Creating Life-Long Learners

 
 
 
 
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Enrollment OPEN

We invite you to discover our nurturing learning environment for the 2024-25 school year:

 

2024-2025 ENROLLMENT

NOW OPEN!

Ready to join our vibrant learning community?

 
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Our School

The Homestead Schoolhouse is a preschool focused on creating life-long learners, accepting children 2.5 - 5 years. In the heart of the Woodstock neighborhood in southeast Portland, this historic home was built in 1912 and was once the Old Homestead Market and Gallery. We opened our doors in the fall of 2010.

In 2017, we expanded our doors and opened The Homestead Annex (on the corner of 41st and Woodstock), which is an additional space for our younger students. We are looking forward to more great years ahead.

 
 

Our Classrooms

 
 
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2 1/2 - 3 years

This class is designed to familiarize children with school using a play-based curriculum. Throughout the year, students learn to separate from their parents, socialize with their peers, and follow directions. Our class time is planned for a lot of play and student-initiated learning. We have table time activities, which include tracing and cutting skills, painting, and color/letter/number/name recognition. Teachers help students to develop their fine and gross motor skills. Students are also engaged in short circle times with songs, finger-plays and stories. We provide an afternoon snack and have a 30 minute outside play time. Students must be out of diapers and turn 3 before September 1.


3 - 4 years

This class is mornings or afternoons 3 days per week. Students are engaged in age-appropriate free-play activites and, throughout the year, learn how to play together, socialize, and problem-solve with peers. The program is more structured during our academic time (small groups), in which they learn letter recognition and sounds. Small groups time also includes math, science, writing and art activities. Students continue to practice their writing skills by line/number/letter tracing and name writing. Every other week, the students have art, music and Spanish lessons. Circle time includes songs, stories, finger-plays, and theme discussions. Students play outside for 30 minutes, and there are frequent nature walks. We provide students with a morning snack.

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4 - 5 years

This is a pre-k program designed to help prepare students for full-day kindergarten. Play is developed and much more extensive. There is a more opportunity for student-initiated learning. Our academic time is 50 minutes, which includes small groups (reading, writing and math). During this time, students also learn to work independently and take responsibility for their own learning. Students are engaged in reading books, writing workshop and age-appropriate math activities. Each week children read our “weekly readers” and learn high-frequency words. They have writing workshop each week, where they begin to add detail to their drawing, which moves to labeling and then writing sentences. In our math groups, children will work with patterning, sorting, addition, numbers 1-100 and graphing. Students extensively study various science themes throughout the year. Each week, students have art, music, and Spanish lessons. We also learn social-emotional, friendship, problem-solving, and self-regulation skills through our Second Steps program. Students play outside for an hour/day and we go on longer nature walks (some to Reed College Canyon) throughout the year. We provide morning and afternoon snack and students eat lunch at school.