Woodcliff Early Childhood Center

Welcome to Woodcliff Early Childhood Center!

At Woodcliff, we believe in nurturing young minds through creativity, curiosity, and exploration. Our approach to early childhood education combines play-based learning with a tailored curriculum designed to ignite imaginations and lay the foundation for a lifetime of learning. Our passionate educators are dedicated to providing a nurturing environment where your child can thrive, explore, and ignite their imagination.

Courtney Van Heck
Director of Early Childhood

Program Information

Preschool

Preschool Curriculum Implementation

Handwriting Without Tears:

Integration of a developmentally appropriate handwriting program that focuses on fine motor skills and letter formation.
Activities designed to make the learning of handwriting an engaging and enjoyable experience for preschoolers.

Zoo-Phonics:

Implementation of a phonics program using a multisensory approach with animals and movements.
Enhances early literacy skills through an interactive and playful learning environment.

Heggerty:

Integration of Heggerty Phonemic Awareness program to support the development of phonological awareness skills.
Activities designed to strengthen children's understanding of sounds and their relationship to letters.

Bridges:

Inclusion of the Bridges in Mathematics program to foster early math skills.
Engaging activities and games that promote a conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts.

Second Steps:

Implementation of the Second Steps Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program.
Activities to support the development of social skills, emotional regulation, and conflict resolution.

Enrichment Activities

Music:

Incorporation of music activities to enhance auditory perception, rhythm, and coordination.
Exposure to various musical genres and instruments to stimulate creativity.

Gym:

Inclusion of gym activities to promote physical development, coordination, and gross motor skills.
Structured play and movement exercises contribute to the overall well-being of the child.

Differentiation

Individualized Approaches:

Recognition of the unique strengths, interests, and learning styles of each child.
Differentiated instruction to accommodate varying levels of readiness and abilities.
Ongoing assessment and adjustment of teaching methods to ensure optimal learning for all students.

WECC offers the following preschool options:

Three-year-old Tuesday/Thursday
Three-year-old Monday/Wednesday/Friday
Four-year-old Monday-Thursday
Four-year-old Monday-Friday (Friday AM only, child care options may be added to cover Friday PM)
Four- and Five-year-old Monday-Thursday
Five-year-old Monday-Friday (Friday AM only, child care options may be added to cover Friday PM)

Child Care

Woodcliff’s hours of operation are from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to allow for flexible scheduling to meet families’ needs. Please see the below to help families understand the difference between our preschool and child care programs that we currently offer.

Educational Focus

Woodcliff’s Preschool Program: Emphasizes early childhood education through structured learning activities designed to prepare children for kindergarten and beyond. Curriculum may include pre-literacy, math readiness, social skills development, and creative expression.
Child Care Program: Primarily focuses on providing a safe and nurturing environment for children. While our child care program may incorporate some educational elements, the primary goal is supervision and care rather than formal education.

Structured Learning vs. Free Play

Preschool Program: Offers structured learning activities guided by a curriculum, where children engage in age-appropriate educational experiences designed to promote cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.
Child Care Program: Provides a balance of structured activities and free play opportunities, allowing children to explore their interests and develop social skills in a relaxed setting.

Duration and Schedule

Preschool Program: Families have part-time or full-time schedules during school hours, with a focus on preparing children for the transition to kindergarten at Woodcliff.
Child Care Program: Offers flexible scheduling options, including full-day care, extended hours, and before/after-school care.

Teacher Qualifications

Preschool Program: Staffed by early childhood educators or teachers with specialized training in child development and early education, often requiring higher educational qualifications and certification.
Child Care Program: Staff with varying levels of education and experience in child care, including caregivers, aides, and assistants focused on providing a safe and nurturing environment for children.

WECC Child Care offers the following options:

Before-School Care - 7:00 - 8:30 a.m.
AM Care - 8:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
PM Care - 11:15 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
After-School Care - 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Enrollment

Camp East

At Camp East, we believe in the power of play, imagination, and discovery. Our dynamic program is designed to ignite curiosity, foster friendships, and inspire a love for the great outdoors. From thrilling outdoor adventures to engaging arts and crafts, each day is packed with exciting activities that encourage campers to learn, grow, and embrace new challenges.

Our Camp structure allows campers to experience local activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the Camp week. We look into many different adventures each summer to create a dynamic experience for the campers. During our field trip days students will be off site from approximately 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

When the campers are on site at Woodcliff Early Childhood Center the counselors will engage them in arts and crafts as well as science experiments. We also have many local assemblies and shows come to Woodcliff to fill their summer days with experiences that raise curiosity and promote education throughout the summer months.

Latest News

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Woodcliff's new wing is complete.

Students are moving into the newly constructed classrooms. We are so excited to be in our new wing that was designed by PURE architects and contracted by OAK. The crews have been outstanding waving and honking at the kids as they play outside and share space to create a wonderful environment for us. We hope that the students are excited to return from break and settle into their new rooms!

Student looking at a millipede in a box.

Zoo visitors help youngest learners cap off curriculum

Some very special guests recently hopped, slithered and crawled their way into the hearts of students at Woodcliff Early Childhood Center.

As Heather Krajewski’s classes of 3- and 4-year-olds wrapped up their Zoo-phonics curriculum for the year, representatives from John Ball Zoo’s Traveling Zoo program stopped by to give students some facetime with some of the critters that helped them learn their ABCs.

Read more from our partners at School News Network!

East Varsity Volleyball & Community Event

Please join us for Rally On Reeds - August 20

Teacher clapping with students in a circle

Preschoolers move to brand-new classrooms as expansion work continues

It’s been all smiles at Woodcliff Early Childhood Center lately as the district’s youngest learners made the move to some brand-new classrooms, capping off the first phase of an expansion project at WECC that’s been underway since March 2024.

Read more from our partners at School News Network!

Clevertouch Tips and Tricks

The Woodcliff staff enjoyed a Clevertouch demonstration given by Ben Kevern. Ben was very generous with his time and showed the team many fun things for the teachers to engage learners. We appreciate him taking the time to share his knowledge with our team as we begin to explore all the opportunities that our new spaces and new technology bring to our youngest learners in East.

Our Team

Courtney Van Heck, Preschool Director

Michelle Clark, Administrative Assistant

Contact

Phone: 616-235-7595

Fax: 616-235-6730

Calendar

2024-2025 Calendar