Older Class
Our Older Class year gives our Pre-kindergarten students the unique opportunity to master their school environment, mentor younger children, and hone the skills that fuel a lifelong love of learning.
Older Class students spend the majority of each day immersed in our unique outdoor classroom. By providing a natural landscape for the use of materials found in nature, as well as typical classroom materials and manipulatives, the Outdoor Classroom enhances each child’s learning experience and enables students to capitalize on the previous social and emotional skills gained from our Toddler and Younger Classrooms.
Program Snapshot
4 days/week
8:30 AM - 1:00 PM (M/T/Th)
includes Lunch
8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (W)
Optionals
Wednesday Lunch Bunch
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (W)
Stay & Play
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (M/T/Th)
Friday Explorers
8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (F)
Fri. Explorers Lunch Bunch
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (F)
6/7:1 Student-Teacher ratio
By experiencing all that the outdoor classroom has to offer, our Older Class students gain incredible independence, confidence, and resilience. Each week the Older Class ventures deep into the woods, equipped with appropriate outdoor gear and clothing depending on the season.
These outdoor adventures allow students to use their sense of observation and spatial reasoning skills, as well as their bodies, to connect with nature. Students begin to ask questions such as:
Where will this trail lead?
How do the trails connect?
Which direction will we be traveling?
Through observation and trail mapping, Older Class students learn to work as a group, deciding which trail to take by remembering the distinct characteristics of each hike. Students also learn how to follow the trail markers on their way to and from school, all of which fosters a love of the outdoors, learning, and teamwork.
As a result of these hikes, outdoor adventures, and regular classroom activities, Older Class students typically learn and explore the following:
Understanding the give/take of friendships
Studying the metamorphosis of a Monarch Butterfly
Examining creatures in our “Backyard”
Exploring things that roll, such as ramps and pathways
Experiencing early literacy
Deepening mathematical engagement
Investigation social studies
Building in the Maker Space
