Our Play based approach:

• Offers children a variety of opportunities for social interactions (with familiar adults and peers)
• Teaches cooperation and responsibility through group participation projects
• Encourages children to maximize their attention span as they focus on self-selected activities where they learn to regulate themselves

Our integrated learning style focuses on:

• Social and emotional development
• Language and literacy
• English-language development
• Mathematics

Our pride in our heritage:

• Children explore our heritage through experiential activities designed to explore our Indian identity
• Indian traditions are reinforced through festival celebrations and activities including songs, arts and crafts, music, cooking and dramatic interpretation of Indian tales and mythology.

Namaste:
The children gather together, greet each other, check attendance to see who is absent (helps children identify friends in class), check the calendar for upcoming special events, read a story, and check special activities for the day.

Yoga:
Kids start each day with yoga. The poses may reflect a story they just read.

Learning Center Time:
The children select activities in any of the learning centers. The adults facilitate the play activities. The children may participate in a planned art activity during this time as well.

Snack:
Children will be given healthy vegetarian snacks. The children sit at tables with adults and interact socially while eating a nutritious snack. Self help skills such as pouring, spreading, cutting, and using manners are developed during this time. Children are responsible for cleaning up their own materials.

Outside Play and Learning:
Children improve large muscle development and social skills in the playground. There will be several planned learning activities for children who want to participate. We go outside every day, weather permitting.

Group Activity:
Group activities vary every day but may include music, drama and gymnastics. Activities will include Indian themes as well as other global themes.

Kindergarten Readiness:
Children will start developing Kindergarten readiness skills by participating in small group activities. The activities will focus on reading readiness, math manipulative and project based learning.

Intergenerational Activities:
A very special part of our program is incorporating intergenerational activities to foster respect and understanding. Activities will vary but will include Senior Story Time (ICC Seniors will read stories to the children) and festival celebrations with parents, grandparents and siblings. Special performances by the preschool children for our ICC seniors will provide an opportunity for sharing new skills and talents.

Yoga Program:
Children are natural yogis. Their innate flexibility and curious, open minds are the perfect foundation for yoga practice. During yoga, children learn about the world around them by imitating it. They take the shape of animals and objects in nature and in doing so begin to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for life in its many forms..Animal sounds, songs, games and stories all play a part in making it fun!
Yoga also helps children refine skills like balance, focus and coordination. It encourages children to listen and show respect both to themselves and to the other little Yogis with whom they share their classroom and world.

Art Center:
This area provides children with opportunities to express creativity, observe cause and effect with a variety of mediums, increase small muscle development, eye-hand coordination, discover colors, shapes, sizes and textures, develop aesthetic appreciation and independent work skills. Indian folk art techniques are also explored during celebrations.

Game Area:
Through puzzles and manipulative toys children match, sort, sequence and classify materials by color, shape, size and texture. They improve small muscle development, eye-hand coordination and social skills such as turn taking, sharing materials, cooperating while creating and joining games.

Reading Corner:
Children develop reading readiness skills, build vocabulary and conceptual development, identify roles and relationships people have in stories, listen and participate as a member of a group, and listen to stories being read in a group or individually. Indian tales and fables are an integral part of our library.

Discovery Area:
Children explore, experiment, hypothesize, question, discover, and develop concepts using real objects with equipment and materials that encourage experimentation. Basic science concepts are explored through hands on activities.

Math Center:
Children develop readiness skills such as rote counting, matching, sorting, patterning, shapes, sizes, quantity, recognize number symbol with manipulative and visual aids.

Sensory Table:
Children develop sensory awareness with materials such as sand, water, beans, rice, flour, dirt, pasta, oatmeal, etc. They explore and distinguish textures by sifting, pouring, comparing, measuring and experimenting with a variety of materials as well as develop math concepts.

Dramatic Play:
Children develop creative expression, imagination, role-playing skills, problem solving, social interaction skills, small muscle control, eye-hand coordination, and work through problems by reenacting real life experiences. A special Indian dress up box allows for an opportunity to
explore heritage through puppets and dramatic play including Indian outfits and props.

Building Blocks Corner:
Children design and create structures with the blocks while developing muscle development, eye-hand coordination, conceptual development of size, number, shape, weight, width, and function of the block and how to work cooperatively with others.

Musical Instrument Corner:
Children experiment with a variety of instruments to discover how they make sounds and what they sound like combined with other instruments. Instruments from all over the world including some from India expand musical boundaries.

Community Service Opportunities:
Children will get opportunities to understand of the power of ‘giving’. We hope this will help build concerned and well rounded children.

Gardening Corner:
Gardening engages children by providing an interactive environment to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn. These living laboratories creates a unique environment where interdisciplinary lessons are drawn from real life experiences.

• Parul Chandra
• Kavita Malik
• Vibhu Mittal
• Vijay Shriram
• Sheena Vaidyanathan

ICC Preschool Address
India Community Center
525 Los Coches Street, Milpitas, CA 95035

ICC Preschool Phone Numbers
Ph: (408)934.1130 X 226
Fax: (408)934.1150
Email: preschool@indiacc.org

ICC Preschool Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday
9:00am-3:00pm

ICC Preschool Website:
www.Indiacc.org/preschool

Is toilet training required?
Yes, it is required.

How do I find out about your tuition?
To inquire about tuition, please go to our summer session on the above links. For more details contact the Preschool Office at 408.934.1130, email preschool@www.indiacc.org

At what age do you begin accepting children?
We welcome children ages three years to five years.

What are your child:teacher ratios?
Three year olds – five years old 8:1

Are snacks and lunch provided?
We provide nutritious mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Parents are responsible for providing a lunch.

Do you have to be an ICC member for your child to attend the preschool?
No, you do not have to be an ICC member but you do get a discount if you have an Annual ICC Membership.

Do you have to be an Indian to attend?
No, we welcome families from all backgrounds and ethnicities into our preschool family. All children are exposed to a Indian curriculum that include celebrations and values.

What is the application process?
Upon choosing the ICC Preschool for your child, you will need to submit an application with an application fee and deposit. For more details contact the Preschool Office at 408.934.1130, email preschool@www.indiacc.org

What ages do you serve?
Our Preschool begins at age three and goes through PreK (five years old)

Who can pick up my child from school?
For your child’s security and your peace of mind, you must give written permission for any individual to pick up your child. You may use the Emergency Contact and Pick-Up Authorization form, email or a written note. If you have not personally introduced us to this person, we will ask for identification.

How often do you clean the classrooms?
To decrease the spread of illnesses and germs, general housekeeping chores are part of the teachers’ daily routine and toys are sanitized often. A professional cleaning crew also takes care of cleaning, vacuuming and mopping on a regular basis. They also clean rugs/carpets and wax the floors as needed.

Do you let the children watch television?
Occasionally, we will use videos to enhance a lesson or demonstrate a point directly related to a project, for example to show an animal in motion, an example of a dance or for a “tour” of India. These will be used for specific educational purposes, and we will limit the duration of the videos.

What are the staff qualifications?
Lead teachers meet the CA licensing requirement and often exceed the necessary qualifications. All have taken formal early childhood education classes, and many hold degrees in early childhood education or a related field. They are also well acquainted with Indian values and traditions. Assistant teachers also exceed basic requirements.