PRESCHOOL & PRE-K • AGES 3–5
Preschool & Pre-K in Chicago
Growing Thinkers. Confident Learners. Ready for What Comes Next.
Three-year-olds arrive full of questions they’re just beginning to put into words. By Pre-K, those same children are negotiating, explaining their reasoning, and taking on challenges they couldn’t have imagined two years earlier. Our classrooms give children the time, the materials, and the kind of teaching that makes that growth possible.
More Than Kindergarten Preparation
A good preschool classroom has a predictable enough structure that children feel free to take risks inside it. Within that structure, there’s real depth. Children in our rooms are working on things—building something, writing something, figuring something out—not waiting to be shown what to do next.
Letters, numbers, and early literacy are part of every day. But so is learning to disagree respectfully, to manage frustration, to finish what you started. Teachers pay close attention to where each child is and introduce challenges that are just far enough ahead to stretch their thinking. That’s what carries into kindergarten.
01
Complex Thinking
Children return to ideas across days, not just hours. A question raised on Monday might still be generating new thinking by Friday.
02
Confident Communication
We give children real things to talk about—explaining a drawing, disagreeing with a friend, talking a teacher through what they’re trying to build.
03
Growing Independence
Children pour their own water, choose their own work, and ask for help when they need it. We take that seriously—it’s one of the most useful things a child can bring to kindergarten.
04
Learning Together
Four-year-olds are genuinely working on friendship—making plans, sharing materials, coming back after a disagreement. Teachers help that process without taking it over.
Learning That Begins With Curiosity
Children’s interests help shape what we teach. A neighborhood walk might lead to questions about a building under construction: How will it stay standing? Who decided what it would look like? How do workers know where everything belongs? A teacher sees those questions as the beginning of something children can investigate together.
Back in the classroom, children might study photographs of Chicago buildings, sketch their own plans, measure structures, make signs, test different materials, and revise a building that keeps falling. Reading, writing, mathematics, art, and problem-solving become part of the work because children need them to develop and communicate their ideas—not because the subjects were placed in front of them separately.
Teachers are observing closely throughout the process. What did each child notice? What theory are they testing? What changed after the structure fell? When children return to the neighborhood, they begin seeing it differently—with new questions, stronger ideas, and a growing understanding that their community is something they can explore and learn from.
Learning That Begins With Curiosity
Children’s interests help shape what we teach. A neighborhood walk might lead to questions about a building under construction: How will it stay standing? Who decided what it would look like? How do workers know where everything belongs? A teacher sees those questions as the beginning of something children can investigate together.
Back in the classroom, children might study photographs of Chicago buildings, sketch their own plans, measure structures, make signs, test different materials, and revise a building that keeps falling. Reading, writing, mathematics, art, and problem-solving become part of the work because children need them to develop and communicate their ideas—not because the subjects were placed in front of them separately.
Teachers are observing closely throughout the process. What did each child notice? What theory are they testing? What changed after the structure fell? When children return to the neighborhood, they begin seeing it differently—with new questions, stronger ideas, and a growing understanding that their community is something they can explore and learn from.
How Learning Grows
Children move through the Preschool and Pre-K years at their own pace, building on what they know and what they’re ready to take on next.
The arc from three-year-old Preschool through Pre-K is real and meaningful—here is what that progression tends to look like.
PRESCHOOL
In Preschool, conversations last a little longer and familiar routines can hold more than one step. A friendship may take shape over a shared game, while drawing, building, and sustained attention give children ways to show what they are thinking.
BUILDING ON THEIR IDEAS
As their ideas take hold, children start making a plan before they begin and can explain why they made a choice. They return to projects over several days, work out more involved play with friends, and use early literacy and mathematical thinking with growing independence.
PRE-K
By Pre-K, a project can stretch across more time, and children are better able to tell others how they arrived at an idea. They work through a snag with less adult help while strengthening the writing, mathematical thinking, group-participation, and self-management skills they will use in kindergarten.
More Ways to Think, Express, and Connect
Children also learn through new languages, music, movement, art, and the city around them. These experiences give them more ways to listen, communicate, create, and connect with others.
SPANISH
Our dedicated Spanish teacher brings the language into songs, stories, movement, and playful conversation. A familiar word may surface at home, or a song may come home in a child’s voice, as children begin recognizing and trying Spanish in context.
MUSIC & MOVEMENT
When our outside music specialists visit, the room fills with singing and movement. Children explore rhythm and encounter instruments in new ways, building on the music already happening in the classroom.
CREATIVE EXPRESSION
A child may draw, paint, sculpt, design, build, or experiment with materials, following an idea that changes as they work. We care about what they are trying to say and discover, not about every child making the same thing; time and materials let each idea take its own shape.
OUR CITY
On a walk, a child might stop at a mural or notice how a familiar park has changed with the season. The neighborhoods around our schools give children real details to point out, wonder about, and bring back into the classroom.
A Familiar Day—and Room to Go Deeper
There is a familiar shape to the Preschool and Pre-K day, but no two days feel exactly alike. Knowing what comes next helps children settle in. It also gives a good conversation or project room to continue when everyone is deeply involved.
COMING TOGETHER
Arriving & Settling In
Some children arrive with a story already underway. Others want to revisit yesterday’s project or sit beside a teacher for a quiet minute. The familiar room gives each child a comfortable way into the day.
CONVERSATIONS & SMALL GROUPS
Stories, Ideas & Learning Together
Small groups are often where the best conversations happen. One child notices something another missed, a story raises a new question, and the group decides what to look at next. A teacher might reach for a book, write down the children’s words, or bring in a counting question. Spanish and music have a place here, too, when they help the group keep thinking together.
TIME TO EXPLORE
Building, Creating & Going Deeper
We want children to have enough time to stay with an idea. A child may spend the morning testing a block structure, walk away, and return later with a new plan. Teachers stay nearby, ask a well-timed question, and know when not to interrupt.
OUTSIDE & AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Moving, Noticing & Exploring
Outside, the best discoveries are often the ones children recognize: a tree changing color or a familiar person opening a nearby shop. Teachers make time to stop and wonder with them. Back inside, those details often return in a drawing, a block structure, or the next conversation.
MEALS, REST & EVERYDAY INDEPENDENCE
Taking Care of Themselves & Each Other
A surprising amount of growing happens in the ordinary parts of the day. Pouring water at lunch or returning materials to the shelf gives a child a real way to help. Teachers notice the quiet confidence that comes with taking care of yourself, your things, and the people around you.
FIND A SCHOOL
Explore Preschool & Pre-K at a school near you.
Program availability varies by location. Visit a school page to learn more about its community and offerings.
FIND YOUR L&L
A Place Where Your Child Can Feel Known
Choosing a Preschool or Pre-K program is about more than preparing for the next school year. You want to know that your child will be understood—the way they enter a room, the questions they return to, the friendships they are learning to navigate, and the moments when they still need someone close.
At L&L, teachers come to know those details. They recognize when a child is ready for a new challenge, when they need more time, and when a little encouragement can help them take the next step on their own. That relationship is what allows children to feel secure enough to try, speak up, make mistakes, and grow.
We would love to learn more about your family and help you explore the L&L location and classroom that may be the right fit for your child.
For tuition, availability, classroom placement, or scheduling a tour, please begin by completing our inquiry form. Your child's exact age, preferred location, and schedule help our Director of Enrollment provide accurate information.
For general questions—such as meals, allergies, or program policies—you can call or text 833-623-1959 and ask for Ms. Nadi, our Director of Enrollment, or email enroll@landlschool.com.
Have a general question? Ask L&L first — our virtual assistant can answer many common questions instantly.
Enrollment is still available if you need more help.
