As for class size, I will be accepting 4-5 children. Counting my Carsten that will make a cap of 6 students. I believe this will give a good amount of interaction between students and allow them to learn and grow from eachother, have a personal relationship with each of their classmates, and give me the opportunity to work one-on-one with each child during the session.
Originally, I planned on beginning the pre-school Fall of '08, but I have noticed lately that Carsten is eager for planned activity and a learning environment. I'm sure many of you feel the same way. So I would be willing to start as early as January '08, maybe even do just one or two sessions a week to get them going.
Right now I'm considering a separate Winter, Summer, and Fall session. Please let me know your thoughts regarding timing. :)
The monthly tuition will cover activity costs, a daily snack, and any other necessary materials. After researching the activiy costs, county fees, and business licensing procedure, this is the tuition I feel would be appropriate:
Monthly tuition
$100 one session per week
$175 two sessions per week
$250 three sessions per week
To reserve a spot there is a $100 deposit for the session you are interested in starting.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
a typical day
Regular sessions will follow this routine:
20-30 min Center Time (9:00-9:30)
5 min Clean-Up (9:30-9:35)
25 min Carpet Time (9:35-10:00)
15 min snack (10:00-10:15)
25 min Outdoor Time (10:15-10:40)
15 min Project related Literature (10:40-10:55)
30 min Project Time (10:55-11:25)
5-10 min Clean Up & gather things (parents arrive between 11:30-11:45)
Center Time
There will be three to four centers available for the children to explore. They may stay in one center the entire time or visit as many as they choose. The centers will be self-directed and encourage further learning related to their project work. (The first project we will study will be "food", although what we learn entirely depends on the children's interest). The centers will remain and change depending on the frequency and engagement of the children at each session. Some ideas: a kitchen/dining area or restaurant, a measuring center: where the children use typical kitchen measuring tools to measure with beans, noodles, marshmallows, etc., a library with books that have food related topics and stories, an art center where the kids can create still life and sculpture of familiar fruit and vegetables. These are just a few ideas. Some centers may remain for a few weeks etc., while others will change frequently.
Carpet Time
Activities within Carpet Time will involve class social interaction and sharing of experiences and ideas, music & movement, poetry, American Sign Language, emergent literacy such as alphabet identification and beginning phonics, calendar & weather exploration, and anything else that will increase the children's learning within their project theme.
Outdoor Time
As long as weather permits, we will spend this time outside taking walks or hikes through the yard, inspecting nature and nearby animals, building snow forts and snow angels, playing all manner of outdoor games, etc. There will be activity ideas, but this is mainly a free time for the children outdoors.
Project related Literature
At the beginning of each daily project focused activity, a book will be read that will introduce the activity, strengthen concepts already learned and introduce new material in regards to the project.
Project Time
Each day a new activity will help the children continue to research and explore their project theme. These activities will integrate the curriculum and will reappear in center time if the children need or desire more time exploring the ideas presented.
Clean Up & gather things
Cleaning up is part of play. We will be using this skill after Center and Project Time. Another important skill in life is learning to care for and keep track of our posessions. My goal is for the children to take pride in having a place for their coats, gloves, hats, backpacks, etc. and for these treasures to return home with them. :)
In regards to non-typical days, I would like to take the students on field trips one to two times each month. These will be special activities that will reinforce those concepts learned while studying within their project themes. Because transportation and being in public is a concern, I would ask that a parent, gaurdian, grandparent, etc. accompany each student. These will be days that you will want to accompany your child. It will suprise you how much they learn and will help you to know how to further their learning at home.
***A small side note***
I understand that we all have bad days from time to time, and I have never had to send a student home, however, please be available if your child becomes sick or is having an exceptionally bad day that deters everyone in the class from learning. If your child is adimate about you not leaving, please either stay until they are comfortable, or just try another day.
please leave comments and questions as to our daily routine and any other ideas or concerns you may have :)
20-30 min Center Time (9:00-9:30)
5 min Clean-Up (9:30-9:35)
25 min Carpet Time (9:35-10:00)
15 min snack (10:00-10:15)
25 min Outdoor Time (10:15-10:40)
15 min Project related Literature (10:40-10:55)
30 min Project Time (10:55-11:25)
5-10 min Clean Up & gather things (parents arrive between 11:30-11:45)
Center Time
There will be three to four centers available for the children to explore. They may stay in one center the entire time or visit as many as they choose. The centers will be self-directed and encourage further learning related to their project work. (The first project we will study will be "food", although what we learn entirely depends on the children's interest). The centers will remain and change depending on the frequency and engagement of the children at each session. Some ideas: a kitchen/dining area or restaurant, a measuring center: where the children use typical kitchen measuring tools to measure with beans, noodles, marshmallows, etc., a library with books that have food related topics and stories, an art center where the kids can create still life and sculpture of familiar fruit and vegetables. These are just a few ideas. Some centers may remain for a few weeks etc., while others will change frequently.
Carpet Time
Activities within Carpet Time will involve class social interaction and sharing of experiences and ideas, music & movement, poetry, American Sign Language, emergent literacy such as alphabet identification and beginning phonics, calendar & weather exploration, and anything else that will increase the children's learning within their project theme.
Outdoor Time
As long as weather permits, we will spend this time outside taking walks or hikes through the yard, inspecting nature and nearby animals, building snow forts and snow angels, playing all manner of outdoor games, etc. There will be activity ideas, but this is mainly a free time for the children outdoors.
Project related Literature
At the beginning of each daily project focused activity, a book will be read that will introduce the activity, strengthen concepts already learned and introduce new material in regards to the project.
Project Time
Each day a new activity will help the children continue to research and explore their project theme. These activities will integrate the curriculum and will reappear in center time if the children need or desire more time exploring the ideas presented.
Clean Up & gather things
Cleaning up is part of play. We will be using this skill after Center and Project Time. Another important skill in life is learning to care for and keep track of our posessions. My goal is for the children to take pride in having a place for their coats, gloves, hats, backpacks, etc. and for these treasures to return home with them. :)
In regards to non-typical days, I would like to take the students on field trips one to two times each month. These will be special activities that will reinforce those concepts learned while studying within their project themes. Because transportation and being in public is a concern, I would ask that a parent, gaurdian, grandparent, etc. accompany each student. These will be days that you will want to accompany your child. It will suprise you how much they learn and will help you to know how to further their learning at home.
***A small side note***
I understand that we all have bad days from time to time, and I have never had to send a student home, however, please be available if your child becomes sick or is having an exceptionally bad day that deters everyone in the class from learning. If your child is adimate about you not leaving, please either stay until they are comfortable, or just try another day.
please leave comments and questions as to our daily routine and any other ideas or concerns you may have :)
dap and integrated curriculum
While studying Early Childhood Education at byu, I researched, observed, and used Integrated Curriculum and Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). Within developmentally appropriate practices, the CHILD must be the primary source of the curriculum. "It is through observation of emerging physical, social, emotional, and cognitive capabilities in children's natural activity that teachers can discover the content and form of activities to foster children's growth across developmental domains" (p. 3).
To put it simply, the curriculum developed will be tailored to your child's current development (according to their age, individual growth patterns, and cultural factors), while providing activities that will guide them to the next level. The interactive process used within the DAP curriculum utilizes activities that are relevant and meaningful to young children. Children are naturally curious and a DAP classroom facilitates their making sense of their world through active, hands-on, learning.
Integrated Curriculum is important because as children make sense of their world, they do not naturally discover something and instantly categorize it as a science, mathematic, or language "find." I felt that semesters I learned most in my college career, were those where my learning was crossing over in classes and helping me understand deeper. Integrated Curriculum, obviously, integrates all of the subjects that we have come to categorize. By working in Projects, the children focus on a goal to research and explore. The activities will focus on that theme while also helping the children focus on a specific field of study.
For instance: in a pre-k class the children had chosen "water" for their project of research. The activities all revolved around water, but they learned science as they studied the properties of water, music as they experimented with the sounds that water makes, visual arts as they drew pictures of the boats that they made and floated down and nearby stream, kinetics as they danced and learned choreography to a well-loved "Little Mermaid" song, language as they discussed the different words related to water: "lake, pond, stream, ocean, boat, ship, etc."
Instead of having the children groan when it was "math" hour, the children celebrated project time and couldn't wait to show their parents what they had learned at the end of each session. I loved taking time at the end of each session to write down the discoveries and progress of each child.
To put it simply, the curriculum developed will be tailored to your child's current development (according to their age, individual growth patterns, and cultural factors), while providing activities that will guide them to the next level. The interactive process used within the DAP curriculum utilizes activities that are relevant and meaningful to young children. Children are naturally curious and a DAP classroom facilitates their making sense of their world through active, hands-on, learning.
Integrated Curriculum is important because as children make sense of their world, they do not naturally discover something and instantly categorize it as a science, mathematic, or language "find." I felt that semesters I learned most in my college career, were those where my learning was crossing over in classes and helping me understand deeper. Integrated Curriculum, obviously, integrates all of the subjects that we have come to categorize. By working in Projects, the children focus on a goal to research and explore. The activities will focus on that theme while also helping the children focus on a specific field of study.
For instance: in a pre-k class the children had chosen "water" for their project of research. The activities all revolved around water, but they learned science as they studied the properties of water, music as they experimented with the sounds that water makes, visual arts as they drew pictures of the boats that they made and floated down and nearby stream, kinetics as they danced and learned choreography to a well-loved "Little Mermaid" song, language as they discussed the different words related to water: "lake, pond, stream, ocean, boat, ship, etc."
Instead of having the children groan when it was "math" hour, the children celebrated project time and couldn't wait to show their parents what they had learned at the end of each session. I loved taking time at the end of each session to write down the discoveries and progress of each child.
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