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Early Childhood

Social Emotional

Students learn to use their “Friendship Tools” to navigate their social-emotional core competencies and relationship skills.

Circle Time

Students engage in rich social interaction, learning to both listen and share with focus and confidence.

Science

We work to develop a scientific process that enables our students to become researchers and independent learners. We go to our outdoor classroom to reinforce their classroom work and to help children connect and recognize their place in nature.

Outdoor Play

Students spend time each day in our garden, where they use their imagination skills to whip up everything from games of chase, to building constructions, to scientific observations of insects, to delectable (but pretend edible) specialities in our “mud kitchen”.

Program Overview

Whether in our garden space, our bright, airy classrooms, the neighborhood, or sites further afield, our Early Childhood students’ learning is driven by their own questions and interests and characterized by exploration and collaborative discovery. Daily, students are invited to engage with new materials and activities that will arouse their curiosity and spark new questions, inspiring learning in all areas. Our teachers watch closely as students interact with each other and their learning environment, taking note of what catches their attention and kindles the greatest enthusiasm. Using The Project Approach, these topics become the basis for rich studies over extended periods. Imaginative play and teacher-facilitated research intertwine as students become experts and enthusiasts on everything from spotted lanternflies to electricity. All the while, teachers offer explicit instruction in various skills, timed just right for students to take advantage of what they learn in authentic ways.

Learn about our Integrated curriculum

 

Snack and Lunch

Time to eat and socialize is also time to learn about being together in community.  Children learn and participate in community-minded routines to set up, share space, and clean up after eating.

Seed to Table

Each student participates in planting, tending, and harvesting fruits and vegetables. Children then prepare and eat the food. Experiencing food up close and personal, can be an eye-opening opportunity to explore the complexities of our food chain.

Math

Students use both numerals and manipulatives to represent quantities and solve problems.

Self Guided Learning

Children enter classrooms setup with learning invitations such as crafts, problem-solving games, a book corner, or an “observation station”.

Inside the Classroom