words from a vocabulary of about 1,000 words.
Social Development
Brain activity at 14 years old
Brain activity at birth
At age four, a child starts understanding the meaning of friendship. He or she is
learning to be more cooperative in play with other children. The child may even
have chosen a “best friend.” Usually – but not always – the chosen friend will be
one of the same sex. When playing in a group setting, one child usually emerges as
the leader. He or she will assign roles to the rest of the children – often saving the
best of them for faithful followers. Your child will like to listen to stories as well as
tell his own, and whisper and tell secrets. The four-year-old loves to tell jokes, even
if the joke doesn’t make sense to an adult listener, and loves to tell stories, often
very complicated tales. Your child's young friends will begin to have a real
influence on his or her behavior. Most of the time, your preschooler can be
counted on to share and take turns, although he or she can be “bossy.” He or she
understands simple rules and, when playing in a group setting, usually obeys them.
But the child may like to test limits by using inappropriate language. The child
needs moral authority, with simple do’s and don’ts.
There are Many Benefits to
Being an LAUP Parent
Enrolling your child in an LAUP preschool will not only help him/her, but it will also benefit
your family in other ways. For instance, LAUP parents can take advantage of our Vendor
Discount Program, designed to provide cost-savings through special discounts on educational
supplies and equipment from many retailers.
As an LAUP parent, you can also attend free workshops on topics pertaining to Early Care
and Education such as child discipline, transition to kindergarten, good homework habits,
and how to best stay involved in your child’s education. You will also receive information on
how to access community resources related to important issues such as good health, social
services, and educational services. You may also join our Parent Alliance for Leadership
program. By joining, you will, among other things:
• Strengthen your communications with the staff of the preschool program,
other parents and community agencies.
• Learn more about community programs and services that can benefit your child.
• Provide feedback about your child’s preschool experience.
• Create, support and encourage family events.
And the benefits do not stop once your child leaves an LAUP preschool for kindergarten. As a
member of LAUP’s Alumni Program, we will keep you informed about important LAUP events,
programs and other benefits. You will also receive information on how to maximize your
child’s educational experience, and how to support expansion of Early Childhood Education
efforts in Los Angeles County .
6
LAUP Theme Song: “Moving Up with LAUP”
Song Lyrics (To Hear the Song, Please Visit www.laup.net) MOVIN’ UP Words and music by Jimmy Hammer and
Dave Kinnoin Produced by Jimmy Hammer Sung by Cleto Escobedo ©2008 Los Angeles Universal Preschool
verse two:
On the edge, ready to thrive
Full of promise, totally alive
Invest in families now — later on we’ll find
We give dreams a voice
When we give our kids a choice
(To be...)
(repeat chorus) bridge:
It’s a feelin’ you get when you’re winnin.’
You can’t stop grinnin’. It's just the beginnin’...
Kids’ chant:
Preschool, preschool,
Happy you-and-me school.
Lookin’ up with LAUP
See-what-we-can-be school!
verse one:
Four years old, eager to learn,
Eyes wide open, energy to burn.
Getting’ one step ahead sure beats fallin’ behind.
Let ‘em grow up smart —
Now’s the time to start by
Kids’ chant:
Preschool, preschool,
Happy you-and-me school.
Lookin’ up with LAUP
See-what-we-can-be school!
chorus:
Movin’ up — A, B, C.
Movin’ up — 1, 2, 3.
All they need is love and opportunity
To be movin’ up —
To see what they can be.
Movin’ up...
7
Contact Information
LAUP invites you to receive more information about our preschool programs by calling
1-866-581-5287 or visiting our website: www.laup.net. Make the enrollment of your children in
a safe and nurturing preschool a priority. After all, it’s about their future, and they deserve the
very best start in life.
To locate an LAUP preschool near you, or to enroll your four-year-old in an LAUP preschool
at little or no cost throughout Los Angeles County, please visit www.laup.net.
A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY
PRESCHOOL EDUCATION TO THE CHILDREN OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Tel: (213) 416-1200
Toll Free (866) 581-LAUP (5287)
Fax: (213) 416-1299
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.laup.net
For additional information, please contact:
Los Angeles Universal Preschool
750 N. Alameda Street, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90012
8
Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) is a non-profit organization established to provide high-quality preschool
education to the children in Los Angeles County. Since 2005, its creative model that focuses on high-quality has
touched the lives of more than 30,000 preschool-aged children through enriching curricula and nurturing environments
aimed to best prepare four-year-olds to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. LAUP is primarily funded by First 5 LA, and
is lauded as a premier organization by the California Council for Excellence.
L A U P I S F U N D E D BY FIRST 5 LA