About Us
We are a non-profit, locally monitored center (non-sectarian) that has been State licensed since 1980. Our director of 20 years is a certified teacher.
We are an experienced, college-educated and mature staff with an adult-child ratio of 1:8. Our staff turnover is very low. We have a highly qualified board of directors who monitor the program.
Program and Schedule
The curriculum is a professional blend of child play, discovery learning, teacher-guided activities and materials to develop a love of learning, readiness and academic skills.We have a small class size that fosters gentle, personal attention to individual needs. We are committed to promoting positive sense of self and optimal physical, emotional, social, intellectual and creative development of each child. We serve children age 2½ - 5 during the school year, 2½ - 9 in summer camp.
We have a racially diverse staff and enrollment.
We have flexible scheduling to fit your family's needs, 7am - 6pm.
Special programs: Child care (extended hours), Summer Camp, Parent EducationCOOS CURRICULUM – 2s, 3s, AND 4s
PROGRAM FOR 2½ YEAR-OLDS TU & TH, 9:00–11:30 AM DAILY SCHEDULE
9:00 Play & Discovery or Learning Centers
9:45 Clean-up
10:00 Story and Music/Movement
10:20 Snack
10:30 Gym or Outdoor Play
11:00 Fun & Learning Project
11:30 LunchHEAD TEACHER has worked with 2½ year olds for seven years.
With the 2½ year olds, we work on DEVELOPING:
*** physical health habits
*** social skills and manners
*** enjoyment of learning in a group setting
*** language acquisition for greater fluency of expression (e.g., from “Fro ball.” to “I can throw the ball.”)BASIC CONCEPT LEARNING includes becoming familiar with and RECOGNIZING:
*** basic shapes and colors in paints and fabrics
*** letters in name and numerals 1 – 10
*** favorite story characters (e.g., Clifford, the Big Red Dog; Good Night Moon)EXPECTATIONS for CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR include:
*** caring for our bodies (e.g., toileting, washing hands)
*** sharing and taking turns with materials
*** listening to and following simple instructions (e.g., “Please get a tissue from the red box.” or “It’s clean-up time. Please put away the crayons you used to make your picture.”)MONTHLY LEARNING THEMES and PROJECTS include:
*** Friendship and Kindness
*** Nature and Seasons
*** Colors
*** Nursery Rhymes
*** Animals
We also include a lot of music and rhythmic activities, including dance and movement.SPECIAL ACTIVITIES include:
*** CLIFFORD, the BIG RED DOG, DAY (from the book series)
*** Parties and thematic activities surrounding holidays – Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, winter holidays, Christmas and other holidays our children celebrate in December and, most importantly, we celebrate the most special days - - our birthdays.Comment from PARENT of Child in Program:
My daughter started COOS at 2½ and she really enjoyed coming to COOS. COOS greatly helped to open my daughter up to sharing, learning to play well with others and making wonderful projects that I will cherish forever. The teachers are so caring and compassionate that I could not say enough wonderful things about COOS!Comment from TEACHER or AIDE in Program:
What a rewarding opportunity it is to be a part of these children’s first days of school. It is a joy to watch them grow from timid and shy when they first begin, to curious and independent as time passes.PROGRAM FOR 3 YEAR OLDS
M-F, MWF, or TU & TH 9:00-11:30 AM
MWF 1:00-3:30 PM
DAILY SCHEDULE:
9:00 Play & Discovery or Learning Project
10:00 Calendar and Circle Time
10:15 Snack
10:30 Gym or Recess
11:00 Music or Story
11:30 Dismissal or Lunch
1:00 Play & Discovery or Learning Project
2:00 Calendar or Circle Time
2:15 Snack
2:30 Gym or Recess
3:00 Music or Story
3:30 DismissalHEAD TEACHER has worked with 3 year olds for eight years.
With the 3 year olds, we work on DEVELOPING:
*** physical health and nutrition habits (e.g., washing hands, eating healthy foods)
*** social skills of taking turns and interacting with children in a group (e.g., “Who can stand next to a friend in line?”, “Who can clean up the blocks or put trikes away?”)
*** language skills (e.g., understanding verbal descriptions of activities and adult extensions to add new vocabulary)
*** multi-cultural learnings in a group settingBASIC CONCEPT LEARNING by RECOGNIZING:
*** basic shapes and colors and combining them in art and science activities
*** letters and numbers and combining them in literacy and mathematical activities
*** favorite story characters (e.g., Curious George, Hop on Pop, Jamberry)
*** favorite music and movement activities (e.g., Old MacDonald, 5 Little Monkeys)EXPECTATIONS for CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR include:
*** caring for our bodies (e.g., individual toileting and washing hands)
*** sharing and taking turns with materials
*** listening to and following simple instructions (e.g., “Please get Play-Doh from the art table.”, “Please help Sumi put away the crayons.”)MONTHLY LEARNING THEMES and PROJECTS include:
*** Seasonal artwork, songs and activities
*** Nursery rhymes, fairy tales, popular children’s stories
*** units focused on colors, shapes, numbers, animals, transportation, nutritionSPECIAL ACTIVITIES include:
*** Bear Day
*** Mickey & Minnie Mouse Day
*** 5 Little Monkeys Day (from the book)
*** Blues Clues Day (from PBS TV)
*** Clifford, the Big Red Dog, DayComment from PARENT of Child in Program:
My daughter started COOS when she was 2½ and I cannot say enough wonderful things about COOS staff and what they have taught her. I have made the comment more than once that she and I loved this school and teachers so much we wish it went through high school not just preschool! When my daughter started kindergarten this fall, she was so prepared and I credit that to all the hard work the staff has done over the years she was here. The staff treats all the children with such love and kindness; that is what I wish for future children who come to COOS. I would recommend this school for years to come for anyone looking for a safe, enjoyable and just plain fun experience for a child. Kari
Comment from TEACHER or AIDE in Program:
At COOS Preschool we work to prepare young children in all aspects of their educational life – physically, emotionally, socially, intellectually and creatively. We take great care of your children while they are with us.PROGRAM FOR 4 YEAR OLDS
M-F 9:00-11:30 AM, 1:00-3:30 PM
DAILY SCHEDULE:
9:00 Play & Discovery Learning:
Blocks
Housekeeping or Dress up
Learning Games
Puzzles
Readiness projects:
Cutting
Numbers
Name (printing and recognizing)
9:45 Circle Time
Calendar
Readiness activities: name recognition, numbers, shapes, and alphabet
Story
Show-and-Tell
10:10 Bathroom and Snack
10:20 Art Project
10:40 Music and Movement Activity
11:00 Gym or Outdoor time
11:30 DismissalHEAD TEACHER has worked with 4 year olds for 21 years.
With the 4 year olds we work on DEVELOPING:
*** physical coordination by using large motor equipment both indoors and outdoors
*** physical dexterity of hands and eyes by using child-sized scissors and gluing paper and fabric
*** social skills of asking for help and assisting a peer (e.g., “Teacher, I need help with my sweater.”, “Can you help Amir open his lunch box?”)
*** enjoyment of learning by being carefully challenged to use new skills and acquire new information in a safe, supportive setting.
*** language extensions in learning new nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbsBASIC CONCEPT LEARNING includes becoming familiar with and RECOGNIZING:
*** differing shapes, including shapes for weather symbols (e.g., sun, umbrella, clouds)
*** varying colors and shades (e.g., red, rose, and pink; dark blue and light blue)
*** letters in name and numerals 1-20BASIC LITERACY LEARNING includes:
*** alphabet, a-z through use of sandpaper cut-outs, shape boards, stencils, painting and drawing letters and printing on posters and artwork
*** simple opposites (e.g., front-back, over-under)
*** rhyming words using storybooks, songs, poetry, and movement games
*** favorite story characters (e.g., One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss; 3 Billy Goats Gruff, Tale of Peter Rabbit).
*** learning recognition of telephone number
*** printing first and last names with pencil, chalk, poster paints, sand, and magnetic and foam letters basic safety learnings include:
*** FIRE SAFETY (e.g., meeting place, stop-drop-and-roll, crawl, no hiding, fire equipment and fire fighters)
*** “stranger danger” without frightening children; emphasizing that there are safe adults who protect children.EXPECTATIONS for CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR include:
*** caring for our bodies (e.g., making healthy food choices, using tissues and washing hands after coughing)
*** listening to and following simple instructions (e.g., “Please get the cardboard from the box on the teacher’s counter.”, “Please put away the big blocks now. Then we can go outside to play in five minutes”).MONTHLY LEARNING THEMES & PROJECTS include special PLAY KIT MATERIALS for:
*** Restaurant for learning social roles (customer, cook, wait staff), mathematical concepts (e.g., small order, large pizza) and vocabulary (e.g., macaroni, pita).
*** WATER PLAY for scientific learning (e.g., sinking/floating, mass displacement) and expressing emotions (e.g., joys with bubbles, fears of losing control from stories of drowning).
*** CAMPING for organizing materials, problem solving (e.g., “What do we need to make for dinner?”) and feeling safe outdoors.SPECIAL ACTIVITIES include:
*** field trips: library, apple orchard
*** Spring school/family picnic
*** Winter sing-along
*** Spring sing-along
*** Graduation party picnicComment from PARENT of Child in Program:
The COOS staff is very special to me. I have seen so much progress from my children after being here at COOS. I have so much respect for them and would recommend COOS Preschool to everyone. I can’t wait to have another child and send them here to COOS!
p.s. There are so many good things to say about COOS and its staff, but I do not have enough room on this paper.Comment from TEACHER or AIDE in Program: It’s so rewarding to see the children come in and “roughly” cut…, then to see them progress to being able to recognize names, use scissors, and soak up the information we discuss and repeat it in their unique ways; seeing their self confidence and socialization expand is very gratifying. I love all of this and them!!
Staff Development
Language literacy and arts
Readiness and whole brain learning
Conflict resolution and classroom managementFacilities and Safety
Our facility has easy entry and exit areas as well as:
Separated classrooms for different ages and safe, private outdoor play areas located well back from the road in a lush natural setting.
Our teachers are very well qualified. 4 have full 4 year degrees, 3 have 2 year degrees in Early Childhood Education and/or Child Development. Our 2 aides are at Oakland University working on degrees in Early Childhood Education. Their teaching experiences range from 7 to 20 years with the average being about 14 years. Our turnover rate is very low. All teachers and aides are CPR and First Aid certified and updated.
They attend one or two professional workshops per year. Some workshops are curriculum based (Language development, Working with the Not-Yet English speaking child, Early literacy, Working with Parents, Music and Movement), as well as Conflict Resolution and Stress Management for children and adults.
Some workshops are offered by:
Detroit Association for Education of Young Children
Michigan Association for Education of Young Children
Others are given onsite by Dr. Judy Spitler McKee, Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education and Educational Psychology, Eastern Michigan University.
