The following programs are offered to children ages three and older at no additional fee. Toddlers and two year olds only participate in the speech program.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Beginning each September, Edith Fisher, M.Ed., a former Bright Beginnings teacher of 11 years, and currently a Language Development Specialist in our schools, visits each pre-kindergarten class to bring specialized lessons to enhance your child's language and literacy achievement. Reading aloud provides a strong foundation in language by strengthening vocabulary and print knowledge of how words form sentences and how sentences will tell a story, so each lesson will begin with a book that will reinforce the language experience.  The activity that follows will not only relate to the book, but will also be based on the State of Virginia Kindergarten Standards of Learning. The lessons will provide phonological awareness (sound structures of words) through activities that focus on rhyming words, beginning sounds, and syllables.  Music, movement, and creative dramatics will also be incorporated into the lessons to help explore language.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Each class consists of music and movement as a learning tool to focus on skills they are already using in school as well as enhancing other aspects of their development. Songs about numbers, letter, colors, and shapes are incorporated as well as silly fun songs to get them emotionally charged. Concepts of opposites or even incorporating sign language is presented almost every class. Most classes will include small rhythm instruments like egg shakers or jingle bells to add to the learning process.

(Miss Melissa, Music Teacher, is currently the owner/director of FootNotes Music & Dance Studio in Charlottesville. She has a B.A. in music from Rowan University and has been a certified Kindermusik instructor since 1998. She is a member of the Charlottesville Music Teacher Association and has been teaching in the area for 8 years.)

PE PROGRAM: Get Jumpin' with Ms. Ellen (Crozet location)

Ellen Markowitz, Ph.D

Ellen’s life has always revolved around sports, and she is passionate about creating opportunities for youth to feel connected, competent and confident through sports. She has successfully launched and worked with numerous sports and community-based organizations, provided sports & fitness professional development to hundreds of after school programs and staff, and is particularly passionate about girls discovering their power through play. A nationally ranked tennis player and certified USPTR coach, she came to Charlottesville four years ago to pursue her Ph.D. in Education at UVA focused on positive youth development through sport.

In 1998, she followed her dream and founded PowerPlay NYC (www.powerplaynyc.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and empowering New York City girls through sports, and life skills training. As a competitor, her number one sport is tennis, where she has been ranked locally and nationally by the USTA. In 2007, she represented the United States at the ITF Senior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Ellen also enjoys other sports such as basketball, volleyball, softball, and flag football, and has completed three marathons.

A graduate of Yale University (BA) and NYU’s Leonard Stern School of Business (MBA), she recently completed her Ph.D in Education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, specializing in sport psychology and positive youth development.