WELCOME TO CORNERSTONE PRESCHOOL
Cornerstone offers hands-on, age-appropriate activities to enhance children's social, physical, intellectual, creative, and emotional development. We advocate for child-directed learning, fostering intrinsic motivation and self-esteem without fear of failure. Cornerstone Preschool is a non-profit preschool owned and sponsored by the Avon Lake Presbyterian Church. The Preschool serves both children of the church as well as those of the community. Cornerstone has conventional classes for two and a half, three, four and five year old children. Cornerstone is fully licensed by the State of Ohio and is Step Up To Quality accredited.
Meet Our Staff
Cornerstone’s main goal is to prepare children for kindergarten by creating and maintaining a positive self-image in each child through stress-free learning. We encourage the children to use and develop their language skills to help them with socialization, conflict resolution and problem solving. We are fortunate to have teachers that are passionate about early-childhood education, and bring our creative and loving environment to life each day!
Our Programs
Our programs are tailored to meet the developmental needs of each child, focusing on fostering their social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills in a supportive and engaging setting. Cornerstone Preschool uses Creative Curriculum® to reflect our play-based philosophy and guide the teachers’ lesson planning as children develop through the years. We respect each child’s developmental progress and encourage growth in eight different areas including social and emotional development, problem-solving skills, literacy, math, and science. Each age group provides unique opportunities for growth.
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Play-Based Learning
Through play-based activities, children develop essential skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration.
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Creative Arts
Our creative arts program encourages self-expression and imagination through various art forms and activities.
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Outdoor Exploration
Exploring the outdoor environment allows children to connect with nature and develop a sense of curiosity and wonder.
2.5 Year Old Class
​​Within the broader framework of our curriculum for the whole child, some specific goals for our two-year-old program include:
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Sparking a love of learning
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Building the cornerstones of strong social and emotional skills
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Ensuring that every child feels secure being in a school environment.
3.5 Year Old Class
​​Within the broader framework of our curriculum for the whole child, some specific goals for our three-years-old program include:
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Develop independence and build self-expression skills
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Strengthen social interactions with peers and adults
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Explore the concepts behind early literacy, math, and problem-solving techniques
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Reinforce fine and gross motors skills
Pre-K Program
Within the broader framework of our curriculum for the whole child, some specific goals for our four-years-old program include:
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Reinforce independent behavior and problem solving skills
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Strengthen knowledge of language, the arts, science, and math concepts
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Support gross and fine motor development
All Day Pre-K
Not sure about Kindergarten for your child? Or did your child miss the Kindergarten cut off by just a few months? This class is your answer! In addition to school readiness skills that are provided in the half day 4 year old Pre-K class, the Progressive Pre-K class will dive deeper into those skills. It will focus on more advanced learning and organized skill building. Children will gain confidence to work independently and have the ability to use their skills on more in-depth projects with their peers.
Kindergarten
Cornerstone Kindergarten adheres to state standards while promoting effective learning through a hands-on approach. Key aspects include:
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Individualized reading and daily story time with quality literature.
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Mathematics taught through hands-on activities and manipulatives.
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Dramatic play centers for imaginative learning.
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Introduction to fine arts.
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Science exploration through experiments and gardening.
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Physical education included weekly in various settings.
Literacy Enrichment
The Literacy Enrichment Class for children aged 4-5 focuses on four key literacy components through engaging activities:
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Oral Language Development: Involves vocabulary acquisition, including phonology, grammar, morphology, pragmatics, and discourse.
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Print Awareness: Understanding the connection between written and oral language, including book handling, reading pictures, and recognizing print's purpose.
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Phonological Awareness: Recognizing sound units in words, including syllable awareness and phoneme manipulation.
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Alphabetic Principle: Relates to phonics, understanding the correspondence between speech sounds and letters, including letter-sound associations and word identification.
Extras
STEM Program
STEM Extended Day Enrichment Class
This enriching STEM Preschool class engages preschoolers' curiosity through hands-on experiences in science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Children will explore, observe, and investigate, fostering natural scientific thinking by sharing and collecting data. They will learn the scientific process, including asking questions, making hypotheses, conducting experiments, and drawing conclusions. The class meets in the afternoon only, and is for students in the 3's class.
Lunch Bunch
The Lunch Bunch program gives children an opportunity to share a mealtime with their friends and learn important social skills. It also gives parents some flexibility in their schedules by allowing a later pick-up time (for morning students) or an earlier drop-off time (for afternoon students). Parents provide their child with a bag lunch and beverage on their Lunch Bunch day(s). It is offered Monday-Friday from 11:30-12:30. It can be added after a morning class or before an afternoon class. Children must be in the 3's class or above, and be fully independently potty-trained.
For Parents
Registration Process:
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December: Registration is open to our current Preschool children AND their siblings. You must complete the online registration.
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January: Registration will be open to the public.
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February: All parents will be sent a letter confirming placement and what to expect next.
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If placement is not available, parents will be notified, the registration payment will be returned, and/or your child will be offered the opportunity to be placed in another class or on the waiting list.
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May: you can expect an invoice for the first of nine tuition payments.
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School forms to be completed by June 1-prior to the start of school.
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July: All families will receive an information letter sent via email with important items and dates detailing the upcoming school year. This letter will include tuition information, Parent Meeting and Open House dates and times, First week of school schedule and a school calendar.
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August: Teachers will mail welcome letters to the children in their class.
Guaranteed placement is valid only until class sizes are filled. Once you have received an invitation to our parent portal, Child Pilot, please create an account and fill out all school forms there. It is our on-going pleasure to serve you and to delight in your children. Please do not hesitate to call the preschool office, or stop by any time if you have questions regarding the registration process!