In 2015, construction of The Sand Castle Preschool began. The Sand Castle program had been long planned by the founders and owners of The Learning Castle and La Canada Preparatory schools. The vision was for a preschool program for two and three-year olds which would prepare them for the academically focused TK through third-grade program at The Learning Castle. The Learning Castle's program accentuates fine-motor skills in order to access a student’s ability to learn independently and to be individually assessed and programmed for. For nearly thirty years, The Learning Castle (TK-3rd) and La Canada Preparatory (4th-8th) have built their reputation on outstanding, accelerated, academic achievement. The Sand Castle Preschool was designed and created to serve those same goals. The design and construction focused on creating a clean, safe, playful environment that engenders an early love of learning. The interior space of over 5,000 square feet was meticulously planned and built to create an environment that would make attending preschool joyful.
After completing the licensing process in early 2016, The Sand Castle, with a small cohort of only twelve students, opened their doors to the public in June of that year.
Today, the preschool has grown to 100 students with a faculty and staff of 20. In addition to the traditional free play, circle-time learning, and gross-motor skill development, enrichment programs are also offered in art, movement, Spanish, and science. Using the Color Me Smart® curriculum created for The Learning Castle, preschool students are introduced to the fundamentals of language and mathematics with worksheets specifically designed for their age group and to develop their fine-motor skills.
The Sand Castle is founded on the premise that made The Learning Castle and La Canada Preparatory so successful . . . that students should be given the opportunity to learn and progress according to and in harmony with, their individual nature.
