Steeple School: Our Curriculum

CURRICULUM GOALS

Learning is an active experience that involves the whole child. When the child is actively involved with creative arts, language experiences, sensory exploration, and manipulatives; they can begin to feel a sense of confidence in their ability and self-worth.

We believe that each moment for children, offers an opportunity to explore relationships and to create a community that nurtures children, teacher and families. Each moment holds a range of feelings and interests. There are always questions to pursue, hypotheses to investigate, and discoveries to celebrate.

The understanding of children shapes our decisions about how to arrange our classroom environment, schedule our day and plan our curriculum.

Through activities in our curriculum, children will grow emotionally, socially, physically, intelligently and creatively.

FREEPLAY allows for open-ended time during which children can pursue their questions, passions and developmental themes. In order to develop self-esteem & social competence, children are encouraged to help themselves, take initiative, and become increasingly independent.

CURRICULUM is developed through observation of the child. We create opportunities for children to deepen their thinking, represent their understandings and encounter new perspectives. Child engage in exploration of art, music, language and play as a coactive group while being honored for their individual interests and passions.

While children are welcome to choose their level of involvement, we all try to enjoy the process of creating things of beauty without imposing expectations about the project results onto each other.

Our teachers help the children maintain an environment of mutual respect and appreciation.

Social development, cognitive development, and physical development are all part of the curriculum foundation.

Discovery, independence, and social interaction are all part of the child’s development.

CLASSROOMS are arranged with the children’s interest at heart. The atmosphere invites them to explore, collaborate, reflect, and communicate with a range of media.

Each classroom offers dramatic play, blocks (small & large), comfy book corner, sensory tables, manipulatives, art corner and science exploration.

Our outdoor playground offers learning centers that invite the child to continue their learning by exploring with their minds and bodies.

DOCUMENTATION

Teachers collect traces of children’s thinking by taking photos, recording/writing their communication, collecting art and projects. This view of your child’s experience is created into an “end of the school year” book and presented to the parents during Closing picnics.