Grades K - 2

Welcome to our classrooms in the Pond. Our play-based environment, with its carefully planned daily routine and wide variety of learning experiences, allows younger children the space and time to work on social-emotional developmental tasks. Academic learning takes place in a non-pressured way within the context of this caring, nurturing community of learners. Our primary hope for our youngest students is that they will enjoy playing with peers, enjoy learning, and enjoy school.

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A 5, 6 or 7-year-old child is still developmentally in early childhood—curious, energetic, and eager to experience the world. The major developmental tasks of children are social and emotional as they learn how to fit themselves and their needs into the larger school environment.

 

Children in grades K - 2 are just beginning to see outside themselves and consider the needs or feelings of others. They are working on self-regulation and being aware of their body in space as they transition through the school day. They are developing the ability to use words to express wants, needs, and feelings with both adults and peers, and to listen to the words of others. They are also learning to engage in group discussions, to wait for their turn, and to follow basic directions.

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We meet the children's academic and intellectual developmental needs within the context of a nurturing community of learners. Our literacy and numeracy instruction is hands-on, highly engaging, and authentic to the child's own interests and purposes.