FHSU Tiger Tots Preschool Center
FHSU Tiger Tots Preschool Center offers an integrated preschool and childcare program for children. Our primary goal is to create a secure, encouraging environment that advances each child's social, physical, intellectual, and emotional development.
MISSION
Our mission is to cultivate a nurturing setting where children are empowered to be creative, self-reliant, and accountable. Our staff is committed to delivering a diverse, developmentally appropriate curriculum.
Our learning environment develops essential skills and knowledge in young children through caring, expert caregivers, and developmentally suitable curricula. We utilize the Kansas Early Learning Standards, enabling our providers and teachers to design activities, select and apply curricula, and foster meaningful partnerships with children and families about early learning.
VALUES AND BELIEFS
Our values emphasize play and structured activities based on research and experience. These experiences build children's health and well-being, as well as the necessary skills for school success.
GOALS
- Provide a high-quality preschool and childcare service to Fort Hays State University students, Fort Hays Tech | North Central students, and FHSU faculty and staff with young children.
- We maintain a facility that follows the belief that all children deserve respect and empathy. Each child is unique, with strengths and weaknesses that make them special. Growth in social, emotional, and intellectual areas happens when children observe positive adult behavior, explore their world, and interact with peers.
- Create experiences that are child-focused and aligned with early learning standards, while also meeting the needs of individual children.
- We recognize the value of cultural heritage and family in every child's life. Home plays the most critical role in development. By working with parents, we help children reach their full potential.
- Create a safe environment with clear, consistent boundaries and guidelines for acceptable behavior.
- Establish a daily routine that prioritizes play. Play is a child's "work," fostering problem-solving, self-concept, and creativity.
- Prepare FHSU Teacher Education candidates to become effective decision-makers and thoughtful teachers by offering valuable hands-on experiences working with young children. Empower candidates to create activities that give children opportunities to learn through play and active, hands-on learning.
PROGRAM AND CURRICULA At Tiger Tots, children enjoy peer interaction in both teacher-directed and child-directed settings. The daily schedule covers playtime, group time, meals, rest, and learning centers. During playtime, children learn to:
- Share and take turns
- Listen to others
- Work independently and cooperatively.
- Develop feelings of success and security.
- Express thoughts and ideas
- Explore and expand cognitive, physical, social, and literacy skills.
- Learn new vocabulary and communication skills.
- Decrease stress through learning self-regulation and coping skills.
Our program is child-centered. We believe children thrive in a stimulating, safe, and nurturing environment. We try to encourage each child's curiosity and love for learning. Daily group and center time include activities based on our emergent literacy curriculum. These activities involve reading literature, fingerplays, nursery rhymes, pre-reading and writing practice, and language development. Pre-math skills are also included. Other activities are art, music, motor skill development, games, science, cooking, and physical development. We use monthly themes focused on the learning needs of enrolled children.
All daily activities are created with the Kansas Early Learning Standards as our foundation, building each child's readiness for academic success and school.
It is our mission to:
- Build self-esteem
- Encourage socialization skills
- Increase time on task.
- Develop vocabulary
- Develop auditory listening skills.
- Improve coordination
- Increase awareness of patterns and categorize math concepts.
- Introduce new concepts and ideas.
Our curriculum includes the eight domains of child development and learning:
- Approaches to Learning
- Physical Development
- Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Literacy
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- Creative Arts
A portion of each day is devoted to child-initiated play throughout the classroom. Materials for creative expression and experiences are always available to the children. Outdoor play and learning are a priority, and the children play outside daily (weather permitting).
HEALTH AND NUTRITION STANDARDS
We offer meals through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). CACFP plays a critical role in supporting children's wellness, health, and development by providing nutritious foods. Our goal is to instill healthy habits in young children. These habits serve as a foundation for healthy choices in life. We follow meal patterns set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- Lunch includes five required components: milk, a bread or grain product, a meat or meat alternative, one serving of fruit, and one serving of vegetables.
- Snacks must include two different groups from the following: milk, fruits, vegetables, bread or grains, or meat or meat alternatives.