Chameleon

Our classroom is a community of four and five year old students and two teachers, all of whom are helped by student volunteers and many dedicated parents. Together we work to create a classroom culture of love and respect for each child and their individual ideas, thoughts and needs. Parents bring their talents and contributions to the classroom throughout the year in an infinite variety of ways; parents have made playdough, donated fresh clay, conducted baking projects, shared their musical talents, taught the children Spanish, built wood shelves in the room, and more. Our classroom is designed with several areas in mind: art, games, blocks and manipulatives, dramatic play and an open area for circle or other activities. In each of these areas we provide opportunities for children to gain skills that will help them on their path to kindergarten including social skills, math skills, and early literacy. We also utilize an extensive outdoor classroom including our playgrounds, walks around the neighborhood and to the river, and gardening in the spring and summer! We introduce teacher-generated ideas and curriculum, as well as building on themes that emerge from the children's play and ideas. We encourage children to share their thoughts and ideas about what they would like to learn. Having children contribute their ideas to the curriculum and co-construct play environments creates an enriched classroom culture in which they develop the understanding that their thoughts and ideas are important and respected. Throughout the school year we focus on developing care and respect for the earth and each other; community building through cooperative games and circle time activities, tea time ceremonies, growing a garden and taking care of it; walking to the river down the street from the school, inviting families to be a part of the classroom, and reading and discussing themed folk tales from around the world.