Our Boston schools include Preschool (Age 3) and Pre-Kindergarten (K1) classrooms.
These classrooms align philosophically with the older grade levels of our school. They also recognize the unique developmental needs of 3- and 4-year old children. In these classrooms, students will build stamina and continually demonstrate higher levels of engagement with increasingly demanding learning tasks, in a supportive environment. Our Pre-Kindergarten program is a reflection of ideas and ideals written about in The Most Important Year: Pre-Kindergarten and the Future of our Children.
STUDENTS LEARN THROUGH EXPLORATION, PLAY, AND PROBLEM-SOLVING.
One of the hallmarks of a successful K1 program is centers-based learning. During centers, students explore, use language in authentic ways, build friendships, and make connections to and among topics. Children also encounter problems that they need to solve, whether they are intrapersonal (grappling with “I don’t know how”), interpersonal (“she took the car from me”), or content-based (“my tower keeps falling over” or “how do I spell ‘dog’?”). Children learn through these authentic experiences, with guidance as necessary. A teacher isn’t a “sage on the stage” but rather guides students along a line of inquiry. For example, a student who encounters a wobbly structure at blocks might be encouraged to look at another child’s structure to see what’s different about their structure (guiding the child to, for example, realize that a bigger base increases stability), all the while building curiosity, language skills, and self-efficacy. Students will often be asked to share their learnings during debriefs.
STUDENTS WILL HAVE AUTHENTIC OPPORTUNITIES TO PRACTICE SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL SKILLS.
Children aged three and four are busy! They are naturally exposed to situations where they can practice, with increasing independence over time, skills such as expressing needs, wants, and feelings; creating plans for play and assigning roles; taking turns and sharing; and solving problems together. Teachers may also ask students to share how they worked through a problem with the class, allowing all students to learn through and build upon real scenarios.
STUDENTS WILL BUILD ACADEMIC STAMINA AND BUILD UP TO PREVIEWING THE KINDERGARTEN CURRICULUM.
Children in Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have prior preschool experiences, some have been in a daycare setting, and for some, this may be their first experience away from home. Our Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten classrooms are designed to meet children where they are and provide for a range of activities throughout their time in the classroom, culminating in a “rising Kindergarten” mentality at the end of the Pre-K year, during which students are given exposure to the curriculum and demands of the Kindergarten classroom.
The following program components are also included within the Preschool and Pre-K experience:
Outdoor Play and Movement. Our Preschool and Pre-K programs include at least 60 minutes of outdoor play (or, when weather requires, indoor movement-oriented play).
Spanish Immersion, Art, Music, Design, and Movement. Every day, students engage in at least sixty minutes of enrichment, with each course taught by a dedicated specialist teacher. In addition, students may opt into art, STEM, theatre, sports-based, and other enrichment activities during our extended day programming.
Quiet Time. We build in a 60- to 75-minute rest and quiet time for all students each day. (We can increase this time for 3-year-olds when appropriate.)
Healthy Snack and Lunch. We provide a healthy snack each day during the mid-morning. Students may either bring their own lunch from home or purchase lunch from our school lunch caterer.
Flexible Arrival Time. Families may drop off students anytime between 7:30am and 8:30am. We offer a variety of engaging arrival activities before our program begins at 8:30am.
Extended Day. For an additional fee, families may choose for their child to stay at our school as late as 5:30pm daily. After a snack is provided at 3:10pm, students engage in an extended day enrichment activity from 3:25-4:15pm. Between 4:15pm and 5:30pm, students engage in activities and play (often outdoors) until they are picked up to go home.