AGES and STAGES
at Shirlee Green Preschool
Ktanim
little ones
Our littlest learners, 6 weeks until 1 year old, spend their time bonding with their dedicated caregivers, signing and exploring the world around them. We focus on specific experiences to help build each child's capacity for creative thinking, focus, and curiosity.
This year we will...
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Form deep, safe, and loving, connections with adults outside the home
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Become explorers of our environment, bravely interacting with all sorts of new materials
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Develop leaps and bounds in our gross motor skills, learning many foundational movements such as grasping, rolling, walking, and playful movements
Mtukim
sweet ones
These precious little learners are ages 1-2, and while they are such sweeties, boy have they changed from their infant days to toddlers on the move! During Mtukim the day is planned so these little ones can go, go, go. With lots to explore and many skills to acquire this is a year of monumental growth.
This year we will...
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Work our fine motor muscles, holding crayons, markers, and paintbrushes for the first time
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Develop a sense of Achrayut (responsibility) we begin to help in cooperative activities such as clean up and other classroom routines
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Move from parallel play to cooperative play, at times sharing with their friends, and making up games together
Ginnah
gardeners
From age 2 to 3, much like a little gardener, these kiddos are beginning to understand hard work often yields beautiful results. The Ginnah class is the first year students engage in year-long project work. These students are starting to look outwards and realize there is a lot happening on this big blue planet and that they can contribute.
This year we will...
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Develop number sense, experience mathematical thinking through project work; we use charts, number lines, and rote counting this year
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Begin journaling to reflect each day, on our interpersonal lives and flex our imagination as we jot down our ideas each day
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Form a sense of Chesed (caring) as we pick our first project and think of how we can be of service to something larger than ourselves
Tzipporim
birds
When you see all that these 3 and 4-year-olds can do, it's no wonder we call them the birds. They are stretching their wings and taking flight. This year is all about independence. Students are familiar with project work and begin directing their ideas in a whole new way. They also begin to form a true closeness with their classmates. Friendships blossom this year.
This year we will...
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Become alphabet experts, learning all our letters and how to write our names
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Begin to value Kehillah (community). We will become familiar with and interested in all the people around us and develop a sense of service as we see our project work help others
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Work with new and riskier tools such as hot glue guns, hand tools, and sewing needles
Chaverim
friends
After many years learning and growing within the walls of Shirlee Green Preschool, we hold the Chaverim class dear to our hearts. They are friends with everyone in the school. They are leaders to everyone, big and small. This is a very exciting year where students express more agency than ever before. Their dreams and wishes for their community are clearer and their determination is second to none. We love to watch this group bring their ideas to life as the oldest solutionaries in the school.
This year we will...
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Head out into the world on field trips doing fieldwork and gaining first-hand experience for project work
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Begin writing simple words and performing math operations
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Serve as leaders in the school through volunteer work, school performances, and advocating for their project to many members of the community.
Before and After Care
7:30am-6pm
Join us for mixed-age care before and after school. This is a time when students have the opportunity for both focused clubs where students are working to build forts and sock puppets, but also a lovely time to socialize freely through unstructured play.