City Gate

City Gate is an urban ministry in Washington, DC, seeking to open doors of opportunity, empowerment, and friendship. Our primary focus is on children and youth in the city and on internationals. We welcome the participation and support of all who want to serve and share in building a community of inclusion and hope.

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• Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church

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• Caterpillar Preschool
• Summer Day Camp
• English as a Second Language (ESL)

Caterpillar Preschool

A Multi-cultural Language School for Children

Welcome to Caterpillar Preschool! We are a community of learners and educators who celebrate children's intrinsic curiosity. Through both Spanish and French language immersion programs, children naturally develop or enhance their target language by engaging in age appropriate, authentic, hands on learning experiences. Caterpillar Preschool strives to provide a successful learning experience for both children and their families by creating a community of dedicated individuals who value communication, respect, and growth. We come from all walks of life, forming a culturally rich environment with varying perspectives and backgrounds. Our goal, however, is what unifies us: providing a quality education for your children in a safe and nurturing way.

Our class sizes are small and have multiple ages in them. This allows for more individual teacher attention, and for the older children to help younger children, giving everyone a learning responsibility in the classroom.

The Caterpillar Preschool invites you to join us this summer for 6 weeks of summer fun! We offer both a French and Spanish language immersion half day program for children ages 2.5-5. You may choose to enroll your child for one week or up to 6 weeks of camp in either the French or Spanish language program. Our native language speakers will create authentic learning experiences both in and out of the classroom for your children to learn naturally. We take weekly field trips, enjoy water play and engage in arts and crafts, all the while learning a new language!

Please contact us to learn more about our program, or schedule a tour and information session.
caterpillarpreschool@city-gate.org
(202) 237-1799

2012-2013 School Calendar

Month	Day	Event
August	1	All forms and deposit due for September admission.
September	4	First day of school
September	10	Back to School Night
October	8	No School - Columbus Day
October	19	No School - Professional Development
October	31	"Let's Pretend Day"
November	11	No School - Veteran's Day Monday 11/12
November	5-6	No School - Parent - Teacher Conferences
November	22-23	Thanksgiving Break
December	3	All forms and deposits due for January Admission
December	19	to January 3 - WINTER BREAK
January	3	School Resumes
January	21	No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
February	18	No School - President's Day
March	4-5	No School - Parent Teacher Conferences
April	1-5	No School - SPRING BREAK
April	22	No School - Professional Development Day
May	27	No School - Memorial Day
June	TBD	End of the year celebration
June	14	Last day of school

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History of Caterpillar Preschool

The Caterpillar Preschool has evolved from several successful programs for young children hosted at Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church at Tenley Circle in upper Northwest DC. These programs have included language immersion classes by CommuniKids, summer day camps which offered Spanish and French, and a small cooperative preschool known as the Caterpillar "Co-op." The Co-op began as a parent-directed, play-based informal activity. When it began to develop into a more structured Spanish immersion program, Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church applied to the Board of Zoning Adjustment in 2007 for the necessary zoning approval for an organized child development center. The application was approved in 2008, and an expanded program (including French immersion as well as the existing co-op Spanish classes) was licensed by the Office of the State Secretary of Education in 2009.

Why should my child learn a second language when they are so young?

The brain is able to learn a new language most efficiently in early childhood. Experts agree that the earlier a child is exposed to and begins to learn a new language the better. In infancy, even short periods of interpersonal exposure to a new language can make a big impact on brain development.

Those that have studied another language; score higher on standardized tests in math and reading, have increased creativity, mental flexibility and better listening skills. Bilinguals have lower rates of dementia.

Researchers have discovered that children who learn a world language outside of their native tongue have a multitude of cognitive benefits. On standardized tests in reading, language arts and mathematics, they outscored those who had not studied a foreign language. SAT scores were significantly higher in both the verbal and math sections. These scores also increased in correlation with the increase in the number of years the foreign language was studied. Children that have studied a foreign language have enhanced listening skills and memory, greater cognitive development in areas of creativity, divergent thinking and higher order thinking skills, and mental flexibility. Moreover, they advance more rapidly in these cognitive abilities. Children that have studied a foreign language also are more open to and have a greater appreciation of other cultures. Additionally, these children have improved self-concept and sense of achievement.

Lifelong Benefits!

• Occupational options increase with the addition of second and third language skills.
• Learning another language promotes an understanding and appreciation of the arts, sciences, literature and other aspects of a culture.
• Learning another language allows for a deeper pleasure of travel to countries that speak that language.
• Learning another language provides for the ability to communicate with an entire group of people that you would otherwise not be able to.

Philosophy

The children are in a total immersion classroom and our curriculum is play based. Our goals are to provide a nurturing environment and make learning a language fun! All of our teachers are native speakers and have teaching qualifications and experience. The teachers interact with the children only in the target language except in emergency situations, or in the case of certain behavioral issues, English will be spoken. However for the inappropriate behaviors, the teachers will speak English to the children and afterward the target language.

A child's day may include art, crafts, music and singing, stories, active outdoor play, and many other enjoyable and creative activities. Our goal is to make learning French or Spanish exciting and fun, allowing children to learn through play, not noticing that they are learning a (new) language.

Our classes are small so we can offer individual attention. Our classes have multiple ages giving everyone in the classroom a responsibility to learn and help teach the others.

Our goal is to give education opportunities to all children, which is why we offer a strong immersion program at an affordable cost. If some families are unable to pay the tuition, scholarships are available.