Nursery Curriculum

Whole- and small-group meeting times, including morning meeting, story time, and sharing time, provide practice in listening and speaking as well as opportunities to lengthen and strengthen a child’s attention span. Games, rhymes, and other activities help children expand phonemic awareness. As they progress through Nursery and PK, children develop their verbal communication skills and, in time, move toward written communication skills through drawing, dictating stories, and beginning writing. Teachers document classroom investigations and record dictation, creating class books and blogs for children and parents to read. In PK classrooms, literacy development occurs through morning meetings, the regular inclusion of classroom writing centers, and a systematic study of the alphabet, with concentration on consonant sounds. Regular story times with teachers and school librarians, coupled with ready access to classroom libraries and the Nursery School Library, support and promote each child’s interest in books and stories.

Music classes scheduled twice in a six-day rotation help students develop musical enjoyment and competence through songs, chants, poetry, rhythm instruments, movement, and dance. In the context of a creative environment, children learn to match pitch within an appropriate developmental range, keep a steady beat, sing short solos, and listen with discrimination. Musical highlights include the Halloween Parade, the Nursery School-Kindergarten Christmas Pageant, and grade-level spring music programs that reflect the year’s learning. These highlights also help students build confidence and begin to develop public-speaking skills.

Recognizing that art is an essential vehicle for children to express their understanding of the world around them and their experiences in it, Nursery and PK classes integrate art materials and activities into daily life. Using a wide variety of materials and media, children have opportunities to create open-ended art and to complete specific projects, both individually and in groups. The Nursery School hallway and classrooms are brightened by displays of individual and group work.

Meeting twice during the six-day rotation in PK, students are introduced to Spanish language and culture through stories, songs, poetry, dance, and movement. Students acquire new words and expressions naturally as they learn authentic songs and rhymes that help them internalize the language and develop accurate pronunciation skills. One of the main goals of PK Spanish is for students to become accustomed to listening to classes taught in Spanish. From the very first day, students listen to requests and commands in Spanish and are encouraged to use the language in meaningful ways. Students learn how to respond to simple questions about their names, emotions, days of the week, colors, and shapes.