About OMES

Create an inclusive and diverse community that cultivates a nurturing and collaborative environment, celebrates individuality, and encourages self-confidence, independence, curiosity, and creativity.

Our mission is to provide developmentally appropriate activities that also accommodate each child’s individual interests.

Our Goals

Our program is designed to persuade this goals:

To encourage children to be active researchers and constructors of knowledge.
Create opportunities for children to actively participate, inquiry, and explore things.
We believe in the importance of relationships, and social development. We guide children to build connections with other children, their families and teachers. Change to community.
Encourage children in diverse ways to think, explore and learn and express themselves through drawing, sculpting, music, dance, and movement.
Respect children’s processes. We strive to give children the time and space to figure things out for themselves.
To nurture what is special about each child.
Always have a stimulating and healthy environment for your child to explore and grow in.

Philosophy and Curriculum

Open Minds Early School is a Spanish Immersion School inspired by Reggio Emilia’s philosophy.

We designed the classroom space and our curriculum based on scientific research in child brain development.

We set out to create a preschool experience that allowed all kinds of children to have their own learning style, as we always dreamed for our children.

Our research and experience in Child Development have led us to focus on six core aspects:

Second language training – Spanish Immersion.
Health and Nutrition.
Music, Rhythm, and Creative Play.
Community Building and Social Skills.
Nature, Science, and Logic.
Mindfulness.

At OMES, we cook, sculpt, compose, dream, question, and resolve together hence our school motto “Learning is living.” Children can be highly motivated, feel actively involved in their own learning, and produce work of high quality when they have the time to engage in short and long-term projects.

Our primary principle is to promote participation in age-appropriate activities, such as unstructured hands-on play, group story-time, and themed activities. Kids are encouraged to learn through play, though some can add more academic content in response to demand.

Second language training – Spanish Immersion

There is strong evidence that suggests that learning more than one language at an early age can lead to improved cognitive abilities in the long term. Moreover, it helps create a world that is more inclusive as it allows children to comprehend other cultures better. We speak Spanish throughout our day, and we help them with some English when they need it.

Health and Nutrition

At OMES, we emphasize teaching children about nutrition and learning the connection between nature and food. We create opportunities for kids to learn through gardening, engaging their natural curiosity and the source of their own food.

Music, Rhythm and Creative Play

Children thrive on multi-sensory learning opportunities. Each of our five senses activates specific neurons in the brain. For young children, multi-sensory activities provide more learning opportunities than single-sensory activities because more of the brain becomes involved in the lesson.

4. Community building and social skills

When building relationships is at the center of an early childhood classroom, the quality of student-teacher interactions and academics improves. Teachers and parents notice children using kind words with each other. They see children working together as a team towards common goals. There is a decrease in aggressive behaviors and negative attitudes. There is an overall improvement in the classroom climate.

5. Nature, Science and Logic

Logic and reasoning skills are an essential part of child development and early learning and a foundation for competence and success in school and other environments. Children’s ability to think, reason, and use information allows them to acquire knowledge, understand the world around them, and make appropriate decisions.

6. Mindfulness

Mindfulness helps kids focus on what’s happening now and keep their thoughts from drifting. Kids can learn mindfulness. Mindfulness can help kids build key skills like focus and self-control.

Conflict Resolution

Our emphasis on problem-solving and conflict resolution supports our anti-bias goal, where children come and listen to and respect each other’s hopes, needs, and ideas. Children are gently guided to realize the effects of their actions upon one another. They are taught to be respectful of one another and are encouraged to seek out solutions to problems with each other.

Parent Involvement

At OMES we require that parents get actively involved in their child’s education and progress. This is why we ask that once a month parents spend 30 minutes in the school doing an activity with the kids. E.g. storytime, gardening, cooking, arts and crafts, and others.

Once every 3 months parents are expected to participate in lunch, by either cooking or bringing a special dish. We do this to encourage our children to learn about nutrition, expose them to new flavors, and get them involved in making their food.

About our Reggio Emilia Approach

The Reggio Emilia approach is a philosophy education created by Loris Malaguzzi after World War II.

As an educator and citizen of the small italian town Reggio Emilia, Loris Malaguzzi used government funds to invest in early childhood education and built a school using stones from the destroyed buildings.

This approach is based on the notion that young children are capable of initiating their own learning. Teachers will present a framework of activities and children follow their own interests between them. What surge from that focal point it can lead in a curriculum for weeks or months, depending on children’s interest.

a. Hundred Languages of Children and the Emergent Curriculum

‘The 100 Languages’ is a metaphor used to describe the many different ways young children show their understanding, learning and thinking, which is why expressive arts is one of the most important elements of the Reggio Emilia approach. Allowing children to express themselves is key.

b. Daily Documentation

At OMES, teachers document their work with children in order to create a detailed process of learning.

c. Environment as The Third Teacher

The environment is designed and created for children and with children focusing on beauty and respect, using their art, crafts and nature on a kid eye level.

d. Children, Parents and Teachers as Partners

Malaguzzi thought of the school as a construction site where children and adults work together on a daily basis to create new learning experiences and build community. The curriculum emerges in partnership with the children, and within the context of the community.

Program

Regular program hours: 8am to 3:30pm

Before care hours: 7:30 am to 6pm.

After care hours: 3:30 pm to 6pm.

Ages: 18 months to 5 years old.

Caregivers: 1-5 Providers to children.

We provide 2 Healthy snacks per day. Families provide lunch.

Potty trained is not required.

We offer a high teacher to student ratio to ensure every child has personalized care and attention throughout the day. Our tuition rates are higher for children under two years of age as we must ensure more staff for younger children.