What Some Parents Have Said About Move-N-Learn Academy

With all the recent economic turmoil in our country, many people have been holding tightly to their money, choosing not to invest, spend, or risk losing any more than they possibly can.  For the last three summers, I have experienced a risk-free, sure-fire, solid investment in my son's education and development through the Move-N-Learn classes at Academy of Fine Arts.  Five year-olds can be tough to keep entertained and actively engaged in learning during the summer months.  With the Move-N-Learn program, my son is actively learning about subjects related to music, reading, science, and physical movement.  In addition, he has learned to swim and gained much confidence in this area. He no longer swims with floaties, jumps bravely into the pool alone, loves to float, go underwater and pretend to be a fish!  It thrills me to watch my son growing so confident in himself and his own abilities.  As a teacher, the quality education of my children is a top priority.  What better monetary investment can I make for them? 
Sonya Covalt

  The move-n-learn program has been the most viable choice for my child. We weren't sure how she would do considering she is very attached to her mother. So, the first two weeks she cried, but I was determined to keep her in there but it was good for her and for mom.  She excelled with her colors and now even after  summer move-n-learn is over she still wants to go to class. So, it has been very beneficial.  It has not only helped the detachement problem with mom but also she has now started talking more, wanting to play with others, and she has grown mentally too.  I am a proud parent of a move-n-learn student.
Susan O'Handley

The summer Move-n-Learn program has been extremely beneficial to my 3 year old daughter.  What better place for them to learn than a one-on-one experience within a small class.  Of course she was ecstatic about the swimming lessons but she also loved the music, dance, and curriculum they learned.  It was proven after every class of her acceleration within these areas - she is no longer afraid of water, she knows her "powerful words" and can tell you what they mean, she is constantly singing and dancing around with songs and moves they learned in class and she shows courtesy for others.  This is hands down the best investment in your child’s life and future that you could spend.

Angela Reid (mother of Whitley Reid)

Since 1986

We have offered out arts enhanced preschool since 1986! It just dies not seem possible that in two more years, our preschool academy will be 30 years old! Amazing!

What makes Move-N-Learn Academy so different that it has lasted this long as a favored preschool in our community of Woodward? Probably because of our great teachers over the years and the forward thinking of our entire staff! Forward thinking meaning that we have always been working at evolving the preschool so that it kept up with the times. Forward thinking because of the times we have taken children into the program that other programs would possibly turn away due to their learning or behavioral problems. Forward thinking because we have always saw ourselves as a school and never as a day care.

 From the very beginning, Move-N-Learn Academy has incorporated the performing and fine arts into our educational system. Gymnastics has also been a big part of the learning as well since we really believe in the body and mind connection. Lessons using the fine arts have brought about a great wealth of knowledge for out students. For instance, how many two year olds learn the shapes of octagon, wedge, cube, cylinder, etc. in the preschools that do not offer gymnastics?

Over the years, we have had many public elementary educators come to us and say " I think I have one of your preschool students in my class this year." When asked the name of the student, 99.9% of the time they were correct. The child did come through our preschool program from 2-5 yrs. of age. It has always been wonderful when the public educator has added, " Your kids are always so ready for school and beyond!"

So what is in the future of Move-N-Learn Academy? We think that the direction our school is headed is outstanding! We have had computers in the school for the past ten years and have moved on with adding more technology and engineering. Yes, we still have our center for blocks as part of the engineering, but now we have also incorporated software that is fun and builds on math skills in working with arcs, semicircle, straight lines and more. With this software, student learn to construct roads and railways, add trains, helicopters, trucks, cars. water fronts and more. They are truly engineers!

Music is becoming a bigger part of our school as well. Every students gets music by singing and learning to use rhythm instruments, but our older students (4-5 yrs.) also start on pre-piano. All ages also start working with recognizing music symbols and notes as well.

Dance and performance means that each child has a chance to perform for their families at our spring show. Thus training them for other public situations in the future. Remember  being afraid to stand up and do an oral book report? Our students see it as just another opportunity to perform!

We think it is outstanding that our little school has weathered the years and the upgrades well. We believe  that as long as we embrace changing times as something good and an opportunity to continue to grow, we will have many more years of teaching area children! That is why in August of 2014, we will be opening a Move-N-Learn Academy in Enid as well!

We hope you will join us this year at Move-N-Learn Academy to experience to excitement and growth that is available for your child. Fall registration is now available on line at www.academyoffineartsok.com

Some Great New Changes Happening at Move-N-Learn Academy This Fall!

Be sure to follow our posts very closely the next couple of weeks as great new things are happening with our structure and schedule for the Preschool and Pre-K/Jr Kindergarten levels of Move-N-Learn Academy! We think you will find Move-N-Learn Academy the premier Preschool and Pre-K/Jr Kindergarten in your area.

But, again, watch and stay tuned very closely, because once the information is out.......enrollment will explode and we only take a limited number of students!

New Opportunities Now Available For Our Graduates!

Worried about where your child will have to go to school after graduating from Move-N-Learn Academy? Worry no more!

If you or your child are still struggling with public school issues, a public school education in a private setting may be the answer for your child's success.  No matter if you are tired of bullying, the lack of time for family, over crowding of classes and lack of the teachers time for your child, or just want your child to be challenged more, take a look at our public school in a private setting opportunity this Tuesday night at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be held at the Hampton Inn on Williams Ave.

This informational meeting will allow you to ask questions about the K-12 curriculum and other questions concerning your child's education. A Representative of Oklahoma Connections Academy ( we are thinking it will be Tammy Shepherd, Principal of OKCA) will be there to address any concerns or questions concerning virtual public school. 

We hope to see you there. 

Preschool or Daycare?

Lately there are a lot of daycare centers that are calling themselves preschools because they dedicated a couple of hours a day to learning situations. The teachers for the preschool tend to be the employees/caregivers of the preschool. And so, parents are left trying to figure out what it is that they really want and need for their children's educational needs.

The word preschool is actually meant for an early education before attending formal school. In that case, every parents home is already a preschool, because your child is learning from birth. And Pre-K stands for before kindergarten, so again, your home is also a Pre-K. Silly thinking? Well, maybe and maybe not.

Today's busy parents may just be that, too busy and hurried to truly research out what a preschool and pre-k program should look and feel like. Too busy to find out what the "school" teaches. And so they opt for a daycare that offers a couple of hours of preschool training that includes cutting, gluing, tracing, filling in with a pencil or crayon, social graces, some life skills and call it good.

But parents may really want to slow down and takes some time to truly think about what they want for their preschool age child. Maybe take a vacation day to tour and interview the facility directors and teachers. Not sure what to ask? You might find this link helpful for questions to ask. http://www.babycenter.com/0_preschool-director-teacher-interview_1450420.bc

The other thing thing a parent may want to sit down and figure out is the true value of a program versus the fees. Some half time places may seem a bit pricey when compared to the daycare/preschool combos, but the value of the actual education may be much higher and therefor your child will be better prepared and experience. Truly ready for private or public Kindergarten. Never make your decision on tuition price. When the others are cheaper, ask why. Are the government funded? Supported by a church? Supported by an organization?

Be sure you have all of the facts to make the best decision for your young children, because it is their early education that sets the stage for the rest of their education.

What To Look For In A Preschool

Here are 4 things every parent should consider 
before choosing an academic preschool program.

1. What are the ages and class size?Children 2, 3, 4 and 5 are very different in their abilities socially, academically and even physically. Parents should first look for a program that recognizes the learning styles of each age and has teachers that know the differences. Parents may want to look for a preschool that does not place all of the ages together, but rather has a seperate class or program for their child's age group. The class size should be small, allowing each child to receive individual attention throughout their day. Some classes that are offered may have up to 18 students in a class with a teacher and a helper, but this situation only means that if one student is struggling and a teacher is helping that student, then the other teacher is is left with 17 other students.

At Move-N-Learn, classes are age appropriate and we realize their learning needs are different. Classes at Move-N-Learn are small in size because we know that your child deserves to have as much attention to their needs as possible. Our maximum number is 8 for 2-3 yr olds and 10 in a class for 4-5 yr olds. Classes this size are very manageable and allows the teachers time to keep a fun learning atmosphere where every student excels.

2. What Is The School Focus?Some school spend all of their time on the ABC''s, while other preschools use the free-learning approach and the child wonders around all day choosing what they want to do. While neither approach is bad, some parents may wonder if the first is too regimented for young learning and the second is not able to be tracked as far as accomplishing educational skills. Knowing what is best for your child can be very confusing. You want them to learn and have fun, but you want to know that they are learning the necessary skills needed for further education.

A 1991 study showed that students in schools with an arts focused curriculum reported significantly more positive perceptions about their academic abilities. A University in California (Irvine) reported that preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ after only eight months of piano instruction. Several other studies have shown similar outcomes with the introduction of arts based classes in dance, art and music for young children.

Move-N-Learn Academy offers an arts based focus to enhance and increase academic learning and social skills. Through music, movement and art, students learn fun activities that helps with personal focus, listening, sorting, counting, body awareness (for a great personal image of oneself), balance, coordination, vocalizing and more! This program is not your typical program that teaches a young child to "shhh", but instead to question and explore on their own and as a group.

3. How Will I Know My Young Child Is Learning?
Preschool age children are at a stage in life that they are too busy to remember what all that they learned in their class. Most will only focus on what they enjoyed best for the day. So parents sometimes find it frustrating as to why they cannot get their child to tell them the answer to "What did you learn in school today?"

The Move-N-Learn Academy staff and faculty have many years of experience in teaching young children and we recognize the importance of communication with our parents. It is for that reason that we have many ways of letting parents know what is being taught and how to get the information they are looking for. Just a few are:

♦Front desk always available to assist you
♦Parent/Teacher Conferences 3 times a year and available when needed on a daily basis
♦Informative bulliten board, Facebook page and a great website!
♦Email blasts that are for your child's class situation only
♦Yearly and Monthly Calendars
♦Observation windows for parent to observe the classes
♦The ability for parents to request to "sit in" on a class day
♦Goal forms to be able to track your child's abilities
♦A Parent Portal that you can access to review your account, registration, announcements, skills achieved and much more.
♦ a parent/member page on our website with lots of good information.

4. Does it feel and look like a good fit for your child?
Not one school can be the best fit for every child. Visit the preschools in your area and use your "Mommy Instinct" to be your guide. Be sure to bring your questions to make sure you feel comfortable with the philosophy of the school's academic and free play learning. And of course, look for clean, colorful and bright classrooms with a friendly and caring teaching staff.

We invite you to take a tour of our preschool. We would love the opportunity to show you our unique school and answer any questions that you might have. We also invite you to read the testimonials that our parents have written on our academic program as well. You will find them posted on our website.

Move-N-Learn Academy of Enid

UPDATE!!!
Although we are still battling a legal issue with roof and the improper install of it, we have made forward steps to be opening this fall! Move -N - Learn Academy will be held this fall and classes are scheduled to begin the Tuesday after Labor Day 2013



Unfortunately, our Enid location is still in dispute over the new roof that was placed on the building. The building still leaks terribly and the roofing contractor has been difficult to deal with. This matter has been turned over now to an attorney who understands the importance of getting the room completed and the school opened.

We are currently in the process of trying to locate a temporary location so that we can open this fall. Please continue to follow this situation from our website, facebook page and this blog for updates. Call our office at 580-747-4799 and leave your contact information with us and we will happily keep you personally informed.

We are very sorry for this delay. The school should of been open 6 months ago with no problem, but with a difficult carpenter and roofer, we have been held back from completion of the Enid location.  We want it to be perfect for our students and once completed, you will be very surprised at the professionalism of the school.