Pre-Kindergarten

List of 5 items.

• Art

  Art is infused in the pre-kindergarten program.  We emphasize identifying, creating, and describing art in nature. Students use markers, crayons, colored-pencils, and watercolor as well as natural and found objects to create art that tells their story.  

• Music

  The pre-kindergarten music program emphasizes vocal, instrumental, and movement exploration. Pre-kindergarten students focus on learning how to sing, dance, play instruments, and listen to music.  Students are exposed to a variety of music from all over the world. Using a large repertoire of songs, dances, and musical games, students learn about finding and keeping the beat, speaking voice versus singing voice, and whole body versus isolated body part movement. Pre-Kindergarten performs several times in year. This foundation serves as a base for music making during their Lower School journey.  

• Physical Education

  Movement and exercise are an important part of the school day. All grade levels have Physical Education three days a week. Physical Education classes develop fitness and skills and focus on life-long health and wellness. In Pre-Kindergarten we emphasize motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.  Students focus on their gross motor skills and movements focused on controlling, strengthening, and moving one’s body.    

• Research Lab

  The Lower School Library is a place of discovery.  All Lower School students visit the library regularly and can explore their interests by delving further into books and online sources for deeper learning.  During Research Lab class, prekindergarten students engage in read-aloud activities and author/illustrator/character studies to develop vocabulary, comprehension, imagination, creativity, and a knowledge and appreciation of a variety of types of literature. Of course, students also enjoy reading for pleasure and look forward to checking out books to enjoy in the classroom and at home.

• Social and Emotional Learning

  All homeroom teachers start the day with a morning meeting, which builds community and sets students up for a successful day. These morning meetings include four components and are based on the Responsive Classroom best-practices: 1) greeting everyone by name, 2) sharing important information about our lives and listening actively to our peers while asking clarifying questions, 3) a brief activity around social-emotional learning, and 4) watching community announcements and reading a short message that reviews the schedule for the day.    
     
  In addition, to morning meeting, all homerooms include a “Social Emotional Learning” block in the schedule in which students actively learn and practice a core set of social and emotional competencies: “C.A.R.E.S.: cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.  
   
  Our Lower School counselor visits each class once per week for a focused SEL lesson as well.