LSU Child Development Laboratory Preschool: Enroll Now!
06/22/15
In an effort to better fulfill its mission as a laboratory school, the LSU Child Development Laboratory Preschool will offer expanded programming. While continuing to offer an enriching half-day program Monday through Friday from 8:15 am -12:30pm, which includes a hot lunch, for families wanting afternoon care, the preschool is now pleased to offer an Extended Day option from 12:30-4:45pm. This portion of the day will include rest-time, snack, story, small centers, outdoor play, and age appropriate enrichment activities in coordination with other academic departments on campus. Enrollment is now open.
“I’m excited that the program is expanding this year. Our hope is that we will accommodate the needs of working parents and diversify our enrollment, which will expose our student teachers to a more diverse classroom environment,” said preschool Director Angela Barnes.
The preschool is an integrated part of the School of Education, within the CHSE. Specifically, it falls within the Early Childhood Education program, which includes the PK-3 undergraduate and the Early Childhood graduate programs. Laboratory Preschool faculty are a part of the early childhood faculty and teach coursework within the academic programs. The Laboratory Preschool also serves as a laboratory for field experiences and student teaching within the PK-3 teacher preparation program and as an internship site for graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on early childhood education and child development.
In an exciting new endeavor, the Laboratory Preschool, which has been investigating the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education that embraces an inquiry-based, child-initiated approach to education, has taken steps toward designing and implementing its own Reggio-inspired program. Through this approach the preschool faculty and lead teacher, Kerry Sheldon, introduce children to a variety of novel experiences and pursue in-depth study on topics of child interest. The preschool’s own Reggio-inspired program aims to take the best from this approach and incorporate it with current research-based knowledge and educational practices.
In researching this approach further, LSU faculty and PK-3 students visited the early childhood programs in Reggio Emilia, Italy in April to further their understanding of this educational philosophy.
“As a program, it is important for faculty and students to visit leaders in early childhood education, and bring back new and innovative ideas to the preschool. These kinds of experiences will continue to keep LSU on the cutting edge of state-of-the-art early childhood practice,” Barnes said.
The preschool’s mission and curriculum serve both its enrolled children and School of Education PK-3 pre-service teachers. It aims to align with the LSU Flagship 2020 agenda of promoting Discovery, by providing students from a variety of academic disciplines opportunities for observation, as well as providing early childhood and related disciplines access to hands-on experiences engaging with young children;Learning, by integrating state-of-the-art early childhood practice, keeping abreast of the current research literature and also engaging in research within the context of the Preschool Laboratory classroom; Diversity, through providing rich teaching and research experiences to our students; and Engagement by ensuring that students walk away with knowledge of what high-quality early childhood programming looks like, while also having the opportunity to engage with Early Childhood faculty.
About SOE
The LSU School of Education (SOE) offers graduate and undergraduate programs in Curriculum
and Instruction and in Educational Leadership, Research, and Counseling. The School’s
mission is to prepare P-12 educational professionals to be leaders, practitioners
and scholars knowledgeable in contemporary educational issues.
Visit the School of Education at lsu.edu/education
About CHSE
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division
of Louisiana State University. Formed in 2012, CHSE brings together programs and capitalizes
on individual strengths to create a dynamic new college that addresses the socially
significant issues we face as a state and nation. The College is comprised of the
School of Education, the School of Leadership and Human Resource Development, the
School of Kinesiology, the School of Library and Information Science, the School of
Social Work, and the University Laboratory School. These combined schools offer 8
undergraduate degree programs and 18 graduate programs, enrolling more than 1,900
undergraduate and 977 graduate students. The College is committed to achieving the
highest standards in teaching, research, and service and is continually working to
improve its programs.