The Experiential School of Tampa Bay addresses one of Shorecrest’s five Core Values and how it relates to young students.

Knowledge

While respect, responsibility and compassion typically appear on lists of Core Values, knowledge appears far less frequently. For Shorecrest, however, it could not be a more fitting inclusion, as it is our mission not only for our students to acquire knowledge in school but to develop a passion for learning. Knowledge includes facts, information and skills acquired and understood through experience and education. To pursue it, minds must be curious and questioning.

The Experiential School of Tampa Bay addresses one of Shorecrest’s five Core Values and how it relates to young students.

Responsibility

Responsibility is taking care of people and things, and doing what is right and needed. Being truly responsible is more than just completing a task correctly, it’s about the attitude when taking action and the feeling of satisfaction when doing it well.

The first step in teaching children to be responsible is in modeling it ourselves. They need to see us fulfilling our responsibilities and doing so in a positive manner. To teach them this desirable trait, we need to find balance in the appropriate amount of reminders and assistance to help them learn and feel the satisfaction of being responsible and the confidence of capability. Taking care of their own things and helping within their family and/or school community and environment should be expectations for which children should be held accountable and and recognized. Recognition for fulfilling responsibilities, however means acknowledgment and praise for efforts made, rather than rewards, lest rewards become the sole reason for efforts.

The Experiential School of Tampa Bay addresses one of Shorecrest’s five Core Values and how it relates to young students.

Compassion

When Shorecrest sought to determine the school's five Core Values, there were a few similar terms to decide between. Among them were empathy, kindness, compassion and a few others. Though they are similar in nature and all related and important, compassion seemed to go a step further than the others. Unlike empathy, which is identifying and understanding the feelings of others, compassion includes the desire to help those who need it. Compassion embodies a feeling and an action. 

The Experiential School of Tampa Bay addresses the first of Shorecrest’s five Core Values and how it relates to young students.

Respect

The Experiential School motto is,

"At Shorecrest Preparatory School, we respect ourselves, each other and the environment."

This motto provides a basis for the interactions and actions of all members of our community that hopefully will extend far beyond school. To help our preschool students live the motto, they must first understand what respect means and looks like. After delving through many definitions of the word respect, I believe the following compilation of several is concrete enough for young children to come to understand, and is the most relevant to our expectations. As a noun, respect is the recognition that all people and elements of our environment, natural and otherwise, are important and should be treated in an appropriate way. Respect, as an action or verb, is thinking and acting in a positive way about them.

Most students have very busy days at school, chock full of exciting activities and adventures. Because their school days are so full, it is also wise to limit the number of after school programs or activities included in children's schedules. Going from school to another structured class or lesson almost every day can be stressful rather than enjoyable, particularly while the children are still adjusting to school. Remember, each class means adjusting to one more unfamiliar person with different expectations and style, and possibly more stress. Therefore, it is best to be choosy and limit the number of activities in which your children are involved.

Even when children seem to enjoy many activities, it is best for them not to always be scheduled; they truly need down time.