Creative Dramatics
To learn self-expression in a fun and creative way. To allow each child to act out feelings and moods in a guided environment. This can be informal, using the Dramatic Play area as a hospital or a fire station. Or, possibly a group might work together to provide an ending to a story, when the teacher stops reading and asks the group how they think the story should end.
Citizenship
To encourage a sense of community responsibility and an attitude of positive action by which each of us can make a difference. We try to model that citizenship means supporting others, so children are periodically encouraged to bring in food bank donations, or to contribute pennies, augmented by family donations, and all matched by the school, to support other community organizations, such as Real Rent Duwamish. Whenever we have emphases like these, we make them relevant by embedding them into the work we are doing at school.
Music
To provide experiences in sound and rhythm with instruments, voice, and recordings. To experiment vocally with pitch, rhythm, and songs. To encourage the pure joy of music within each student. Rhythm and rhyme help grow synapses in brains. Really, any kind of learning can be imprinted on our brains when we sing about it. As a matter of fact, we have a song that teaches children how to change a flat tire!
Prereading and Premath
To offer developmentally appropriate materials which engage children as they begin to discover written language and an awareness of mathematical concepts. As with all we do, to actively involve the children. For example, little metal cars can be counted, deliberately touching each one as the number is said aloud. Later, the cars can be arranged in a pattern (car, truck, car, truck; or, blue, red, black, blue, red, black). Older children can play out addition or subtraction problems with the cars. They can look at a glass container holding a quantity of the cars and practice estimating the number, then counting them out to see the answer.
Field Trips
We like outdoor field trips that tie into the subject at hand. We can start with younger children by taking a walk on our block to study something like shapes on houses, on signs and on sidewalks. Older children can study trees in our neighborhood. Several months later, older children can avidly and quietly observe wildlife at our local wetlands area. For 50 years, we have ended our school year with a trip to a saltwater beach at really low tide. Families join us to explore the beach, picnic, and celebrate another fine year of school.
Art
To provide opportunities to use paint, playdough, and numerous other art media in fun and creative ways. To encourage each student's own unique creativity and to develop personal pride in their artistic achievements. Younger children start learning how to simply manipulate things such as a paint brush as they make just one stroke on a paper. They experiment with putting glue on a surface and then using their fingers to pick up and place pieces of fabric on the glue. Older children may start drawing human figures and can share words about their drawing. Playdough play is more than art; kneading and rolling and squishing playdough is a great way to strengthen hand muscles used for holding writing implements.