The Country School

Educational / Social Objectives

Children are encouraged to play in small groups as well as alone.

The teachers encourage cooperative play.

The children have ample opportunity to role play.

Children are encouraged to become independent.

The children learn to take care of their personal belongings.

The children are expected to be kind to one another.

The teachers model appropriate social behavior and encourage children to work out their own problems.

Children will be encouraged to use their imaginations to solve problems.

Children are encouraged to express their own thoughts and ideas about the world around them.

Children are encouraged to recognize their written names.

Children are encouraged to count to 20.

Children are encouraged to classify objects by size, color and shape.

Children are encouraged to persist at a task.

Children are encouraged to follow directions.

• Nursery Themes

Families – Children learn about themselves and each other.  The children are introduced to different types of families and how they live.  The children have opportunities to act out different family member’s roles (dramatic play,) explore families from around the world (social studies,) talk about their own families (social studies,) graph their family members (math) and learn about general health and safety (science.)

Fall The class is introduced to the fall season through observances in nature (science,) art and literature.  The children learn about animals in the fall (science,) weather changes (science,) plant changes (science) and collect fall leaves, pinecones and acorns for art projects.

Nursery Rhymes – Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill and Little Miss Muffet come to life as the class learns these favorites.  The children have the opportunity to act out the parts (dramatic play,) recite (language) and design scenes (art) for these characters.

Animals of the Woods – The class explores forest life and learn about the animals that live in it.  The children have an opportunity to look for tracks (science,) experience turtles and birds (science,) create a forest mural (art) and look at pictures of the animals and trees.

Community Helpers – The teachers introduce some of the many jobs in our community.  Firemen, police officers, vets, chefs and more visit the class.  We ask for parent volunteers to help with this theme.  The children graph their favorite jobs (math,) sing community helper songs (language) and explore real pictures of people in our community.  We end this theme with a visit to our local firehouse.

The Rain Forest- Children learn about the basic three levels that make up the rain forest habitat. They will be introduced to the life cycle of rain forest animals and plants (science).  The class will collaborate on a rain forest mural (art). Through literature and music the children discover the unique characteristics of the tribal people (social studies). Each child will create their own tribal mask and rain stick (art).

Spring – During the month of April the class will learn about spring.  The class will focus on earth changes that are taking place before their very eyes (science,) seeds and planting (science,) sorting different seeds (math) and animals in spring.