Lakeside Academy
Explore, Discover, Learn and Grow!
Our mission at Lakeside Academy is to provide fun-filled and developmentally appropriate learning and sensory experiences in a group environment. Our program offers children, with and without special needs, the opportunity to explore and discover their social, cognitive, language, fine and gross motor capabilities in a structured and supportive environment. Based on research that shows that children benefit most from learning opportunities that are embedded in play, our program uses naturalistic learning principles and embeds learning opportunities within engaging and motivating activities to target your child’s strengths and unique needs.
The foundation of our program meets Early Childhood Education (ECE) high quality standards including:
- Engaging Interactions
- A responsive and predictable environment
- Many opportunities for learning
- Teaching that is matched to the child and activity
- Developmentally appropriate materials, activities, and interactions
- Safe and hygienic practices
- Appropriate levels of guidance
Our holistic and interdisciplinary approach gives all our children a running start into any kindergarten program. Our daily schedule includes center-based activities led by physical, occupational, and speech therapists. “Story Time” is an early literacy center that helps engage and empower students in reading, using iPads and adapted text. Twice weekly the children participate in “Movers and Shakers,” a center that emphasizes core strength and overall gross motor development. Our occupational therapists lead “Finger Fun” that focuses on handwriting, cutting, and other important kindergarten readiness skills. And our speech therapists lead “Sound Spot”, a center focused on social language, phonemic awareness, and other speech and language concepts.
Our staff uses principles of the Developmental Levels, Individual Differences, and Relationship-based (DIR) model to support our 
students in gaining social-emotional intelligence. We believe that all intelligence comes from the ability to engage in shared attention and social reciprocity with others. We encourage our children to critically think about their interactions with others and to develop empathy and theory of mind (thinking about what others are thinking) when engaging in play.
Our early childhood class has a maximum of eight children enrolled in the classroom and we have a max adult to child ratio of 1:2, while many community preschool settings offer one teacher for every 7-10 children. With a higher ratio of adults to children, we ensure that all children receive the attention they deserve and need to be successful. Our classroom staff is highly qualified with two teachers, each with a master’s degree, two teaching assistants, a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist. A physical therapist and assistive technology specialist are also part of our team. Interdisciplinary team collaboration allows each professional to embed their areas of expertise in our curriculum.
Peers Program
Integrating typically developing peers into our early childhood program is considered best practice for children with special needs. With our individualized approach to curriculum development we are able to meet all the children at their “just right challenge” level to encourage maximal growth.
In our experience, typical peers benefit greatly from the opportunity to interact with children that have learning differences. With our emphasis on social interaction, we find that our typical peers develop 
higher social emotional intelligence and empathy for people with differences, while also demonstrating leadership traits and a feeling of ownership within the classroom. Unfortunately, there is a common belief that there will be a negative impact for the typically developing child exposed to children with disabilities. This is a myth that needs to be challenged and has been disproven in our program over the past two years, during which time we have seen our typically developing children thrive and learn right alongside with children with developmental delays. We welcome you to observe our program and see the fun and learning that all of our students experience during the day.
4 day AM PROGRAM
9:00am-12:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
4 day PM PROGRAM
2:00pm-5:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
To Enroll:
If you are interested in enrolling your son or daughter at Lakeside Academy, please follow these steps:
1. Call for information (425-657-0620) and set up an appointment to come take a tour.
2. Fill out and complete your application and include your non-refundable $100 application fee.
3. Children with an autism diagnosis will go through an intake process with our clinical psychologist and two observation sessions in class.
We look forward to meeting you and your child. Please feel free to call or email us with any questions at: 425.657.0620 or info@lakesideautism.com
Looking forward to seeing you in class!
