Beginning School

Young Minds In Motion

Check Out What Our Mini Architects Can Do

Block structures are ever-present in Beginning School classrooms, but this year’s 4PreK students took them to new heights. This winter, 4PreK classes visited the Utah State Capitol to study its architectural features, from how its marble walls are built in a staggered pattern to how its pillars support ceiling and roof planks. Our budding architects then returned to campus to create their own models of the building. Working together, the students drew blueprints, decided which blocks and techniques they’d need to use, and got to work. The best part of the project? It went across the curriculum, encompassing fine-motor, math, and physics skills, and helping students learn to deal with setbacks. After all, what do you do if your model falls? You start again and don’t give up.

Tree Climbing: More Than Just Play

For beginning schoolers, a tree is never just a tree. It’s a mountain to be scaled. A secret hideaway. A new perspective on the world. Beyond a childhood pastime, though, tree climbing is a uniquely valuable way to support child development, and research has shown this one activity provides numerous benefits. Physically, it builds students’ endurance and strength while honing balance, coordination, spatial awareness, and proprioception (a fancy word that means awareness of your body’s position and movement in a space). Tree climbing is a safe way to develop risk tolerance and management (How high can I climb and feel safe to come back down?). It can even develop a child’s identity as an environmental steward (How do I climb this tree without harming it?). Tree-climbing benefits are so far-reaching, in fact, that the activity has become an enduring component of the Beginning School experience.