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Beginners,
Pre-K, Kindergarten, First Grade -
Part of Lower School
Behind every child
who loves to learn are adults who love to teach.
What is the ideal learning environment for a
very young child? As a parent, you already know: It’s secure, loving,
stimulating, creative and clearly defined. Our
Early Childhood Program is an “ideal” in action. Our small
class size, for instance, assures individualized attention as well as
kid-sized challenges. Making children feel at home with learning is
really the first step. It’s why we stress a nurturing environment
and strong connection between school and home. From the very start,
we invite and encourage children to make learning a hands-on adventure.
Seeing and saying isn’t enough. Learning at its most fun and memorable
is a journey, an experience, and a positive encounter with the new.
BEGINNERS & PRE-KINDERGARTEN
PROGRAMS
For ages 3-5 years
Education should be a flight of stairs
that the smallest feet can climb.
At IDS, teachers in our Beginners and Pre-K program know what a flight
of stairs looks like to a small child. Since these programs are really
the first steps in the educational journey, we strive to make them inviting,
fun, a place to uplift but also to land safely. Our program is accredited
by the Connecticut Association for Independent Schools (CAIS), adhering
to the highest standards. Children who will be three years old at the
start of the school year take their first step in our Beginners Program.
Children ages four through five learn together in our Pre-K class. Our
classroom ambience is happy, busy, sunny and roomy, a place where children
can feel free to interact with each other as well as with the natural
world. Becoming independent, making good decisions, and discovering
who they are is a process that unfolds through an assortment of activities.
Activities: Variations on the theme of play.
In their earliest school years, children are adding inches to every
aspect of their lives—physically, socially, and intellectually.
Activities at IDS are designed to support all of these important areas
of growth.To help children stay focused and give them a say in their
learning adventure, we employ a theme-oriented, play-based curriculum.
No two themes are exactly alike for each class that passes through our
program, since they are based on the needs and interests of each unique
group.
In the past, our activities have revolved around such themes as The
Beach, Outer Space, Our Five Senses, Fairy Tales and Castles, The Enchanted
Forest, Pets, Transportation, and Dinosaurs. Each child takes an active
part in bringing each unit of exploration alive in all areas of the
classroom. It’s important for children to stretch their wings on
their own as well as fly in formation with their peers. For that reason,
we structure each day to offer a mix of small and large group activities
as well as a large block of individual choice time. Special projects,
stories, snack time, and outside time provide the variety children need
to keep their attention primed throughout the day.
Programs: child-sized schedules and play-based
curricula.
In both our regular morning programs, the day is “child-sized,”
beginning at 8:10 a.m. and continuing through noon. However, we also
offer extended hours for parents who need childcare in the afternoon
due to busy work schedules.
Extended Day runs from noon until 3:05 p.m.
After School Program
provides additional time, allowing parents to pick up their children
anytime between 3:05 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Here are some of our regularly
scheduled lessons and learning opportunities:
>World Language: In Kindergarten and First Grade a second language is introduced.
the focus is on developing basic communication skills and establishing
confidence and enthusiasm for a world language. Students learn to use
gestures and context clues to gain understanding and to respond to everyday
commands. They also begin to speak in simple words or phrases. Language
is taught through songs, games, art and conversation.
>Lunch bunch: This optional program, offered once a week, is as much for “roundtable”
discussions with peers and teachers as it is for socializing. All are
welcome, just bring your lunch and drink.
>Specials:
Our Pre-K students travel each morning to Specials, including Physical
Education, Music, Art, and Library.
>Cooking Lessons:
Giving Pre-K children a taste of their cooking is a safe, fun way to
encourage creativity as well as the basics in following directions and
measuring (math).
>Second Grade Buddies:
On a regular basis, IDS second graders visit our Pre-K classroom to
share favorite storybooks they read aloud or play board games. They
provide a much anticipated story-break and become reading role models
to their younger audience.
>Presentation and Plays: As a part of the IDS community, both Beginners and Pre-K have
the opportunity to attend All School Meeting presentations and many
grade-level dramatic performances. It provides them with a sneak preview
of their future at IDS.
Please visit our Teachers' Pages
KINDERGARTEN & FIRST
GRADE PROGRAMS
Learning begins not
with a giant leap into the unknown,
but with steady steps.
The first two years of a full day (from 8:10 a.m. until 3:05 p.m.) are
exciting landmarks in your child’s development. We structure activities
and lessons within these grade levels to support the whole child. Healthy
social interactions, emotional security, and intellectual enrichment
are all underscored in the course of the day.
For children who need After School care, we provide a safe, structured
place to play and try out new skills. This provides parents who need
later pickup times (up to 5:30 p.m.) with the best of all worlds.
Whether your child goes home at 3:05 or 5:30, his or her day will be
full of new ideas and experiences in a warm, familiar setting. This
combination is what gives children the courage to think and speak for
themselves, ultimately becoming active and responsible citizens both
at IDS and in the outside world.
Learning to read: getting to know the shapes
and sounds of letters.
Of all the journeys your child makes in a lifetime
none will be richer in experience, sound and memory than reading, writing
and language learning. Your kindergartener or first-grade child will
embark on the reading journey at IDS with open eyes, ears, mind, and
voice.
Each day, we make the “I can read” experience inspiring and
attainable with the Open Court Sounds and Letters program. This comprehensive
curriculum includes a whole range of proven teaching methods: directed
whole class instruction; story time; small group workshops; hands-on,
self-directed activities and journal writing. This helps us achieve
that delicate balance between literature-based activities and explicit
phonics skills instruction. Learning to read isn’t an overnight
miracle-it takes time and practice. Our language arts program gives
each new student ample time and opportunity to practice his/her new
skills. The results: independent, enthusiastic, and fluent readers.
Reading in Kindergarten: The Open Court Sounds and Letters Program introduces children
to the joys of reading and writing. Children explore the alphabet and
letter sound asssociations, and through a variety of activities discover
the patterns and structure of the written word. Combining phonics with
literature-based instruction, children gain a beginning sight word vocabulary
and experiment with sounding out words. Practicing letter sounds out
loud helps kindergartners become fluent readers later. Our kindergartners
also take a lot of pleasure in forming letters on paper, in the air,
with shaving cream, or other tactile materials. From shaky squiggles
come the rudiments of correct letter formation and placement of A-B-C’s
on lines.
Reading in First Grade: Our first graders’ daily reading lessons focus on phonics skills,
word building and hands-on practice of reading and comprehension skills
during daily workshop time. As their skills strengthen, the children
spend time each day reading appropriately leveled literature in small
groups. They also share classroom anthologies and have fun with readers'
theater activities. First graders are asked to read for 15-20 minutes
four nights per week, to turn their new “school” skills
into a daily pastime. Reading enjoyment is really the result of proficiency.
Writing is a complementary skill. Through dictation, word processing,
journals, classroom newsletters and the creation of class books, first
graders learn to capture their thoughts just as their favorite authors
have—by forming words and sentences on a page.
Learning math skills: making everyday experiences
count.
Everyday Mathematics: Our curriculum engages children in hands-on, open-ended math
exploration. Instead of page after page of drills, we focus on real-life
mathematical experiences— involving both sides of the brain. Working
with objects they can see or story problems they encounter in their
own lives, children can more easily strengthen their mathematical thinking
and problem-solving skills. The curriculum is woven from Kindergarten
into the First grade, so that children are reintroduced to familiar
math concepts.
Math in Kindergarten: Beginning math is as practical as play itself. Not only does it include
strategies like counting and number recognition, but also many activities
children first encounter in games— predicting and sorting, for
instance. They also gain concepts such as symmetry and new skills such
as graphing.
Math in First Grade: First graders explore math at the concrete level as in Kindergarten,
gradually progressing to more abstract concepts. They learn to grapple
with increasingly complex math problems involving time, money, numeration,
and measuring. All the while, they’re developing an appreciation
for patterns and geometric shapes defined by numbers. We even begin
to teach the basics in data collection and interpretation, a skill that
spills over into the sciences — and for that matter, everyday life.
Learning is more than just an art and a science.
All of our Kindergarten and First Grade children
participate in “Specials,” subjects taught by teachers with expertise in a specific field. By focusing
on them, we find that we can draw out children with special interests
and talents early on. Here is brief description of each Special taught
at IDS.
>Science: Discovery
really begins with questions, and we encourage them all. How do tadpoles
turn into frogs? Why are roses red? Our young scientists are invited
to ask, seek and discover in our science lab, which can easily move
out-of-doors to our nearby garden and nature trail.
>Music: IDS is alive with the sound of music in more ways than one — singing,
of course, but also playing instruments and learning to read music.
We also give children a musical tour of the great composers. Classes
meet twice a week.
>Art: Early
Childhood art is a creative, colorful and joyful program! Children meet
once a week for an hour in an art studio specifically designed for the
younger student. Our emphasis is on doing. Children experiment with
various media and are given the opportunity to create art in its many
forms: drawing, painting, printmaking, weaving and sculpting, including
pottery. Students also learn about many different artists, their works
and the stories behind them.
>Physical Education: Held three times a week, our physical education classes get everyone
moving through simple exercise, practicing ball skills, and developing
coordination. Cooperation, too. Children learn the essentials right
here.
>Library: “Tell me a story.” All children want them, and our library
provides the gamut. Once a week, children hear stories read aloud and
are encouraged to make their own “take-home” book selections.
Clear thinking. Independence.
Compassion. Responsible citizenship. We work toward each of these desirable
traits with each and every child. But love of learning always begins
with a secure, nurturing environment. For that reason, so do we.
Please visit our Teachers' Pages
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