5 “Non-Negotiables� When Selecting Your Kindergarten
5 “Non-Negotiables” When Selecting Your Kindergarten SEARCH FOR A PLAYFUL, STUDENT-CENTERED ENVIRONMENT
“How can we help young people develop as creative thinkers so that they’re prepared for life in this ever-changing world?” —Mitchel Resnick, Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play
Play is a healthy, and essential, aspect of development in the early years. In fact, studies show that without ample opportunity for play, cognitive development is actually deterred in a growing mind. A well-balanced early education rooted in the cognitive and social benefits of play is far more likely to prepare your child for the academic and collaborative demands of elementary, middle, and secondary school, as well as college, career, and life. Also, search for a kindergarten that energetically advocates for student-centered instruction, such as introductory design thinking, and STEM concepts in early education. These practices encourage students to think imaginatively and solve their own problems. Even the youngest learners can benefit from the principles of these thoughtful investigative processes. The Peck School’s newly re-imagined Deetjen Kindergarten building includes a brand new KG and First Grade Idea & Design Lab (K.I.D. Lab), as well as an outdoor classroom – spaces that promote the power of play and incubate and ignite creativity, self-expression, inquiry, and problem solving.
CHOSE A K-8 CONTINUUM
“If I could design psychologically safe schools, every elementary school in the United States would go from kindergarten through grade eight,” —Michael Thompson, Ph.D.
Experts in education recommend K-8 schools for many reasons. One of the most compelling is that a Kindergarten connected to a broader school community offers a continuum of learning and a myriad of
social and academic resources. A Kindergarten disconnected from higher grade levels cannot benefit from the wider sensitivities of a carefully crafted pedagogy centering around timely transformation through the grade levels. Moreover, a K-8 school provides a much wider physical landscape for exploration outside the classroom. Children who enter Kindergarten at The Peck School will benefit from the presence of older students who serve as buddies, role models and student leaders. Your child becomes an integral part of our whole school community. Your child will regularly join the rest of the school for all-school assemblies, performances, and thoughtfully designed “reach across” events that intentionally group younger students with older students for fun projects and collaborations. This integration into a larger student body sets the tone for your child’s later academic, social, public speaking and leadership opportunities. What’s more, Peck Kindergarten students have a beautiful 14-acre campus at their doorstep. Each week your child can take special classes in Peck’s science labs, multi-media room, computer lab, library, art studios, language lab, music studio, and sports facilities. This is just one more way Peck Kindergarten students are integrated into a wider, caring community.
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8 Grade th
Kindergarten Helpers
SEEK A COMMUNITY THAT HONORS CHILDHOOD
“I believe the rest of school (indeed, the rest of life) should become more like kindergarten.” ― Mitchel Resnick, Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play
Schools that focus solely on Pre-K and Kindergarten students face certain pressures relating to preparing their students for the transition to first grade at an external lower school. In some cases, this pressure can result in a “push down” of instruction that might more effectively occur with the consultation of lower school specialists in the ensuing years.
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Kindergarten classrooms
Find a community that allows your child to remain a child for just a little bit longer without sacrificing their preparation for the academic rigors to come. Learning activity stations and play-based activities are highly recommended. Kindergarten should be all about learning to love learning and nurturing a happy child.
Per Week: 30
minutes
Library Science
120
minutes
In the new Peck Kindergarten space, your child will be surrounded by an architectural metaphor for nature, nurture and growth. They can retreat to a cozy nook to read with a friend, or engage in dramatic or fantasy play on the big room’s elevated stage. There is plenty of room to learn, explore and discover. An indoor garden and large window spaces maintain a connection to the outdoor world long after recess is over. “We are really thrilled by the possibilities of the new outdoor classroom. I’m imagining outdoor math scavenger hunts, science investigations, outdoor birthday parties, messy play, and so much more,” says Maribel Mohr, one of Peck’s three full-time Kindergarten faculty.
Tech/Design
60
REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING SPECIALISTS
minutes
“There is no single best way to teach because there is no
Sports
70
single best way to learn.” —Chris Dede, Harvard University
minutes
Music Instruction
70
minutes
Special Art Instruction
35
Individual attention is important, and so is expertise. Your child’s kindergarten should not only have enough full-time teachers to supply a small teacher to student ratio, there should be specialists on call to work with the full-time teaching staff. Not all students acquire skills at the same pace and in the same way. Here are the specialists and techniques kindergarten teachers should have access to, in order to challenge and support every learner:
minutes
Special Science Lab Work
260
minutes
Special Math Instruction
100
minutes
Recess
95
minutes
Spanish
Math Specialist A Dedicated Math Specialist should work daily with your child using “Guided Math” techniques. Guided math is a powerful tool that allows children to develop mathematical proficiency in a small group setting while consistently increasing their level of proficiency using hands-on techniques, intensive conversation and questioning.
Reading Specialist A Dedicated Reading Specialist should work daily with your child incorporating “Guided Reading” techniques. Guided reading is a powerful method for teaching reading strategies to students at varying reading levels. Your child is given texts that are accessible and enjoyable while at the same time serve to raise the comprehension bar so they investigate new words, deal with unfamiliar sentence structure, and encounter new concepts in print.
Idea and Design Specialist Beyond basic “maker spaces,” contemporary Kindergartens should have a larger strategy for incorporating age-appropriate project-based learning. The concepts behind design thinking and STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering Art and Math) should roll out at all stages of learning. This can best be accomplished if a school employs a full-time Idea and Design Specialist and carefully plans a curriculum that allows for high tech, low tech, and no tech solutions to problems. The Peck School’s K.I.D. Lab and the All School Idea and Design Lab are places where your child can take their ideas further throughout the K-8 years. With a curriculum that culminates in an 8th Grade Capstone Project, your child is taught from a very early age to ask, essential questions. “At the heart of everything is the thinking and the questioning. We want to be asking a child ‘Why, what if, and what about,’ and that can be applied across the board, across Kindergarten through eighth grade and across all subject areas,” says Bruce Schwartz, Director of The Peck School’s Idea & Design Program.
Science Specialist and Lower School Science Lab Beyond the basic rudiments of science included in many Kindergarten programs, Peck Kindergarten students have weekly science classes in the new Lower School Science Lab. A dedicated Lower School Science Teacher introduces them to the tools of science – beakers, test tubes, and metric measurements. Students then conduct basic experiments and lay the groundwork for more extensive scientific discovery in the years ahead.
INSIST ON YOUR CHILD’S EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING
“To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” —Buddha
Emotional and social health lays the foundation for cognitive development. Your child can best be prepared for transformations and transition if they learn to recognize difficult feelings and develop coping strategies, improve their ability to communicate their feelings, listen to others, and are better enabled to make friends. The Peck School partners with the United Kingdom based non-profit group Partnership for Children to offer Peck Kindergarten students one of the world’s most successful wellness promotion programs. “Zippy’s Friends” is a 45-minute, weekly activity that has helped children in over 30 countries. To further support your child’s emotional, social, and physical health, The Peck School has a full-time Lower School Psychologist and a full-time Nurse on staff. Both professionals work on a daily basis to ensure your child is safe and comfortable navigating their early years.
THE PECK SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN TEAM Our Kindergarten Homeroom Teachers and their Teaching Assistant spend every day with your child. In addition, a tremendous team of highly educated and wonderfully caring individuals supports them throughout the week in special subjects.
Daily Instruction: Maribel Mohr, BA, M.Ed Kindergarten Homeroom Teacher
Kristin Young, BS, M.Ed Kindergarten Homeroom Teacher
Leanne Zaug, BA Kindergarten Associate Teacher
Advanced Instruction and Support: Laura Caruso, BS
Mary Kate MacVicar, BA, MLS
Physical Education Teacher
Librarian
Jessica Cathcart, BA
In Young Oh, BM, MA
K.I.D Lab Director
Music Teacher
Karen Dispenziere, BS
Nina Sharma, EdB
Visual Arts Teacher
Head of Lower School
Jennifer Garvey, BA, MA
Dr. Zan Struebing
Technology Integrator
Lower School Psychologist
Jennifer Hogan, BA, MA
Sue Sweeney, BS
Math Coordinator
Assistant Athletic Director
Michael Karosen, BS, MA
Adriana Sykora, BS, MA
Science Specialist
Spanish Teacher
Colleen Loughman, RN
Carolyn Vallario, BA, MSEd
School Nurse
Reading Director