We work on sharing, taking turns, listening to peers, sitting at circle, walking in a line, and focusing on an activity. We practice patience, manners, kindness, and respect, as well as encourage participation. We teach children to recognize their own emotions and that of their peers and give them tools to help regulate their feelings. We strive for children to form friendships and relationships with their peers and teachers on daily basis. The curriculum and play based program help children build their independence, learn problem solving skills, and become critical thinkers. In the beginning of the year, we like to have the children create a list of rules to follow while at school. We also do a lot of focus on routine during the first weeks of school.

Children work on whole body movements (jump, balance, climb, etc.) by doing music and movement, yoga, and having plenty of outdoor time. Children work on small hand/finger movements (write, pinch, grasp, etc.) by doing activities such as beading, painting, and by using small manipulatives to build.

We work on counting skills, one to one correspondence, patterns, shapes, colors, measurements. We use games, books, songs, and learning toys to recognize and count numbers.

We learn about how things change, comparing/contrasting, cause & effect, making predictions and doing research. We experiment with objects, such as pumpkins, and learn through hands on experience.

We do book and group discussions, have open ended questions, story retelling/rereading through felt boards, puppet shows or skits, and books on tape. Children can tell their own story by drawing or creating a picture with art materials and telling their story to which the teacher writes word for word what is said. We practice letter sounds and recognition through songs, games, books, and learning toys. We also have the children practice writing their names.

We learn about animals through books, discussions, nature walks or field trips. We have garden beds with flowers and produce. Children use their senses to explore and investigate and play with natural materials in their environment.

We learn about different artist by doing projects, looking at art, or listening to music. We explore art with a variety of art supplies/materials and sensory through different textures such as clay, paint, sand, water, playdough, and much more.

We experiment with different instruments, listen to different types of music, dance, sing, play movement games and do fun finger play songs.

We learn the Spanish language by watching prerecorded videos from Teacher Ana. When children are exposed to another language, it helps stimulate the brain, improve attention span and memory, boost creativity and critical thinking skills, and opens up more career options.

We do weekly cooking/baking projects, some of which will correspond with the week’s core lesson. When children are involved in the kitchen, they learn how to eat healthy and may even stop being that picky eater. It will also strengthen a child’s math and literacy skills by following directions.

Once a week, we do a yoga session to help relax the mind and the body. We practice patience, being calm, breathing, and stretching our bodies. When children do yoga, it helps improve behavior, focus, and memory, as well as strengthen self-esteem and academic performance. Yoga is beneficial in relieving a child’s anxiety and stress. We do yoga in a fun and engaging way.

When playing children love to do what adults do. They can act this out through dramatic play or imaginative play. To improve their life skills, they can use Montessori inspired materials or activities to practice folding or pouring. During snack time, they practice self-serving with our family style meals and work on cleaning up after themselves. We learn about our senses, bodies (basic), germs and how to stay healthy, good nutrition, and safety. We do plenty of movement indoors and outdoors through games, dancing, and recess.

We learn about our families and ourselves by doing All About Me units and family and friendship lessons. We discuss the traditions of different families, with a focus of the families in the program. We learn about different cultures, languages, and people around the world, and celebrate all the holidays and birthdays.

We do a weekly/bi-weekly unit on a focus topic. It could be anything, such as the 5 senses, trees, an animal, pumpkins, emotions, transportation, dinosaurs, or the life cycle of a butterfly. In the beginning of the year, we like to ask what the children want to learn about and what their interests are. Each unit of focus will incorporate songs, books, art projects, group discussions, engaging activities, and different materials in the classroom.