Preschool

Our preschool program keeps children active and engaged in purposeful and meaningful play. Children may seem to be “just playing,” but play at GDS is intentionally designed to promote the development of fine motor skills, dexterity, and problem solving—all while having fun!

Our classroom spaces are thoughtfully designed to include various types of lighting and seating, child-created artwork, and age-appropriate manipulatives. There are well-defined centers, room for safe and active movement, and quiet spaces for rest.

Preschool students also spend time outside every day on a playground designed specifically for young children and their physical development.

Our preschool program intentionally fosters both fine and gross motor skill development through engaging, age-appropriate experiences for all of our students. Gross motor skills are strengthened through activities such as climbing, running, balancing, and dancing, often in outdoor play spaces or movement-rich environments that encourage coordination, strength, and spatial awareness.

Simultaneously, fine motor skills are developed through hands-on exploration. Daily activities such as manipulating play dough, stringing beads, using child-safe scissors, painting with brushes, or assembling puzzles help refine small muscle movements and hand-eye coordination. In classrooms designed to promote independence, children also build these skills through routines like buttoning coats or zipping backpacks.

Teachers observe and scaffold each child’s development, ensuring the right blend of challenge and support. Through purposeful play, repetition, and responsive teaching, an outstanding preschool builds the physical foundation for future writing, self-care, and academic readiness while celebrating the joy of movement and discovery.

Our preschool program is led by degree-holding teachers who teach literacy skills, numeracy skills, science, art, music, social studies, movement, and Spanish. The two- and three-year-old program is led by homeroom teachers who guide integrated literacy, numeracy, science, social studies, and art lessons designed to spark curiosity and encourage connections across various disciplines. Teachers introduce early literacy through storytelling, letter recognition, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary-rich conversations. Writing skills begin with mark-making and gradually progress to drawing, letter formation, and name writing. Children explore numeracy by sorting, counting, comparing, and recognizing patterns in hands-on, meaningful ways. Science and discovery are fostered through observation, experimentation, and inquiry—whether planting seeds, exploring nature, or investigating how simple machines work. Visual and musical arts provide a creative outlet where children learn to connect their domains of learning through art expression such as a visual creation, a song, or a dance. The preschool social studies curriculum is centered on how to be a kind citizen and live and work in a community. When not in their homeroom classroom, you can find our two- and three-year-olds in music and movement class with a specialist teacher, or playing and exploring on our state-of-the-art, nature-inspired playground playground designed to strengthen gross motor skills.

Our Junior Kindergarten (JK) program is focused on preparing our students for Kindergarten. JK offers an increased number of specialized classes taught by specialist teachers for science, library, music, art, Spanish and physical education. Junior Kindergarten homeroom teachers lead daily integrated lessons in literacy, writing, numeracy, character and citizenship, and social studies.

Your most challenging days as a parent often occur when your child struggles to manage or express emotions. That’s why we place a strong emphasis on social and emotional development, weaving it into daily routines and classroom culture. Our teachers intentionally guide children as they learn to share, take turns, build friendships, express feelings, and transition between activities. These are skills that not only make the classroom community thrive, but also lay the groundwork for healthy relationships, confidence, empathy, and future academic and personal success.

Our preschool class sizes follow National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) best practices for student-to-teacher ratios, ensuring a nurturing and responsive learning environment. Smaller class sizes allow our teachers to provide more individualized attention, build strong relationships with each child, and tailor instruction to support each learner’s growth and development. This approach contributes to high-quality care and instruction, fosters positive interactions, and supports both social-emotional and cognitive development. By maintaining low ratios, we create a positive and intentional learning environment where every child feels seen, supported, and inspired to thrive.

Bengal Tots (two- and three-year-olds): 6-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio, with a maximum class size of 12 students supported by 2 full-time teachers.

Bitty Bengals (three- and four-year-olds): 8-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio, with a maximum class size of 16 students supported by 2 full-time teachers.

Junior Kindergarten (four- and five-year-olds): 9-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio, with a maximum class size of 18 students supported by 2 full-time teachers.

We welcome parents, grandparents, and caregivers to be active participants in our preschool community. Families are invited to visit classrooms to read stories, share special traditions, and engage in a variety of volunteer opportunities that enrich our students’ learning experiences. Parents and caregivers can serve as guest readers, classroom helpers, celebration planners, and special presenters who share their talents, cultures, and professions, creating meaningful moments that strengthen our home-school partnership and build a vibrant sense of community.

Formal opportunities for family involvement include Family PE Week and Grandparents and Special Friends Day, which offer joyful ways to connect and celebrate together on campus. Beyond the classroom, GDS provides learning and engagement opportunities for families through the McLendon Speaker Series, our counselors’ Paws and Connect podcast, and parent workshops led by our talented faculty and staff. Past topics have included brain-based learning, cognitive development, parenting strategies, and emotion regulation guidance—all designed to support families in their journey of raising curious, confident, and compassionate children.