Curriculum

Philosophy and Goals

Our academic curriculum draws on the best of several educational approaches.  We let children learn through discovery in structured independent play, but we also create experiences that teach important soft skills to prepare children for classical education in Kindergarten. 

Our goal is to help our students:

1.  Be Curious: They learn to initiate learning experiences on their own. 

2.  Be Persistent: They learn to work until a project is complete. 

3.  Work alone and with others: Independence and cooperation are equally important. 

4.  Participate and express themselves: They learn to ask questions and articulate their needs and wants verbally. 

5.  Follow instructions: They learn to listen, use self control and help with simple chores. 

Areas of Instruction

We cover the following subjects throughout the year:

Phonics:  We learn to recognize letters and learn their phonetic sounds, with an introduction to short and long vowel sounds.  We will learn how to write letters and short words.  We learn what rhyming is and how to recognize syllables.

Science:  We learn about animals, our own health, seasons, foods, the environment and just about everything under the sun!

Language:  We learn nursery rhymes, poems and even learn to speak a little Spanish.  We incorporate basic sign language into the curriculum as a way for children to have fun with a second language.

Art:  We will create many art projects related to our unit themes, seasons, holidays and the individual interests of the children.

Music:  Singing and music are a major part of everything we do.  We also learn several songs in Spanish!

Movement:  We frequently take time to get up and move.  We learn basic yoga poses, dance, pantomime, jump, stretch and enjoy being active. 

Typical Daily Schedule

Most days will be structured similarly so that children will become accustomed to a safe, predictable pace, but we always have new activities to make sure they are excited and engaged.  

8:45 – 9:00	Arrival and writing practice	Preschoolers will practice writing their name or the letter of the week and greet friends while they play at our block station.
9:00 – 9:30	Circle Time	This is a fun, routine time where we go over the calendar, the weather, counting, learn the pledge of allegiance, sing, read and discuss topics as a group.
9:30 – 9:40	Music & Movement	We will practice yoga, dance, jump, stretch and get all our wiggles out!
9:40 – 9:50	Worksheets	These will focus on phonics or math and will relate to a theme for the week.
9:50 – 10:00	Snack Time	Students will take turns bringing a snack to share.  This is a fun experience where they get to help prepare the snack and bring a show and tell to share with the class.
10:00 – 11:00	Work Stations	During this time children will work on supervised, self directed tasks.  This kind of work is meant to encourage and foster large and small motor skills, creativity, intellectual stimulation, independence, self-correction, cooperation and negotiation.
11:00 – 11:30	Art or Science	We will do experiments and/or fun artwork related to our theme for the week.
11:30 – 11:45	Prepare to go home	Review, clean up and storytime.