Welcome to Crown Hill 3-5's

Philosophy

Our Teacher

"Teacher Lauren has endless enthusiasm for the children. She is loving, patient and kind… and laughs easily.

The classroom is magical - full of amazing toys, tools, building blocks, art supplies, costumes, puppets, books, maps, music, pretend dinosaurs and real frogs. The parent network is amazingly well-organized and supportive, and enriches the classroom experience for everyone."
Erica: 3 to 5s Parent

Lauren Tozzi has been teaching at the Crown Hill 3-5’s Cooperative Preschool since 1998. A native of Southern California, Lauren has lived in the Seattle area since 1980. Lauren brings 23 years of experience, training and education in the field of early childhood education. She is excited about playing a role at the co-op as teacher, as the formative years (birth to five) are critical and provide the foundation for children’s success in school and life.

Lauren brings an appreciation of diversity to the program through storytelling, foreign languages and a commitment to pro-social development through cooperative, respectful interactions with adults and children.

In addition to her work at the preschool, Lauren is a frequent workshop leader at teacher conferences and an enthusiastic and tireless advocate for children, working families and teacher professionalism. She is a community volunteer and mentor as well.

Structure

Our co-op consists of two groups, each with up to twenty children. The morning session is a younger three to five’s program. The afternoon session is an older three to five’s program. On any given day, there are four to five parents assisting the teacher.

We meet Tuesday through Friday, from September through May:

A.M. Class: 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. (younger 3-5’s program)
P.M. Class: 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. (older 3-5’s program)

The co-op teacher prepares the curriculum, sets up the classroom, supervises the assisting parents, and is in the classroom every day. We also have two parent educators from North Seattle Community College who participate in the classroom on a weekly basis and teach at the monthly parent meeting.

Curriculum

We believe that three to five-year-olds learn best through play. Our teacher prepares a wide variety of topics that stimulate play in order to build social skills and enhance creative and cognitive development.

We have diversified our curriculum by introducing the children to sign language, foreign languages (Japanese, Spanish, Swahili), field trips, and each month bringing in a storyteller, dance/movement instructor, and music teachers. During 2005 our field trips included:

Additionally, the teacher uses Second Step and the Virtues Project. Second Step is a violence prevention program that teaches empathy, impulse control, and conflict resolution. The Virtues Project introduces the language of virtues to children. We inspire our children to express peacefulness, joyfulness, caring and respect by acknowledging and awakening these gifts of character within each child.

For the afternoon class, the teacher incorporates pre-kindergarten readiness and optional parent-teacher conferences.

Costs

The 2004-5 monthly tuition is $122 for the AM class or $129 for the PM class.

North Seattle Community College quarterly fees are $33.00 per adult participant.

To help meet the budget, the co-op holds an annual fundraising drive. Each family is expected to participate in fundraising. In addition, the Crown Hill 3-5's Cooperative Preschool designates funds in its annual budget to be available for in-house scholarships. These are available as a supplement to the PAC scholarships and on an emergency basis.

Location & Contact

We meet at Northminster Presbyterian Church and have outside activity time at the Loyal Heights Elementary School playground across the street or inside in the church’s gym on rainy days. Our address:
7706 25th Ave NW
Seattle

The school telephone number is 206.784.7402

If you are interested in joining our three to fives program, please contact our parent co-ordinator.