Connections Pre-School Group
When watching our groups in action, you might think they are only about playing and having fun, but there is hard work going on. Shhh- don’t tell the kids!!
Is your child:
Struggling in a typical preschool environment due to the sensory, language or functional demands?
Demonstrating delays in their language, social/emotional skills, play skills or motor skills?
In need of a smaller adult-to-child ratio to assist with their development, aid with transitions or separating from caregivers?
In need of a preschool program that will provide intensive family/child centered intervention?
Playworks’ Connections Preschool Program is a relationship based developmental program. Connections follows the DIR®-Floortime Model. The DIR® Model is a comprehensive framework which enables clinicians, parents and educators to construct a program tailored to the child’s unique challenges and strengths. Central to the DIR® Model is the role of the child’s natural emotions and interests. This has been shown to be essential for learning interactions that enable the different parts of the brain to work together and build successively higher levels of social, emotional and intellectual capacities.
Our main goals are to produce children who:
Are well regulated
Have healthy relationships
Have good self-esteem and a positive school experience
Have a strong sense of self and independence
Are in touch with their emotions
Are prepared emotionally, socially, behaviorally and academically for less restrictive environments.
Connections is led by our skilled clinicians which may include occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and/or Early Childhood specialists who have received training in the DIR® Model.
The foundations of our program are supported by research:
Almost all learning occurs in a relationship
The ability to enjoy and participate in relationships is pivotal for learning to relate to others, experiencing intimacy and positive self-esteem, and developing healthy coping strategies
Relationships provide the basis for communication
Meaning of gestures, words and concepts are learned as part of interactive and affective relationships early in life
Connections provides developmentally appropriate intervention and practices that include:
Child centered play which involves following the child’s natural interests and emotional inclinations
Semi-structured problem solving intervention provided to facilitate the mastery of specific processing capacities in the areas of emotional regulation, cognition, language and motor skills
Home-based programming in order to enhance interactions within the family
Connections is a part-time program which meets 2 days a week for 2.5 hours each day. This provides an opportunity for your child to participate in other recommended therapies, explore areas of interest, and/or attend preschool/activities with peers. We are a year round program divided into three semesters. Groups meet on Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday from 9-11:30 am. Children are placed according to their individual profile (developmental level).
For more information contact us here.