Pre-K Counts program
Quality pre-kindergarten can give your child a strong start in school and in life. Pennsylvania Pre K Counts provides free full-day pre-kindergarten for at-risk children throughout Pennsylvania. Our Pre-K Counts program provides high-quality early childhood education for eligible 3-and 4- year-old children at no cost to families who meet Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Eligibility guidelines.
Program Details:
195- Day school year calendar
Hours: 9:00am-4:00pm
Free tuition for qualifying families
Developmentally appropriate curriculum focused on school readiness
Experienced and caring early childhood educators
Opportunities for social, emotional, language, literacy, and cognitive growth
Who is eligible
Children and their guardians must meet the following requirements to be eligible for the PA Pre K Counts program:
1 - They must be residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
2 - They must meet the income eligibility requirements of at or below 300% of the federal poverty level for their family size.
3 - The child must be between the ages of 3 and younger than kindergarten entry age for the district they reside in.
Once these eligibility requirements are met, enrollment procedures are based on local community needs. The procedures may contain other considerations for enrollment, such as diagnosed disabilities or developmental delays. English as a second language, or any other factor that the program deems as a priority to ensure that their communities’ needs are being served.
How much does PA Pre K Counts cost?
The portion of the day funded by PA Pre-K Counts is free to families. The program day is 9am - 4pm. We do charge an additional fee for portions of the day for wrap-around care.
How can you apply
You can apply by calling our facility at 570-601-4600 and ask for Amy McHugh, our Pre-K counts director. A tour of the facility will be offered, and a packet of paperwork will need completed, as well as 4 paystubs to decide on eligibility.
For more information, visit PA Pre-K Counts click the logo below.
Classrooms
Infant program - 6 weeks to 12 months
While in Blessed Beginnings care your infant will receive individual attention, affection, love and respect so that they develop a sense of positive self-concepts and feelings of self-worth. Our infant caregivers not only address your child’s routine needs of being fed, changed and kept clean and safe, but they also ensure that your child is talked to, held and loved. The educational program for the infants consists of toys and books to look at and listen to, floor play, music and supervision in developing their own independent actions. Teachers are expected to implement daily experiences in: language/literacy development, cognitive development, social and emotional development, self-help skills, physical development, math, sensory & science, art and songs. The experience learning curriculum is used as a guide to complete these experiences and assessments are done based on the curriculum. At Blessed Beginnings the day revolves around each child’s individual needs, and the daily schedule is only a guide.
Young toddler programs - 13 to 24 months and Older toddler program(s) - 25-36 months
Blessed Beginnings believes in encouraging toddler’s interests and praising their efforts, while providing a safe, nurturing environment where they can feel secure and loved. Young toddlers are full of interest and curiosity with the world around them. Our staff help focus their energy on learning experiences that help them to get along with peers, and develop independence, a sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Their teachers make efforts to teach simple one and two step directions. Self-help is encouraged at this age; we do this by teaching them to wash their own hands, clean up after themselves, use utensils and work on potty training. Their learning environment includes space for imitation and pretend play, books, sensory, art and playing with toys. When children are in learning areas, they are engaged with other peers forming friendships and expressing their creativity. Although the toddler programs have schedules they adhere to, a majority of your child’s day is spent socializing through play with other children. Some play is structured by the teach and some is free for their choosing. Each group has a large group time (as able) where they sit in an area together and go over various educational things such as colors, shapes, numbers, etc… The Experience Learning Curriculum is used as a guide, and assessments are done based on the curriculum. At Blessed Beginnings, the day revolves around each child’s individual needs, and the daily schedule is only a guide.
Preschool and Pre-K counts programs - 37 months to Kindergarten
The main goal of Blessed Beginnings Preschool programs is to prepare your children for kindergarten. Our teachers use the Experience Leaning Curriculum as the foundation for their education planning. Experience Learning Curriculum provides a solid foundation to learn letters and sounds, mathematics, physical experiences and social emotional development. The curriculum is geared for a range of learning abilities and provides teachers with many activities to encourage learning at their own pace.