Open Sesame Preschool

An inclusive learning environment for children of all abilities from across Waterloo Region

 

Open Sesame is a not-for–profit program designed to benefit young children ages 2 1/2 to 5 and families in all circumstances and from all backgrounds. Our programs is fully licensed by the Ministry of Education and conforms to the regulatory requirements under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (CCEYA).  Our teachers are trained Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECE.), members of the College of Early Childhood Educators, who continue to engage in Professional Activities to upgrade their training and education.  

 

OUR PHILOSOPHY

At Open Sesame we believe children are competent, capable of complex thinking, curious, and rich in potential and our job as educators is to provide opportunities for each child to learn and grow. We engage in child initiated, teacher supported play-based learning and our educators use the guidelines of How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years (2014), a professional learning resource guide provided by the Ministry of Education, which is intended to support pedagogy (the philosophy and practice of how learning happens) and curriculum/program development (the content of learning) for early childhood education. If you are interested in learning more about this document, please ask our staff

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At Open Sesame, children and families are given the opportunity to discover the diverse social, cultural and linguistic perspectives of our preschool community and the community beyond our doors. In an atmosphere of co-operation and caring, each child will feel valued and be encouraged to continue to develop their strengths and abilities.  We believe that it is important for children to experience the freedom to make choices in order to build self-confidence, a sense of belonging and of responsibility.

 

Families, including parents, extended families and caregivers, are experts on their children. At Open Sesame we believe that families love their children and want the best for them. Families are the first and most powerful influence on children’s learning, development, health, and well-being. They bring diverse social, cultural, and linguistic perspectives, which are incorporated into our Family Support Program and our daily classroom programming.  Families should feel that they belong, are valuable contributors to their children’s learning, and deserve to be engaged in a meaningful way.

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IMPORTANT PROGRAM INFORMATION

Open Sesame’s program runs Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. from September to June.  The fees for January to June, 2021 are $23/half-­‐day (minimum 3 days per week).  Children do not need to be toilet trained.

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SPECIAL NEEDS AT OPEN SESAME 

We welcome all children and are equipped to work with a variety of needs including challenging behavior, speech delay, medical diets, and autism spectrum.  If needed, our staff work closely with resources in the community such as KW Habilitation, Kidsability and others, including private therapists and we participate in transition to school meetings for children who are getting ready for Kindergarten

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JOIN OUR WAITING LIST

If you would like to join our waiting list, please register on OneList, the Region of Waterloo's childcare registry and database. You will receive an automated response with instructions on next steps.

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