Student Learning

Learning is guided by Creative Curriculum®, which provides a framework for creating environments that move and flow with children’s developing interests and changing needs. Children learn about themselves and the world around them and are encouraged to feel capable as learners; teacher-caregivers are guided through a process of observing and monitoring the healthy development of children.

Learning is guided by Creative Curriculum®, a developmentally appropriate program that supports active learning and promotes children's progress in all developmental areas. A typical day includes: a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snack; tooth brushing; using books and tabletop activities to explore the weekly curriculum theme; circle time with music, movement, songs, and finger plays; Learning Labs: art, blocks, dramatic play, library, sand/water, science, and writing; math and literacy activities; gross motor play (outdoors if possible); and reflection on the day’s learning.

Pre-Kindergarteners (4-5 years old) continue the social and skill-based learning established in preschool, but are ready to delve deeper into early learning and prepare for the upcoming Kindergarten year. Splash into Pre-K (Reading and Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Health, and Art) and Fundations(Phonemic Awareness) guide student learning. Classroom learning is extended through field trips and a summer camp experience. A typical day includes: a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snack; tooth brushing; Morning Meeting with weather and calendar review; introduction to thematic concepts; story times; Letter Work with rhyming, alphabet, and sound concepts; music with movement, songs, and finger plays; literacy; and math/science times, including exploration, problem-solving, and interaction at Learning Labs; gross motor play (outdoors if possible); and a Home Link activity that links learning to life at home.

Kindergarteners are ready to expand their early learning and develop the foundational skills necessary for a successful elementary experience. Our curricula include Journeys (Literacy), Fundations(Phonemic Awareness), Lucy Calkins’ Writing Workshop (Writing), and enVision (Math). Classroom learning is extended through field trips and a summer camp experience. A typical day includes: a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snack; tooth brushing; Morning Meeting with weather and calendar review; whole-group literacy lesson followed by exploration, problem-solving, and interaction at Learning Labs, including Guided Reading; read-aloud and independent reading times; science, art, and social studies centers; gross motor play (outdoors if possible); and a Home Link activity that links learning to life at home.

The Latchkey Enrichment Program uses out-of-school time to extend learning and enrich students’ experiences through homework help, reading time, art activities, games, computer lab use, violin lessons, physical activities, field trips, and special events. TheJunior Achievement® curriculum, which includes hands-on activities to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy, and Spark, a program that promotes the development of motor skills as well as personal and social skills, are also incorporated into programming. Summers offer the chance for outdoor excursions and learning activities in a countryside camp setting.

21st Century Community Learning Centers use out-of-school time during sessions held during the year to extend learning and enrich students' experiences with project-based learning. The program has collaborated with a range of community partners in the legal, creative, and health fields and has incorporated elements from a range of curricula and structured programs:

• Engineering Adventures™ from the Museum of Science, Boston, a curriculum created for out-of-school time programs that introduces students to the engineering design process as they ask questions, imagine, plan, create, and improve solutions to real-world problems
• Strength and Power in Nutrition (SPIN): a health and consumer program of UMass for adolescents emphasizing personal power and healthy choices
• Spark, a program that helps students develop motor skills, movement knowledge, and social and personal skills to encourage lifelong healthy behaviors
• Scratch, a graphical programming system developed by MIT Media Lab
• Beyond the Chalkboard from the Children's Museum, Boston, which covers a range of subjects, including science, literacy, culture, art, health, math, and engineering in ways that support what's learned during the school day