East Plains Cooperative Pre-School, Burlington, ON

Over 40 years experience. Learning Through Play. Our History: East Plains Co-op Preschool was established in 1969 by Aldershot parents interested in developing an educational program that would help prepare their children for elementary school. At that time, junior kindergarten programs did not exist in the public and Catholic school boards. Thanks to the assistance of the East Plains United Church, the preschool was able to set itself up in their kindergarten room, which was not being used during the week. Through the hard work of parent volunteers over the years, the preschool thrived. These parent volunteers invested their time for projects such as cubby shelves for children to hang up their winter coats, and fund raiser events to raise money for new equipment and field trips. During the early decades, there were morning and afternoon preschool classes to accommodate the high numbers of children in need of a preschool program. Later, as the school boards established a junior kindergarten program into their curriculum, the East Plains Preschool opened its doors to younger children in need of a school like program, providing opportunities for socialization and free play. This newer program, originally called the junior preschool, is now known as the toddler program. An after-school program for older preschoolers & kindergarten students was also established, to provide students with an extended academic program.