Festive Foundations: Literacy Comes to Life in the Early Childhood Division

In the Early Childhood Division, the foundation of literacy—literally—begins in our Infant Rooms in the Infant Toddler Center and continues step by step through to our PK4 classrooms. And right now, that foundation looks a bit festive.

With Halloween all around us, classrooms are buzzing with stories, songs, and play inspired by pumpkins, spiders, and skeletons. What may look like simple seasonal fun is actually intentional, language-rich learning. Our teachers love to build on what’s happening in the world around the children—and fall offers endless opportunities to do just that.

From the start, we know that oral language is the cornerstone of literacy. Long before children can read words on a page, they’re learning to listen, express themselves, and understand others through rich play and conversation. Songs, rhymes, and movement build vocabulary and rhythm, while dramatic play and print-rich environments deepen it even further.

In one PK3 classroom, children gathered at a sensory table filled with (pretend) spiders, bugs, and worms—playful and seasonal, but also deeply purposeful. As they shared tools, described textures, and told stories about what they found, they practiced language, social interaction, and fine-motor coordination.

Down the hall, a PK4 class created an exploration station inspired by a shared read-aloud. The table featured fall vocabulary cards, pens, and paper—an open invitation to write, draw, and discuss what they noticed in the story. And if you look closely, you might spot a skeleton in downward dog pose. That class practices yoga regularly, and it seems even their skeleton has joined in.

These moments—joyful, messy, and full of imagination—represent the heart of our approach. Literacy grows from the ground up, nurtured through play, conversation, and connection. By the time our children leave for kindergarten, they don’t just know their letters and sounds—they know that language is alive, joyful, and everywhere around them.