List of 5 items.

• Art

  The empha­sis in art in preschool is on the process. Chil­dren need many oppor­tu­ni­ties to engage with mate­ri­als and methods so they can explore their thoughts, feel­ings, and ideas. Chil­dren are learn­ing about and expe­ri­enc­ing their world from many differ­ent perspec­tives and abil­i­ties, and their art reflects this. At this stage, chil­dren explore the art mate­r­ial by phys­i­cally manip­u­lat­ing and expe­ri­enc­ing its sensory prop­er­ties. Chil­dren have the oppor­tu­nity to talk about their art making as they work. Over time, chil­dren develop their own voice through their art and their creative vocab­u­lary, allow­ing them to feel success­ful in commu­ni­cat­ing through symbolic language.

• Farm

  The Waverly organic farm, located within walking distance from the school, is a one-acre multi-purpose green space for students, teach­ers, and fami­lies. During their weekly visits to the farm, the preschool­ers partic­i­pate in ongoing imag­i­na­tive play that they continue to build upon through­out the year. They have oppor­tu­ni­ties to use tools, climb trees, dig, and build. They use problem-solving skills to figure out how to move items around the farm, how to trans­port water using PVC pipes, and how to dig chan­nels for the water to flow. They learn how to make shelter from the rain and have oppor­tu­ni­ties for mud play. The preschool­ers delight in inves­ti­gat­ing how things grow, harvest­ing produce, observ­ing and caring for the chick­ens, discov­er­ing insects, cooking in the student-built pizza oven, and observ­ing the changes in the climate and seasons.

• Music

  Preschool students are intro­duced to the keyboard, xylo­phone, auto­harp, recorder, and drums. The empha­sis is on chil­dren finding joy in creat­ing music while learn­ing to play songs and singing. Chil­dren explore musical exer­cises and play hand-eye coordination games.

• Phys­i­cal Education

  Chil­dren love to move their bodies, and the curricu­lum at Waverly allows for move­ment of various sorts through­out the day. Twice a week, preschool chil­dren enjoy time with our phys­i­cal educa­tion special­ist, jumping, hopping, skip­ping, running, stretch­ing, and bending. They learn how to follow verbal and nonver­bal cues, prac­tice spatial aware­ness, and develop hand-eye and eye-foot coor­di­na­tion. Chil­dren enjoy full use of the play­ground space to exper­i­ment with equip­ment, such as hula hoops, bean bags, tricy­cles, jump ropes, and balls. An impor­tant part of preschool phys­i­cal educa­tion is learn­ing how to play outdoor games with others.

• Spanish

  Preschool students learn and become famil­iar with the Spanish language through music, dance, games, art projects, story­books, and cultural activ­i­ties. The curricu­lum is designed to inte­grate language skills into our every­day class­room, excite students about Spanish, and intro­duce skills that will provide the support and repe­ti­tion chil­dren need to learn a language.