International Preschool Opened in Flushing in September

Kon Gen International Preschool opened last fall in Queens and offers a hands-on approach to learning. The international preschool is now accepting applications for the fall.

Kon Gen International Preschool, which is certified by the state and licensed by the New York City Department of Health, is highlighting a hands-on approach to learning at its new facility in Flushing.

Kon Gen Preschool’s 20,000-square-foot facility features 15 climate-controlled, hospital-grade air-filtered classrooms, an indoor gym, a professional dance studio, piano rooms, a rooftop play area, and a science discovery lab. Children will also plant and nurture vegetables in the spring in the school’s botanical garden.

Denise Reardon, the preschool’s educational director says keeping children ages 2-5 engaged in learning is a top priority. “We are doing a project-based curriculum with the children, which involves hands-on creative problem-solving, reflection, and response to different themes,” she says.

“We are a dual language English-Mandarin program, and there was a need for child care in this area with the influx of Chinese families in the Bayside area,” she says. Children will learn Mandarin through immersive exercises including stories, poems, rhymes—as well as exploration of the Chinese culture—while adhering to New York state’s common core learning standards.

As part of its enriched curriculum, Kon Gen now offers a music program called ColorSoundation. The program is designed to teach children musical notes, pitch, beat, and rhythm through colors.

Kon Gen also offers a free Universal Pre-K program—registration for the international preschool is rolling, and begins this month for UPK—and will also offer a summer camp for kids entering kindergarten through second grade. Registration for the summer camp is now open.

With a staff of 25, including art, music, and Chinese and English literacy teachers, the school provides a full day program for nearly 100 students year-round.

Above photo: Kon Gen International Preschool has an outdoor space for science experimentation and exploration.