Overview

At All Ages Read Together (AART), we are committed to offering a completely free preschool experience that opens the door for families who would otherwise go without. Since 2010, AART has been recognized as a vital addition to the Virginia preschool landscape because of our tested and unique model.

🧳 Classes are portable, meaning there is no single brick-and-mortar location. Thanks to our community partners' generous donation of space, we hold classes directly in the community. Teaching teams transform each donated space into an engaging preschool classroom each day before students arrive and return it to its original state after class ends. AART classes are available in libraries, schools, churches, community centers, and affordable housing complexes. This makes classes accessible to our families and keeps overhead costs low, ensuring more money goes to our program.

🗣️ English Language Development is an integral part of our program. Every class is taught in English. However, thanks to our assistants and community volunteers, AART's classes have native speakers, which helps bridge students' English language acquisition gaps.

💗 In-class volunteers enrich the learning experience. Community members who give of their time are vital to the success of our classes! They support students and help every child feel encouraged, seen, and celebrated so they can truly thrive in the classroom. Our volunteers help bring the ratio of adult to student down even farther, allowing for individualized attention.

📚 Every school year students will receive at least 30 new books by the end of the program. Thanks to our generous financial sponsors and individual donors, every child will bring home a new book each week, building a substantial at-home library. Books are carefully selected to strengthen skills and foster a love of literacy. For most AART families, these are the first books their children can call their own, helping to encourage daily reading and strengthening family bonds.

🎓 On average, 85% of our school-year students are considered school-ready based on AART's Observational Assessment. Every student completes a pre-and post-assessment aligned with the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program, which measures kindergarten preparedness skills and social-emotional growth. We calculate school readiness by measuring emerging or better tasks in the English Language.

Every AART class is unique, as are the teaching teams and their students. The teaching teams are encouraged to utilize the pre-assessment to guide the weekly lessons and meet students where they are in terms of their skill level. However, all AART teaching teams are encouraged to incorporate most (if not all) of these activities into their class time.

Children are welcomed into the classroom, where they can ease in at their own pace. Teaching teams (teachers, assistants, and volunteers) have thoughtfully set up engaging activity areas where children can practice skills through play. These may include puzzles to build problem-solving skills, games that support social and language development, and books to spark imagination and strengthen literacy. Students will clean up and put away the activities once class begins.

This is a special time when the whole class gathers to build community, share ideas, and learn together. It typically begins with a welcome song and continues by reviewing the calendar, days of the week, weather, and identifying who is in the class that day (name recognition). Teachers use circle time to emphasize essential learning to learn skills such as listening, sitting still, respecting personal space, taking turns, and sharing with their classmates. Circle time helps create a classroom community, promotes positive relationships, and lays the foundation for social-emotional growth and school readiness.

Read-alouds are much more than just reading a story—they bring stories to life with expressive voices, thoughtful and inquisitive questions, and engaging conversations with the whole class. It's a time for connection and curiosity, where children learn to ask questions, make predictions, and see themselves reflected in shared stories. Critical thinking is encouraged through open-ended questions and asking students to make predictions with questions such as "what might happen next" or "what do you think this character is feeling".

Every book is carefully selected and matched to the time of year at AART. Early in the program, we begin with simpler text and skills, gradually introducing more advanced books as children's skills develop. Each student typically receives an in-class copy to follow along with the reader, which helps strengthen English language development, expand vocabulary, and build a lifelong love for books.

At the end of the week, each shield takes home their in-class copy for their at-home library.

** _Music & Movement _** A preschool class would not be a preschool class without a dance party! This allows children to express themselves through singing, dancing, and rhythm. Whether it's a silly song, a guided dance, or simple instruments, these activities help children develop coordination, listening skills, and self-regulation—all while having fun. Music and movement also support early language and literacy by reinforcing sounds, patterns, and new vocabulary in a playful, memorable way. It's a chance for children to learn with their whole bodies—and to celebrate learning through joy.

Centers are small-group activities and arts projects where children transition through each during a designated timeframe to practice and reinforce essential skills through hands-on exploration. Designed to spark creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving, AART's centers focus on art, literacy, and STEM activities, allowing children to paint, build, experiment, and create! Our outstanding teaching teams thoughtfully design these meaningful play experiences to build early math, science, and critical thinking skills. Centers provide an opportunity for teaching teams to differentiate learning in the classroom to meet the needs of each student. Through centers, children express themselves, collaborate with classmates, and feel pride in their accomplishments.

Closing Activity Students prepare for the end of class by helping to clean up the class, put away materials, and gather their belongings.

Interested families should fill out the interest form, and someone from our team will contact you! Please note that all classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. If the class is at capacity, there is a waitlist.