What is an integrated program and why is it important? 

Wee Can is proud to be the only NYS approved integrated Preschool Program in Orchard Park

Integration is a natural mix of children with different abilities.  Children develop different skills at different rates, children learn not only from adults, but also from other children. 

There are social skills that children learn from interacting with other children-sharing, cooperative play, waiting their turn, using words instead of fists to get what they want, coping with disappointment, and what to do when a child wants what you have. 

There are other social skills that children learn from adults, table manners, hand washing, toilet use, safe street crossing, letters, numbers, songs, reading, conflict management.

By having children with all different abilities and strengths in different areas together, they all learn and develop very strong and lasting social/emotional skills at an early age.

BENEFITS OF BEING INTEGRATED

  • Children learn compassion and tolerance to accept each person for who and what they are, not what they look like or what they can not do
  • Acceptance of diversity at an early age will go a long way to set up friendships
  • Integration encourages cooperation
  • Children who are “typical” in their development learn compassion, cooperation, acceptance, and get individualized attention from our Master’s Educated Teacher’s on a daily basis.
  • Children who have delays or weaknesses in any area of their development will see positive modeling, age appropriate abilities and get individualized attention from our Master’s Educated Teacher’s on a daily basis as well.
  • Our class size is limited to 12 students- this allows a lot of individualized 1 on 1 teacher/student interaction for all the students.