Pre-Kindergarten Room

Ages 4 and 5 (4 by October 15)

In this classroom our teachers create an environment of hands-on discovery and discussion, encouraging children to make decisions based on values, such as respect, responsibility, kindness and community . Our Pre-k classroom maintains an appealing  maximum group size of twenty children with three teachers.  Much time is spent exploring the children's wonderful ideas and helping them to make sense of the world around them. Projects and study are driven by children’s interests and inquiry and may involve an entire class or a small group. As the year progresses and attention spans lengthen, both discussions and projects become more involved.  The curriculum is designed to allow children to express their increasing confidence and independence, while meeting the challenges of their curiosity, energy and endless enthusiasm.

Pre-K Daily Schedule

Jenny Beers
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Jenny Beers

Jenny grew on Cape Cod spending her summers teaching children and families at a local nature center. She has a B.A. in Nonprofit Management and loves to integrate her passion for the arts and nature into her teaching. She has worked in various Early Childhood Education programs and feels so lucky to be at the JCA! She is fondly known as “Nature Jenny.” The name is certainly fitting since when she is not teaching, she often spends her time enjoying the great outdoors!

Jay Fuller

Jay grew up in upstate New York and has lived in Portland since 2010. He recently graduated with his BS in early childhood education from the University of Maine at Farmington. Jay's first internship was in the JCA Pre-K room and he’s thrilled to now be officially part of the Pre-K team! He brings to the classroom a passion for music, art, and outdoor learning. Jay lives with his wife, son, two step-sons, and two cats.

Charlotte Battista

Charlotte lives in Portland, Maine, and has had the pleasure of working with children from infancy to adolescents as a classroom educator and owner/director of three Nationally Accredited Centers. She comes to us with over twenty years of experience in the field, has her BHP, Ed Tech III, and also studied Real Estate Law at the University of Southern Maine in 2022. After stepping away from teaching for a time, Charlotte is excited to be working in early childhood again and is very creative and inventive in her approach to learning. Some of her favorite explorations with children include science, mud, bugs, dinosaurs, exploding volcano's, magnets, being active with children on the playground and more! She lives by the motto that there should never be a lost "teaching moment and wants young people in her care to become inspired lifelong learners. Charlotte is passionate about literacy, science and creating an environment inside and outside the classroom that supports children's curiosity and innate wish to learn. She loves books, fiction or non-fiction and believes "books are the ticket to anywhere".