School
Pre-K5
Gainesville Country Day curriculum emphasizes creativity, problem-solving, and active rather than passive learning in preschool classes. We use a “hands-on,” multi-sensory approach to teach new concepts, as young children learn best through doing.
A low pupil-teacher ratio enriches active learning, and with early risers, after-school, and VPK options, our Pre-K5 program has the flexibility to meet your family's needs.
Children must be 4 years old by Sept 1, 2022, and toilet trained for the Pre-K5 program. If your child is younger, check out our Early Childhood Enrichment Center at the Tower Campus.
Positive Social Experiences
Preschool is a time to have children achieve positive social experiences, learn how to make friends and interact with others, and become cooperative, caring members of a social group. Children should look at school as a banquet of wonderful opportunities to do and learn, and to see themselves as competent, loved, and creative learners.
Art & Music
Country Day preschoolers have art and music daily as an integral part of our creative arts program. We strongly believe in the arts as important learning tools and means of self-expression. Through art and music, children can express their creative selves, develop fine motor skills, and cultivate those important planning ahead and organization abilities. While our music teacher teaches music to the whole class, children go into the art room in small groups to work with the art teachers because we want art to be taught on an individual basis. The preschoolers will also have art experiences in their classrooms each day.
Language
The major focus of our preschool language program is to help children love reading, see reading as useful, and to develop the knowledge and experience they need to become successful readers. Reading skills are never taught in isolation but always in the general context of our total reading program. Our classroom walls are filled with charts that record favorite poems, finger plays, story ideas, and children’s thoughts. Recording what children say helps them to understand that reading is “talk written down.” This knowledge makes reading seem approachable and not mysterious.
Mathematics
We focus on developing enjoyment of mathematics in our preschool mathematics program. We want children to see math as useful, functional, and understandable. To further these ends, we use a variety of manipulative and fine motor skill experiences and concepts taught in the Mathematics Their Way curriculum. Through interactive and manipulative activities, children learn to explore and discover new concepts for themselves. They have an opportunity to DO mathematics rather than passively learn mathematics.
"Play Is a Child's Work"
This is a motto often heard at Gainesville Country Day School. Play has been found to contribute to children’s physical, mental, emotional, and social development. The dramatic play acted out every day in our play center leads to improvement in the verbal ability, creative thinking, group problem solving and acting out of feelings and ideas that are difficult for preschoolers to comprehend or talk about. The manipulative materials in our classrooms help children develop visual discrimination, eye-hand coordination, and manual dexterity.
Program Details
Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Education Program (VPK)
Gainesville Country Day is VPK certified. VPK prepares early learners for success in kindergarten and beyond with discounted tuition rates when using the VPK voucher. The VPK voucher will not cover the entire tuition. Early Risers and After-School fees are also not included with the VPK voucher.​
Pre-K5 School Hours
8:30 am - 2:30 pm
Before and After School
We also offer optional, supervised programs both before and after school. Our after school program provides a place for students to work, play and socialize in a safe & nurturing environment. Learn more here.​
Pre-K5 Age Requirement
Children entering Pre-K5 must be four years old by September 1st of the school year.
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Tuition and Billing
Call (352) 332-7783 or fill out a contact form for tuition information. School tuition billing occurs monthly on the first of each month to account for the month prior (beginning September 1.)