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Early Childhood Curriculum
In our early childhood classrooms, we guide children through a thoughtfully sequenced journey that nurtures curiosity, builds confidence, and lays the groundwork for academic success. Our approach is rooted in the belief that children flourish when immersed in a rich, knowledge-based curriculum that welcomes exploration.
We nurture well-rounded early learners with a thoughtful blend of experiences: through self-directed play, they naturally develop crucial social skills and independence, while structured instruction ensures they master vital concepts, creating a strong academic scaffold for their entire school journey. We apply developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) to meet every child where they are.
“I appreciate how the staff engage with students and families with sincere care and partnership.”
—Current Parent
Our Early Years Program is tailored to two distinct and critical developmental stages:
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Our Preschool program (2.5-3 years) is a child’s first introduction to a school community. The primary focus is on social-emotional learning, building independence, mastering foundational language and motor skills, and learning how to be a part of a group—all driven by joyful, guided play.
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Our Pre-Kindergarten program (4 years) builds on that foundation with a greater focus on Kindergarten readiness. We introduce more structure and more complex, multi-step activities in early literacy (like phonemic awareness), math, and collaborative problem-solving.
While both programs may explore similar units, our expert teachers differentiate instruction for every child. We adjust the pacing and complexity of our lessons based on their unique skills, allowing us to challenge and extend their strengths while gently supporting their developing areas, ensuring every child builds confidence and a lifelong love of learning.
Our curriculum includes:
Communication, Language, and Literacy
Language is the foundation of all learning. Our classrooms are filled with stories, songs, and rich conversation to build a deep love of reading.
Reading Readiness: We build phonological awareness (the ability to hear sounds in language) in fun, age-appropriate ways. In Preschool, this sounds like clapping out syllables in a song or rhyming with nursery rhymes. In Pre-K, we take the next step by introducing phonemic awareness—identifying the individual sounds in a word (e.g., “What sound does ‘cat’ start with?”), which is a key predictor for reading success.
Writing Readiness: We use the Learning Without Tears program to make writing joyful. In Preschool, this means building hand strength with playdough and practicing a proper crayon grip. In Pre-K, children build on this foundation by using the program’s materials to practice letter formation and begin writing their names, building confidence for Kindergarten.
Health and Physical Development
Preschool and Pre-K students are always on the move, building strong bodies and minds! We focus on two key areas:
Gross Motor Skills: We build large-muscle skills and coordination through daily play, PE class, and classroom fun. This looks like running, jumping, and climbing on the playground, navigating obstacle courses in the gym, or dancing and stretching during circle time.
Fine Motor Skills: We strengthen the small muscles in children’s hands, which is essential for writing. This doesn’t mean drills; it means molding playdough, scooping sand in the sensory bin, lacing beads, and learning to use scissors safely.
Through all of these activities, children learn about physical health, self-care, and the joy of being a great teammate.
Math
We build early math skills by making them a part of our everyday play. Math isn’t a worksheet; it’s a hands-on, problem-solving experience.
Students learn by doing—sorting colorful bears into pattern groups, counting how many crackers they have at snack time, or measuring who built the tallest block tower. We build a strong number sense by practicing one-to-one correspondence (touching one block for each number they count) and exploring the basics of adding and subtracting through stories and games.
Science, the Natural & Physical World
Science in early childhood means hands-on discovery! Our young scientists are encouraged to observe, ask questions, make predictions, and investigate.
Children engage in simple, exciting experiments, like planting a bean in a cup to watch its life cycle unfold or mixing blue and yellow paint to predict and create a new color. Nature walks, sensory play, and a weekly science enrichment class for Pre-K students build a lifelong love of inquiry and observation.
Fine Arts & Music
Creativity and self-expression are essential. In the classroom, children sing, dance, and engage in dramatic play in the costume corner. They explore self-expression through hands-on art, using paint, clay, and collage to learn about color and texture.
In addition, our early learners participate in dedicated enrichment classes. STEAM class connects art with science, Music class lets them play instruments, and Pre-K students also enjoy Performance class, building confidence and imagination through theatre games.
People, Community and Culture
Even our youngest learners can begin to understand their place in the world. We introduce broad concepts in simple ways, helping children connect to their families, communities, and the wider world.
We explore families, neighborhoods, and traditions, using maps and globes to learn about where we live. In Pre-K, a weekly Humanities class takes students on a global journey, helping them understand the why behind cultural elements—like discovering the meaning of candles in different festivals of light. We bring these lessons to life with on-campus field trips, like visiting a local farm to see real baby animals during our farm unit.
Character and Social-Emotional Development
We believe social-emotional learning is just as important as academic readiness. Our research-based program helps children navigate friendships, solve simple conflicts, and express their big feelings in healthy ways.