At Yikes Tikes! our primary goal is to help children obtain the social, emotional and pre-academic skills fundamental to kindergarten success. To support this goal, we maintain a consistent 1:4 teacher-to-child ratio, which allows our teachers to provide each child with enough attention to effectively model appropriate behavior and social skills and teach pre-academic competencies.

Research shows that children from low-income backgrounds often score behind higher-income children on measures of school readiness and academic accomplishment. High quality pre-kindergarten education for low-income children has been found to help narrow this achievement gap. At Yikes Tikes! we provide our services to children from low-income backgrounds by offering our program on a sliding scale to accommodate children from families that demonstrate financial need. Click here to view our sliding scale rates.

Our Reggio-inspired program features mixed-age classrooms because we believe that children benefit from interacting with children from different age groups. This classroom style creates a natural family environment, and enhances opportunities for social and emotional learning. Our emergent curriculum recognizes the child as the primary agent of his or her own learning, and uses the child’s interests as a platform for further exploration, in a way that children find both satisfying and challenging. Our teachers continuously listen and interpret the childrens’ ideas and interests, and use this listening to create opportunities for activities, play, and discovery. For more information about the Reggio Emilia approach, click here.