Shared Activities (All age groups):
Morning Meeting and Circle Time:
Students greet their peers, do a calendar activity, talk about the day’s activities, sing songs, and have sharing time.
Arts & Crafts:
Students develop fine motor skills, creativity, and cross-curricular Knowledge and Understanding of the World through both guided and free art activities.
Music:
Although music activities occur during lessons and throughout the day, there is additional allotted time each week for students to explore instruments, learn rhythm, and express themselves creatively through music.
Free choice:
Learning centers and stations set up during free choice allow students to explore different subjects and direct their own play. The nature of the centers allows children to work on their own or in a small group, promoting independence and teamwork. In this environment, children are able to grow and strengthen important social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills. Teachers encourage children to try new centers if they seem to favor certain areas.
Story Time:
Every day we read one or more books. Discussion and reading comprehension activities may also take place during this time.
Snack Time:
Students learn positive social interactions, sharing, and manners.
ICT:
Weekly computer time allows children to explore technology through educational programs and games. The focus is basic use of the mouse and keyboard.
Pre-Nursery Activities( 2 1/2 yrs to 4 yrs):
Knowledge and Understanding of the World:
Students participate in activities including but not limited to math, science, literacy, and practical knowledge. These topics are explored through arts and crafts, music, and other creative mediums.
Math:
The math program is focused on shape recognition and number recognition up to ten. Students often learn through play both guided and self-directed, incorporating elements from science, such as counting animals or bugs. Children learn comparative concepts such as far and near, full and empty, and long and short.
Literacy:
Recognition of the alphabet by letter and sound is the key goal of the literacy program in nursery. Children learn to write and identify each letter through hands-on, tactile activities that both teach the alphabet and improve motor skills.
Nursery Activities (4 yrs to 5 yrs):
Literacy:
The goal for the 4-5 age group is to give a solid base upon which future language learning can be built. By emphasizing both phonics and sight words through educational play and exploration, we encourage students in the four language areas: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Much of the language learning will be through guided play. This helps children develop conversational skills in a way that they understand and enjoy, while encouraging social skills development through taking turns, asking, and sharing. Students begin using the Oxford Reading Tree system and learning sight words to prepare them for kindergarten.
Math:
Math activities are centered on rote counting, number recognition, counting objects, patterns, and simple addition. Activities are hands-on and help develop observational and problem solving skills through guided play. Our aim is to provide students with a strong mathematics base for elementary school.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World:
Children learn about the world through play and hands on activities such as planting bean sprouts, experimenting with light and shadow, and sinking and floating. Animal recognition and plant recognition is reinforced by trips out to the garden and interactive media on the SmartBoard. The idea of gravity and the planets are introduced as well as the seasons and months of the year.
Reception Activities (5 yrs to 6 yrs):
Literacy:
The kindergarten literacy program builds on the foundations laid in reception. Lessons are more structured than in nursery and reception, helping to prepare students for grade one. Students begin to rely more heavily on the Oxford Reading Tree system, starting at stage one. Children work on improving handwriting and
Math:
Children learn rote counting up to ten, counting by twos, basic addition and subtraction up to ten, and number and pattern recognition using art supplies and manipulatives in order to prepare them for primary school. While most activities are play-based, there is a stronger emphasis on books and structured learning than in the previous two years.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World:
Cross curricular exploration of the world as a whole occurs at this age: identifying where plants and animals grow and live, their habitats, and where we live. Concepts of north, south, east, and west are introduced as well as identification of oceans and continents. Children also learn how things are made and what different materials they are made out of.