WELCOME!!

Welcome to the Lori's Love-to-Learn Preschool blog! 

I will be teaching a 3-year-old preschool class this 2021-2022 School Year. Please click on the links to right to read the details!

Here you will find everything you need to know about Miss Lori's preschool. Just click each topic on the right to find information on each topic. You are welcome to contact Miss Lori if you have further questions (see contact info under her picture on the left). 

*Note about Covid-19--Please Read: Before you go on, I want to assure you that since we are now dealing with rare circumstances due to a pandemic, I will be taking extra precautions at preschool to keep your child safe. I am hoping by this upcoming school year, the need to wear a mask might be eliminated, but if not, I will wear a mask during preschool. Children are spaced at Circle Time so they aren't sitting right next to one another. Other precautions include: hand sanitizer as your child enters and exits preschool, before snacks and after using the restroom, and any other time I feel it is needed (as well as handwashing). I will also be using cleaner with bleach in it to clean tables and chairs, and even toys as necessary after each preschool day. Also, if children are sick, they will be asked to stay at home. If I am sick, I will cancel preschool and make up the day. Also, if the school district closes public school (as mandated by the Governor), we will discuss whether we feel it is best to do the same to maintain social safety standards to keep your children safe. I will be asking you to sign a waiver of release of responsibility so that I am not held responsible if one of your children get sick. I hope you understand why this is important. I will be doing all I can to keep your child safe, I assure you. If you have other reasonable suggestions, I am happy to accommodate. I feel optimistic we can have a safe, productive and fantastic school year, despite these adjustments. 

Preschool is a very important step in a child's social, emotional, physical and academic development, so choosing the right preschool for your child is not something to take lightly. As a mother of five children, I understand how difficult it can be to find the right fit and to leave your child in someone else's care for an entire school year in the hopes he/she will receive the learning and care needed. I also know that all preschools are not created equal. My goal with this blog is to provide information that helps parents like you understand my teaching philosophies and goals, my educational background, and my policies and procedures so you can see if this preschool is a good fit for your child. 

This year in preschool your child will have many opportunities to learn and grow--academically, socially, physically and more! We will spend a lot of time learning the skills and information needed to help him/her learn a lot of new concepts and skills so the next stage of learning is not such a huge adjustment.

In addition, we will be working on social preparation. This year your child will have opportunities daily to learn to communicate, take turns, share, cooperate, follow instructions, solve problems and more. All of these are important skills needed for life and will help your child be prepared for school. 

Preschool should also be fun!! We have a lot of fun exploring new concepts, reading together, playing together, singing together, and more.

Lastly, preschool is a great time to build self-esteem. Some of the ways we will do this is through Show & Tell, displaying work on monthly bulletin boards, and allowing each child to be the “Star of the Week” a number of times throughout the school year. Each child will have the opportunity of sharing thoughts, talents and ideas, building self esteem and confidence. This aspect of preschool is one I feel passionate about. My goal is for each child to feel unique and valued, to know he/she belongs and has individual strengths and intelligence and the ability to succeed.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this blog and look through the information provided. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at lori.conger@gmail.com or call or text me at 406-860-5769. I look forward to hearing from you!

Have a happy day!

About Lori's Love-to-Learn Preschool

Please check out my 3-year-old classes

(*Note: I will be teaching my 3-year-old class this upcoming school year, although in the future my 4-year-old kindergarten prep class may be available) 

We moved to Cypress, Tx last year and I am so happy to be teaching preschool here! I taught preschool in Kaysville, UT for six years before moving to Montana for a couple of years and then Las Vegas, where I taught, and now I am here in Texas! I first started to teach because I wanted to create a preschool for my own children that was the perfect combination of academic preparedness, social preparedness and fun! After all, preschool should be FUN! These children are young and have years of schooling ahead of them, so although I work hard to use time wisely and have well-prepared lesson plans, each day's time is carefully planned to have just the right amount of learning as well as time to create, to play, to socialize and to have some fun!

I also wanted a preschool for my own children that better prepared them for kindergarten, one that especially helped them get excited for reading. I personally feel reading is one of the most important skills young children will ever learn and I have recognized that some children are ready to start reading by the end of their last year of preschool. My goal is to help them be excited about the world of books and the idea of learning to read. Good readers are good students. I feel if I can give them a little head start or help them gain a little confidence by learning some of the most common words in written language, perhaps a reluctant reader won't be so reluctant. I never push my students; I only encourage and cheer them on, providing fun opportunities to learn at their own pace, celebrating effort and progress.

I like to use a variety of teaching styles in an effort to reach every child. With my background in education, I have years of experience working with young children. I also have knowledge and experience in effective classroom management, creating a positive learning environment and using effective, caring strategies to reach reluctant learners. I work hard to be an effect time-manager, transitioning from one activity to another without wasting time. I genuinely love teaching and hope that is evident in the enthusiasm with which I teach.

Lori's Love-to-Learn Preschool is located in the Bonham Shore neighborhood, in the Parkland Village subdivision of Bridgeland, at 19551 Shady Hike Ln. It is held in the family room upstairs, where I have worked to create a fun, comfortable learning environment. Class sizes are smaller than most, as I cap my classes at 8 students maximum, a standard parents really appreciate.

Bright, fun classroom

Tables spaced for social distancing

Circle Time Area

Toy closet for Free Time

Student Work Displayed each month

More About Miss Lori

Hello! Thank you for taking a minute to get to know me a little bit better. It's always difficult to know where to begin when talking about one's self, but I guess a good place to start would be the beginning (I realize if you're looking at this blog seriously, you're doing a lot of reading, so I'll try to keep this brief and skip over the parts that aren't that exciting). Okay, here goes. . . 

I grew up in a small Wyoming town named Cokeville (and when I say "small" I mean it--graduated with 15--10 girls and 5 boys, which leaves a very limited dating pool, let me tell you). After high school, I went 500 miles from home to attend Eastern Wyoming college, where I played volleyball and majored in Elementary Education. I then served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utica, New York before finishing my education degree at Utah State University.

By this time I had met and married my husband, Daniel, and we had our first child, so I decided to be a mother instead of a full-time teacher. Four more children and many years later, I started fulfilling my passion for teaching by creating my own preschool, and I loved it! 

Things I love: 1- CHOCOLATE! I keep some on hand for emergency situations. 2- Reading! Oh the joys of a good book! Few things compare. 3- Volleyball. Man alive, I love this sport! I used to play it, then coach it, and now I just watch it!

Something unique about me: I am a hostage survivor. When I was a 5th grader, our elementary school was held hostage by a man and his wife and a very large homemade bomb. After nearly three hours, the bomb blew up. Through a series of amazing miracles, we all survived (that's the very short story). Over the years I have had many opportunities to share the events of that day at different speaking events. Even though I was very young, I learned some valuable life lessons I've never forgotten, such as: to take advantage of every day, to do the most important things first, and to never miss a chance to tell your children you love them. 

If you want to know more about this story, watch for the movie, "The Cokeville Miracle," directed by T.C. Christensen. Our family had the wonderful privilege of being behind-the-scenes for a few days while this movie was being filmed right in Layton, Utah, and in fact, if you look closely, you might even spot us in a few scenes and will see our picture during the credits. It's truly a remarkable story that is sure to touch your heart (so you may want to take some tissues to the theater with you:). 

Favorites:
Food: Hmm. . .depends on my mood, but I do love Thai food and Mexican food
Book: These Is My Words (just one of my favorites--it's seriously so hard to choose just one)
Children's Book Author: Mo Willems (he writes the best children's books--so funny!)
Movie: "Forever Strong" (No matter how many times I watch it, it gets to me) and "Father of the Bride"--so funny!
Music Artist: This changes often, but right now I like James Arthur

Things I am passionate about: 1-Motherhood. That seems kind of obvious since I have five children, but I also have been actively involved in American Mothers and Power of Moms because I really want to be a deliberate mother, and  if I ever get some spare time (ha! hasn't happened in forever), I blog about motherhood on my blog entitled “Making Motherhood Memorable” (www.loriconger.blogspot.com). 2-Teaching! I truly love to teach! I have felt so blessed to be able to start and teach my own preschool class for the past five years. I love my students, and there is just nothing better than seeing one of them at the grocery store or somewhere and hearing them across the building say, "Miss Lori . . . I love you!" 3- Adoption. Without the miracle of adoption, we would not have our youngest daughter, Berkley, and life would not be the same. So grateful for her!

Here are a couple of pictures from the last two years of teaching. Aren't these kiddos adorable?

2020-2021

2019-2020

Here is a picture of our family:

Three-Year-Old Preschool

Lori's Love-to-Learn Preschool for 3-year-olds focuses on preparing children for the next stage of learning. With a special emphasis on emergent literacy, I work to get my students excited about books and reading. Young children also learn basic skills that are a very important part of development, like listening, following directions, taking turns, being part of a classroom environment and more. They learn to work both independently and cooperatively, and they begin to develop a love for school and learning.

Here is what the schedule and fees look like:

Classes are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 am-12:00 pm

A one-time non-refundable registration/materials fee of $75 is required to secure your child a spot in this class. Spots are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis so be sure to return your registration form as soon as possible. Monthly tuition for this class is $150.  A one-time registration/materials fee of $75 is due at registration to hold your child's spot for the upcoming school year.


Classes will begin on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 and end on Thursday, May 26, 2022. 

*A preschool Orientation will happen on Thursday, September 2 from 9:00 am-11:00 am. Parents stay for the first hour only, and then leave their student for the second hour. This way, students get to ease in to being left at preschool, and they get a chance to get acquainted with their preschool friends. This is a great time for students to come meet their classmates, get over first-day jitters, and get comfortable coming to preschool at the designated time. At this orientation, preschoolers will have a chance to introduce themselves to each other in a comfortable setting, get to know me as their teacher, and even get to play for a little while with each other while I go over preschool procedures and policies with the parents and answer any questions. I have found this to be a great experience for all students. They become even more anxious to start school the following week and become part of a class! 

Tuition is due the first preschool week of the month and will not be prorated or changed based on the number of weeks in the month. You will be expected to pay $150 each month, September-May.

In Lori's Love-to-Learn Preschool, students will have the opportunity to master academic, physical, emotional and social skills by participating in activities, stories, projects and more all centered around a monthly theme. These themes provide an engaging framework that make learning fun! The monthly themes are as follows:

September: All About Me
October: Camping
November: The Mighty Jungle
December: Happy Holidays
January: The Weather
February: Sports
March: Nursery Rhymes 
April: On the Farm
May: Families

I have taught preschool for seven years and have given many children a great start to learning! I place special emphasis on skills kindergarten teachers have outlined to be the most vital in being prepared for kindergarten and continuing education. Most importantly, they have had a positive first experience with school, have developed confidence in themselves and are looking forward to  whatever their next step to learning might be!

Three-Year-Old Preschool Day Looks Like This!

Below is the daily schedule for preschool. Tuesdays and Thursdays are very similar, the only difference being that we have Show & Tell every Thursday to end the day.

Below are the basic outlines of our time for each day:

Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00 am-12:00 pm :

9:00-9:15  Self-Start
I greet the children personally each day and welcome them to school. They have assigned tables to sit and begin a learning page/activity on their own as we wait for all the students to arrive for the day.

9:15-9:45  Circle Time
This is where we gather on the rug together to learn and review basic information and skills, such as the weather, the calendar, the "Letter of the Week," counting, number recognition, colors, patterns, rhyming words, sight words, sorting, etc.

9:45-10:15 Free Time
This is the time of day preschoolers love because they get to play! This is an important developmental skill as children have opportunities to learn and practice important social skills, such as sharing, taking turns, working out problems, including others and more. 

                                        

                                                   

10:15-10:30 Snack Time
Learning and playing makes a body hungry! So we will stop to have a snack. We talk about and practice good manners during this time and get refueled for more learning. I will provide the snack each day. *Please send your child to school with a water bottle.

10:30-10:40 Story Time
I read to my preschoolers every day. One of my main goals as a teacher is to get children excited about books and reading, especially since they are at the point of learning to read. I love to my students every day, encouraging active involvement in each story as we pour over wonderful stories and beautiful illustrations. Every book goes along with the theme of the month. Near the end of the school year, each student gets to bring his/her favorite book for us to read and enjoy together. Students love this!

10:40-11:00  Creative Time
Nearly every preschool day we spend time creating something. This is a time for students to develop important fine motor skills, such as cutting, gluing, coloring and more. The crafts always center around our daily/monthly theme and include a large variety of things. We use paint, glitter, markers, beads, cotton balls, and much more as we work to create masterpieces. I hang one project a month on our bulletin board for everyone to see, a practice that encourages self-esteem.

11:00-11:20  Kinesthetic Activity
Because every child learns differently, I feel it is important to try to incorporate a variety of learning styles into every preschool day. Some children learn best by repetition, others by writing or creating, and some learn best through active movement of their bodies. We do an activity every day that involves movement. We run, jump, throw, and play a variety of different games that encourage large motor skill development as well as cooperation and fun. The best part is that each activity also incorporates learning, and the students have so much fun they don't even realize they are learning at the same time!

Fishing--on the back of the fish are letters/words we are working on

                                            

hop scotch--a great way to learn
 numbers and improve balance and motor skills

                                                    
11:20-11:40: Singing Time

This is one of the favorite times of the day as we get together to sing many fun preschool songs. We sing songs that correspond with the theme of the month, and we sing educational songs, too. Sometimes we sing songs to get our brains and bodies moving, and we always have fun!

11:40-12:00  Circle Time Review/Show & Tell
On Tuesdays we gather on the rug to end our day, reviewing what we have learned and reading stories. On Thursdays, we use this time for Show & Tell, an activity every preschooler loves!

Show & Tell

12:00  Go Home!

Of course, no two days are exactly the same, and these schedules have to be somewhat flexible. Sometimes a particular activity will take longer than normal, and so we adjust the rest of our time that day. Students know they can always work on a puzzle or "read" a book from our book pyramid if they finish something early.

Tuition

Monthly tuition for Lori's Love-to-Learn Preschool 3-year-old class is $150/month.  A one-time registration/materials fee of $75 is collected to secure your child's spot in the class. Your child's spot will be held once the fee is paid.

*Please note: Tuition is based on a 4-week month and will not change, regardless of how many preschool weeks are in a month or how many days your child may be absent that month. Some months have less than 4 weeks and some months have more than 4 weeks, but it all evens out in the end to average 4 weeks/month. Tuition will be due September-May (that's 9 payments of $150).

I follow the local traditional school calendar (Cy-Fair School District): If there is no school, there is no preschool. The good news is that because preschool is held in the middle of the week, the number of days missed due to Quality Teaching Days or holidays is very minimal. I will hand out a monthly calendar so you will always be aware of any days that preschool is not in session.

Tuition is due on the first preschool day of the month. *There is a late fee of $10 if not paid by the second preschool day of the month. However, If there is ever a valid reason why you need to delay payment, please do not hesitate to talk with me about this. We can always work it out.

*I do have Venmo and think it's a great way to pay for preschool! My Venmo is Lori-Conger-1. Be sure you see a picture of me looking at my husband:). Zelle is also a great way to pay!

Three-Year-Old Preschool Registration

Lori’s Love-to-Learn Preschool

19551 Shady Hike Ln ▪ 406-860-5769 ▪ lori.conger@gmail.com ▪ lorislovetolearnpreschool.blogspot.com

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*THREE-YEAR-OLD REGISTRATION*

Thank you for your interest in Lori’s Love-to-Learn Preschool. The one-time Registration/Materials fee is $75 and will secure your child’s place as a student for the upcoming school year. Please keep in mind this fee is nonrefundable.

Preschool is on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Tuition is $150/month.  Students are selected on a first-come, first-serve basis, so be sure to return this registration and the fee as soon as possible to secure your child a spot. I do use Venmo so if you want, you can Venmo me at Lori-Conger-1.

I am excited to work with your child during the upcoming school year! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. You can reach me at 406-860-5769 (text or call).

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Child’s Name                                                     Parent’s Name

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Cell Phone Number                                             Child’s Birthday

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Street Address                                                   Allergies (if any)

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Any other children who need to be on waiting list

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Child’s name                                                 Year entering preschool