Primary Curriculum

The Primary classroom began the year pursuing a theme of study about tree identification and the life cycle of trees. This theme was explored through nature walks; observation; creative writing exercises; creative movement; and art activities including water color, leaf rubbing, and collage. In addition, we reviewed a variety of concepts including: writing numbers, writing letters in upper and lower case, comparative measurements, naming the days of the week and other calendar related concepts, addition, and beginning sounds of letters.

The following months of the fall term were dedicated to the theme of astronomy that included exploring the cause of night and day; study of the sun, moon, and our solar system; constellations, comets, meteor showers, asteroids, and space stations; learning how stars are created; and the color of stars and their degrees of brightness (magnitude). This theme was explored through books, keeping a star journal of constellations, storytelling to decipher the origin of constellations and their names, experiments, creative writing, drama, and art activities.

The Primary class began the New Year with winter sports. Two students participated in the skiing program while five students went swimming. The entire class participated in ice skating. During the first two months of the semester while winter sports were being conducted, the class participated in a review of letter and number writing. The class played with a theme focused on the number "100." Creative writing and journals were also a focus during this time.

When winter sports ended, the class began a theme on the human body. This theme crossed all content areas. The human body theme led into the production of the Primary/Kindergarten restaurant. The restaurant theme also crossed all content areas and included a class project of marketing and selling popsicles as a fund-raiser for the restaurant, field trips to Amy's Bakery and the Brattleboro Food Coop, gardening, food production, advertising, artwork, and serving to their families food which they had prepared.

During the semester, an independent activity called "challenges" was provided for the students. The challenges ranged from counting activities, coordination activities, to word problems and art activities. Each challenge activities required the students to read the cards, consider what they needed to complete the activity and to chart their participation in the activity.

Examples of classroom activity throughout the year as related to six educational domains follow. These examples of classroom activities only scratch the surface to describe another very exciting and joyful year. Many moments stand out as exceptional opportunities of learning, with students showing great respect toward each other and demonstrating countless meaningful connections between each other and to the materials being explored.

Language and Literacy

Listening: Morning meeting time provided opportunities for children to listen to each other and add personal anecdotes relating to the topic being discussed. Children listened to each other's written work that was read aloud.

Speaking: Children had numerous opportunities to speak in class. Stories, rewritten poems, and a theme on selling products are examples of times children read aloud their written material. The children also wrote verses to songs and recited them to the class and told jokes at morning meeting

Literature and Reading: The class participated in silent reading each day followed by a story read aloud to the group. Books were also read during meal times. Reading instruction included: one-on-one lessons with teachers, sight work study, initial blends, word solving strategies, phonemic games, sight word study, world solving strategies, and recognizing the conventions of print. Specific activities included: reading the morning message, reading "challenge cards," reading recipes, clapping out the number of syllables in a word, noticing words that end in "ing," and "tion," and other endings, writing down all the words ending in "at," playing sight word bingo and concentration games, storytelling, reading morning messages together, and reading aloud stories and poems.

Spelling: We experimented with writing and spelling through a variety of lessons and games. These games encouraged the class to write what they heard. Inventive spelling was encouraged, and conventional spelling was taught through teacher directed lessons, group writing activities, and whole language examples throughout the classroom. The class played spelling games and flatcars, learned spelling rules including "ck" verses "k," punctuation, and silent "e." The morning message included many misspellings for the children to identify.

Writing: The writing program included writing in their journals, writing stories, writing information about body systems into a "Body Book," finding 100 things to write down, writing menu covers and tickets, making posters for selling popsicles and writing thank you notes to Amy's Bakery and the Co-op.

Mathematical Thinking

Approach to Mathematical Thinking: The class experimented with math concepts by keeping charts and graphs, adding up days of the month, figuring out word problems, sorting objects, determining quantities with a game of "guess how many cubes this is," using trial and error to solve problems, and noticing patterns and relationships.

Number Concept and Operations: The students explored this area through games, small group lessons, practice sheets, and incidental opportunities throughout the day. The class played games with dice, math board games, finding 100 games, messy mix-up graphing that included sorting and counting, finding and identifying shapes, identifying money, guessing games, and studying number families. The children experimented with math concepts by keeping charts and graphs, adding up days of the month, figuring out word problems, sorting objects, determining quantities, using trial and error to solve problems, and noticing patterns and relationships. The class explored number seriation, addition and subtraction, place value, quantity, one-to-one correspondence, and measurement with non-standard units.

Probability and Statistics: The class's marketing study for selling popsicles included taking surveys, graphing, counting, money management, and prediction. The restaurant also included these skills. The class collected statistics about favorite foods and nutrition.

Scientific Thinking

Observation and Investigation: The fall term was rich with observation and investigation. The early part of the term was devoted to observing the different characteristics of trees, leaves, and how their seeds are different. The students explored classification by examining plants, leaves, and other materials collected during nature walks. During the astronomy theme, students made observations about the sun and moon, the color of stars and the night sky including the Leonid meteor showers. Stars were classified by size and color. We continued the year investigating and experimenting about different body systems. We included experiments on lung capacity, fingerprints, eyes, and making teeth molds. The class participated in other experiment including making telephones from cans and strings; snow melting observations; and discussions about the differences among liquids, solids, and gasses. The class investigated nutritional foods as well. The class had a unique opportunity to observe a dead beaver that was brought to school by a kindergarten classmate.

Prediction: Examples of prediction included lessons with magnets, marble rolling on different surfaces and down different slopes, and predicting the location of the sun during different parts of the day. We used prediction during our popsicle making adventure to consider how many people were coming to the restaurant, how much food to make, and I our experiments about the body.

Communication of Scientific Information: The class did numerous writings about their knowledge of the universe and stars. The students made drawings of constellations and were able to explain the names of the constellations based on their forms. We wrote in our journals about the stems of the body we were studying. They wrote about the experimentation with snow melting, and wrote charts about nutritious food.

Social Studies

Human Similarities and Differences: Storytelling provided opportunities for the class to discuss how cultures are similar and different and how cultures have changed over time. The Peace Pole ceremony led to many discussions on how people live differently. Throughout our study of the human body, we discussed similarities and differences. The class conducted surveys on the types of food different people eat.

Identifying Effects of Technology: The astronomy theme included history on how people have observed the universe differently depending on what technology was available throughout the centuries. Visits to Amy's Bakery and the Co-op provided the children with examples of how the specific machinery, cleanliness of the machinery, and specific equipment impact on the making of the food.

Rights and Responsibilities: Through classroom rituals and routines, the class was able to explore the many ways we are responsible for ourselves and to each other.

People and the Past: The stories of how constellations have been named and identified through the centuries and by different cultures led to exploring people and the past. October grandparent's day was an opportunity to discuss the children's past and their own personal timelines. We explored people of the past through a book on famous people and their childhood including Helen Keller, Alexander Graham Bell, and Harriet Tubman.

The Arts

Expression and Representation: Making detailed representations of ideas, experiences and emotions occurred spontaneously each day in the classroom through drawings, movement activities, building with different materials, sculpting and painting. The class made posters for our popsicle sales and the restaurant. They interpreted their ideas about body systems through drawings in their Body Books. They made Super Hero stories and illustrated them.

Experiments with New Ideas, Materials, and Activities: A puppetry unit was introduced by a student intern over a series of six weeks. It was an exciting and highly effective exploration of art materials and ideas. The class was treated to a second puppet making workshop, this time with the Annies. The class also made "slime" from glue and liquid starch. They made teeth molds. Weekly visits to the River Gallery provided many long hours of focused exploration with art materials. The puppetry that was introduced by a student intern over a series of six weeks was an exciting and highly effective exploration of art materials and ideas.

Physical Development

Gross and Fine Motor Development: The class participated in daily fitness exercises and yoga. PE classes at the Gibson Aiken center provided the class with an opportunity to play basketball, relay games, and coordination games. The class also helped to make 15 loaves of bread for the restaurant. Winter sports, of course, also addressed this area.

The year ended with a beautiful event, the opening of "The Hillside Café." This event was a crowning moment to the year. It exemplified the atmosphere of our class and of the entire school. Children of all ages participated in making food, setting tables, serving food, decorating, etc.

Throughout the year, the Primary students were exceptionally patient with each other, caring and cooperative. These seven children were active learners, helping to direct the areas studied as well as having an enthusiastic approach toward material presented to them.