Preschool Curriculum

The preschool class consisted of 11 students five mornings a week, and 6 each for 2 and 3 mornings a week. Students ages ranged from 3-5 years old.

We began our year saying good-bye to summer and hello to one another. We played games, sang name songs and shared stories about our families and friends. We studied butterflies and enjoyed the first colors of autumn. Our dramatic play area changed from a house to a Farmers' Market, and we began to focus on harvest.

Apples, pumpkins, corn and gourds were all around and we worked with them in many areas of the room. We traveled to Dwight Miller Farm to pick apples. Back at school we peeled and chopped apples, made apple sauce, and munched on apple muffins. We made apple prints using paints, tasted different apple recipes, and counted and sorted seeds. Thanks to the generous donation from Lester and Carol, we were able to have a pumpkin hunt in our garden. Each child took home a small pumpkin and our class helped carve one giant pumpkin. We pulled corn from the cob and experimented with different kinds of corn to see which would pop into popcorn.

As the leaves exploded with color, we began autumn treasure hunts outside and used our beautiful leaves for many art projects. We learned the names of local trees and played games that involved matching the tree's seed to its leaves. Children amazed us with their knowledge of the natural world.

By the end of November we were reading Stone Soup and ready to invite our families to share our harvest feast and peace pole ceremony. We painted paper bags and turned them into lanterns as we explored what peace means.

Dramatic play changed to a doctor's office and a fire truck. Children spent long periods of time switching from doctor to nurse to patient. Firefighters drove the truck to save the animals and made sure to hang the hoses to dry. This allowed for some important study about safety as well.

As children talked about their families, we began to explore how we are all alike and different. We painted self-portraits, made paper dolls, and outlined our bodies on LARGE paper. We read the book Many Colored Days and used colors to help us express our feelings Children would pick a color and tell us how that color made them feel. We would hear comments like, "This color makes me happy because it is my Mom's favorite color" and "This color makes me mad because I don't like this color." We talked about the changes in our outside world and looked at the different ways people in our community use light to celebrate with friends and family during this dark time of the year. Before leaving for winter break we officially said good-bye to autumn with a barn dance with the Kindergarten class.

When we returned from Winter Break we continued with our exploration of light and dark. Under the science table we added flashlights, sparkling paper and reflectors. Children added glitter and silver stars to black playdough. We changed white snow into dark colors using watercolors and eyedroppers.

As winter continued, the children began to show a strong interest in animals. We built a bear's cave in dramatic play and children created their own papier maché caves or beaver dens. The interest in animals began to expand to every animal on the planet so we made an Animal Education center in dramatic play. Here children guided our study through their questions. We worked on solving such mysteries as "Do cardinals go south in winter?" Snack time began with a "Mystery Animal" and more questions to look up.

When sugaring time approached, we visited Jerry Smith's sugar shack where we saw how trees were tapped and sap was boiled into maple syrup. We took our new knowledge back to Neighborhood where we tapped our own trees and reenacted the sugaring process in our own pretend paper forest. Children used a pulley and rope to send their "sap" down to the "sugar shack" to be boiled. They then sold it at the farm store to hungry customers. We finished with a pancake supper for our families.

Slowly spring began to emerge, and we said good-bye to winter. We began to grow lots of flowers and vegetables in our new grow lab. Children would water daily and sing to the plants because our breath helps them grow." Children planted marigold seeds to be transplanted into colorful flower pots they had created.

As we watched the world wake up both inside and out, we celebrated spring with the book Rechenka's Egg. We decorated eggs and made egg carton flowers. We then headed outside for a dance around the Maypole and our own Preschool band. Preschoolers continued to be very busy gardeners and helped plant and harvest our lettuce for a salad feast.

We began to notice children pretending to be sharks and mermaids so we changed dramatic play to a beach. Children used magnets to fish in our blue fabric ocean and took lemonade breaks in their beach chairs. We colored sand for gluing and built boats from many different materials. Our beach party was exciting and wet with the help of Isaac Karlan-Mason's "crazy daisy."

We were very fortunate to have two talented artists guide us through group activities this year. Esther Fielding, a preschooler's grandmother, led the children in a variety of art projects and Bonnie Stern helped children create with clay. Many thanks to them both.