Preschool-3K

I Can Do It

About our 3-Year-Olds Preschool-3K in Staten Island, NY

At Kiddie Academy®, we foster your 3-year-old’s creativity in an environment that encourages curiosity and exploration. Our teachers guide your child using technology, dramatic play, outdoor activities and more to make learning a fun and fruitful experience.

Our preschool, I Can Do It, program exceeds NYC 3K child care standards, offers small class sizes, year round care and part-time and full-time options.


Strict health and safety procedures will be followed

While your preschooler is at our Academy, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing that they’re in a healthy and safe environment thanks to Health Essentials, our enhanced health and cleaning initiative based on CDC guidelines to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

If you're ready for more info, we'd love for you to come visit us

Life Essentials®

Preparing your 3-year-old for school and life

Our I Can Do It program is developed through our Life Essentials® curriculum to provide your 3-year-old with well-rounded learning experiences while receiving positive, nurturing care.

Language Arts & Literacy

Focus: Making connections between letters, words and sounds.

Our teachers use age-appropriate books as your child listens to and retells stories, asks questions and shares ideas. Language development is also strengthened through individual and small-group activities in our Dramatic Play and Library learning centers.

3-Year-Old Activities

  • Singing to learn the Spanish words for parts of the body.
  • Practicing writing letters of our names outside with sidewalk chalk.
  • Exploring unfamiliar vocabulary.

Learn On®

Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home.

  • Sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” to learn the Spanish words for parts of the body.
  • Have your child practice writing the letters of their name outside with sidewalk chalk.
  • Read “Where the Wild Things Are” and talk about unfamiliar words, like “gnashed,” “tamed” and “rumpus.”

Mathematics

Focus: Identifying similarities and differences within a group of objects.

Our teachers guide your 3-year-old through creating sets and counting beads and blocks. This helps them build a foundation for math and solve simple problems.

3-Year-Old Activities

  • Making a graph of our favorite colors.
  • Building towers in the Blocks and Transportation learning center and counting the number of blocks used.

Learn On®

Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home.

  • Help your child build a tower from blocks, then count the number of blocks used.
  • Have your child count how many items they can find that are red, blue and green, then make a graph to show the results for each color.

Science

Focus: Investigating the world around us through observation and problem-solving.

We put your 3-year-old’s natural sense of wonder to work, teaching them about people, plants, animals and our environment through hands-on activities.

3-Year-Old Activities

  • Reading “Sunflower House” then planting our own sunflower seeds and talking about what we see as we watch them grow.
  • Using clay and aluminum foil to explore what sinks and floats in our water sensory table.

Learn On®

Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home.

  • Write the letters that start your child’s first and last names so that they become familiar with the shapes and can practice the sounds those letters make.
  • Do the finger play “Where is Thumbkin?” and have your child mimic the actions to learn the names of the fingers.
  • Have your child draw a picture of a face, then practice the Spanish words for eyes (los ojos) and mouth (la boca).

Social & Emotional Development

Focus: Providing an ideal community atmosphere for learning, taking turns and sharing with friends.

In our learning centers, our teachers guide your 3-year-old through activities that help develop a sense of self while helping them build and maintain positive relationships.

3-Year-Old Activities

  • Reading to build self-awareness and confidence as a unique individual.
  • Learning about other cultures through storytelling and dances from around the world.

Learn On®

Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home.

  • Read “ABC I Like Me” to help your child build self-awareness and confidence.
  • Help your child research stories from other parts of the world to help learn about different cultures.

Gross & Fine Motor Development

Focus: Developing strength, coordination and finesse in large and small muscles.

We provide the environment, activities and materials needed to help your 3-year-old’s muscles grow. Through fun daily activities, our teachers give your child the opportunities, motivation and encouragement to develop new skills.

3-Year-Old Activities

  • Practicing simple yoga stretches and poses outside.
  • Building coordination by fitting pegs in peg boards.
  • Bouncing and catching a ball.

Learn On®

Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home.

  • Practice simple yoga stretches and poses.
  • Have your child fit pegs in peg boards to build dexterity.
  • Bounce and catch a ball with your child to help build coordination.

Character EssentialsSM

Focus: Helping your child become a good citizen.

Character education is integrated into everything we do to support the ideas and skills your 3-year-old is already learning. Our teachers guide your child through activities that build upon positive character traits, like responsibility, leadership, empathy and forming healthy relationships.

3-Year-Old Activities

  • Learning about emotions by discussing how events in a story make the characters feel.
  • Learning about cooperation by working together to paint scenery for a puppet show.

Learn On®

Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home.

  • Read stories then discuss with your child how events in the story make the characters feel.
  • Have your child help you prepare dinner as a way to help them learn about cooperation.

Health Essentials

Focus: Keeping your preschooler healthy and safe.

Health Essentials is a set of CDC-based standard operating procedures that can help mitigate the spread of potential infection throughout our Academy. Health Essentials is a key part of our overall COVID-19 response, expanding upon existing disinfection and health protocols that offer parents and staff peace of mind and demonstrates our commitment to creating a healthy and safe environment for learning and working.

Health Essentials guidelines are focused on four principles designed to cover various preventative, protective and corrective measures that address COVID-19:

1. Wellness Education

The solution starts with an understanding.

  • Children learn how following proper hygienic practices can keep them healthy
  • Academy staff receives training and must abide by enhanced health and safety practices outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

2. Enhanced Hygiene

Soap and water is the best solution.

  • Soap and water offer the simplest solution to combat infection
  • Staff increase handwashing frequency
  • All children must wash their hands upon entering their room at the start of each day and all recommended times thereafter in addition to following standard Academy handwashing procedures

3. Healthy Environment

A clean facility keeps families safe.

Academies adhere to advanced cleaning procedures:

  • Nightly cleaning
  • Daily laundering of soft items and bedding
  • Limiting items brought into the Academy

4. Symptom Monitoring

Keeping a watchful eye

  • Temperature monitoring at the Academy entrance.
  • Track symptoms using AcademyLink®
  • Isolate symptomatic children from others immediately upon observation
  • Contact parents for pickup from the Academy
  • Daily health check is completed upon arrival

Want to explore more?

Learn how we help your child develop into a thoughtful, caring, and adaptable individuals using our learning approach that exceeds state standards

How Life Essentials is different

Questions? Answers.

Explore some of the most frequently asked questions from parents of 3-year-olds.

Q. How does our program compare to the NYC 3K programs?
A. Our preschool, I Can Do It, program exceeds NYC 3K child care standards, offers small class sizes, year round care and part-time and full-time options.
Q. What policies are Academies required to have in place to address safety?
A. Our facilities and outdoor play areas are required to have secure entries and exits that are maintained by an electronic entry system. Only individuals authorized by you are allowed to pick up your child from the Academy. All employees are required to have undergone background checks prior to employment.
Q. Do I need to pack a lunch?
A. No. We provide an assortment of healthy, age-appropriate meals and snacks for the children to eat each day.
Q. What if my child has allergies?
A. Due to the high number of children with peanut allergies, we do not serve peanut products. If your child has a specific allergy, please list them on our dietary restriction letter so that we can make appropriate food substitutions.
Q. What are teacher qualifications?
A. All Kiddie Academy teachers must meet or exceed the state requirements for child care providers and are required to receive ongoing professional training annually. We also require background checks through local, county, state and/or federal agencies prior to employment.
Q. What will my child be doing?
A. At this age, children are naturally inquisitive and take pride in doing things on their own. Our teachers encourage your preschooler to take advantage of our center-based learning environment to explore and progress at their own pace. Your child will work on social/emotional development, motor skills and will be introduced to language arts, mathematics and science.
Q. How do you use technology in learning?
A. Kiddie Academy teachers use technology as learning tools and a means of communication. We feel it’s important to teach children how to use devices they will encounter in school, so they are given opportunities to use them for educational play and research. The use of televisions or computers for passive viewing is not part of Kiddie Academy’s curriculum.
Q. Do you have cameras in the classroom?
A. Many, but not all, Kiddie Academy locations have classroom cameras that parents can access via mobile or desktop apps. For the most accurate information on classroom cameras, contact your Academy directly to learn about camera availability and policies.
Q. What is Kiddie Academy doing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus?
A. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kiddie Academy already followed strict practices for health and cleaning that met or exceeded state and local standards. Since the coronavirus outbreak, we have implemented Health Essentials, a set of enhanced protocols based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for social distancing, disinfection, wellness education and symptom monitoring. The goal of Health Essentials is to uphold the highest level of health precautions and cleanliness for proper child care delivery.
A background image of a playground at Kiddie Academy

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