All our classrooms, from discovery preschool to prekindergarten, follow a daily rhythm. At each center, our incredible teachers create a schedule that works for their room and age group. See below for a general example.
We feel that the classrooms should belong to the children.
Every classroom will reflect the personalities, interests, and gifts of the children who occupy that space. Each classroom will encourage the children’s sense of ownership and responsibility for the classroom. We purposefully planned an engaging environment that the children approach each day full of choice and exploration.
We also understand that for most children, this is their first time in an educational environment. Our inviting classrooms are created with these things in mind.
Visual Art
In a C.L.E classroom, children will explore a variety of artistic media and techniques through open-minded activities in which the emphasis will be on the process, not the finished product. Our curriculum includes painting, drawing, collage, and three-dimensional construction. We value the power of art it provides children with the means to express feelings, and storytelling, assert their individuality and communicate with other children. Art supports pre-literacy development by giving children the capacity to represent and communicate the products of their imagination. When children are drawing, painting, and sculpting, they are building their observational and fine-motor skills.
Cognitive Development
With our developmentally appropriate curriculum, not only do we teach through play and through meaningful activities, but our classroom’s also daily routines include firsthand work of cooking healthy food, planting seeds, and taking care of earthworms, and butterfly larvae. Math, science, and social studies content is integrated into the children’s engagement in block building, outdoor exploration, imaginative play, art, music, dance, and all other aspects of classroom life.
Creative Movement
We offer a variety of movements that are designed to develop children’s strength, flexibility, and self-control, as well as offer children opportunities for creative self-expression. C.L.E is currently looking to provide expressive dance through partnerships and other community arts organizations and Yoga with a community-based Yoga instructor.
Language Development
Since strong verbal language development is the foundation of literacy, our curriculum emphasizes talk-in classroom meetings and casual conversations, to resolve conflicts and. makeup stories, tell jokes, and invent rhymes. Teachers will read to the children every day and engage them in conversation that expands their exploration of materials or their imaginative games. Books are a central part of classroom life.
Science
In C.L.E classrooms, teachers guide children through a direct introduction to the scientific method. Children observe, compare, sort hypothesize, evaluate hypotheses, and communicate their findings. Scientific activities may involve water, light, magnets, simple machines, plant life, and insects. Our science projects include watching the metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly, larvae to ladybug, and tadpoles to frogs.
Social Development
At C.L.E children are afforded daily opportunities to develop the important skills of cooperating, sharing, helping others, and negotiating with peers. We will also incorporate meditation
Our Classrooms
We purposefully planned an engaging environment that the children approach each day full of choice and exploration.
We also understand that for most children, this is their first time in an educational environment. Our inviting classrooms are created with these things in mind.
C.L.E offers a developmentally appropriate curriculum. This means, that all aspects of the preschool experience - from classroom materials to planned activities. The flow of the school day is designed to meet the needs and challenge of all children. The teachers and the curriculum are a response to the learning styles, family background, and formative experiences of individual children.