Pre-Kindergarten

Stewardship provides an overarching theme and central value for the Pre-Kindergarten learning experience. Carefully crafted, exciting, meaningful and meaning-filled units of study are taught in an engaging hands-on manner.

Pre-Kindergarten students learn to identify what their brains and bodies are feeling using the shared framework of the Zones of Regulation curriculum. Through literary connections and the meaningful context of social interactions, students are taught to recognize and value their feelings and the perspectives of others. On a daily basis we practice being “bucket fillers,” that is through words and deeds students build each other up. A classroom culture of kindness and inclusiveness that is deeply rooted in Quaker values is thus established.  Teachers further emphasize this by learning on the Responsive Classroom framework. Through daily morning meetings and closing circles, students learn that their voices are valued and powerful.

 

Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are life-tools needed to unlock learning. Lessons are taught one-on-one, in small groups, and in whole group configurations. Teachers work with students on alphabet skills, phonemic awareness, sound/letter correspondence, and fine motor skills. These invitations to learning are intentionally designed to help students make a smooth transition to the literacy programs, such as Fundations, that are used in our elementary grades.The thoughtfully designed literature-rich classroom environment reflects and informs direct instruction as well as daily opportunities for student engagement in the language arts.

The Pre-Kindergarten math program provides hands-on, multi-sensory experiences through which students learn to use mathematics as a tool to understand situations of quantity in the world around them. Teachers provide time for concrete exploration, experimentation through play, and structured experiences with pattern, sorting, spatial relations, geometry, and measurement. Understanding and a joy for learning are the goals of mathematics instruction.

Exploration of the natural world is a key element of the Pre-Kindergarten science experience. Inquiry-based science guides Pre-Kindergartners’ work as they learn to care for classroom pets and plants, explore a range of physical properties, and observe various life cycles. Students are introduced to the scientific method: observing, hypothesizing, experimenting, collecting data, and determining results. The joy of discovery is a potent aspect of science instruction.