Primary Program

8:15

Students Arrive

8:30

Independent Choice

Students begin the day with a period in which they decide for themselves how they will spend their time. Choice time involves lots of self-direction, problem solving, conversation, social interaction, imagination, creativity and decision-making. Choice time is essential for the students in developing a strong sense of themselves and their interests, and developing personal initiative and direction within the setting of the school. When students start the day pursuing their own agenda, they are more receptive to input when we take the lead. During Independent Choice, we help students find materials and resources, assist in solving problems, and intervene in social interactions that need guidance. Our observations at choice time give us important information about how each student naturally interacts and learns.

Students create their own activities, join into activities initiated by other students, or choose from special offerings such as cooking, an art or science project. Choices range from carpentry, exploring at the science center, clay sculpture, set-up role-playing type play, Legos, taking things apart (i.e. a turn table), block building and construction with other materials, painting, reading, puppetry, writing, drawing, creating patterns and mosaics with math manipulatives, origami, board games, story tapes and puzzles.

9:30

Circle

We gather to talk over the day's plans, discuss issues that affect the group, and introduce new things.

9:45

Snack

10:00

Reader's Workshop

Students develop a love of reading and skill at reading through doing lots of reading that is interesting to them. Our class library is filled with a wide range of well-written and appealing books - fiction and non-fiction - for young readers at all levels.

Shared reading involves small or whole group reading of stories, poems and chants in enlarged print. While leading these sessions, we are able to model, point out and encourage observations about the reading process. These group sessions also serve to build the energy of the group through dramatization, chanting and physical movement. The focus can be multi-tiered to support readers at different levels.

Guided reading involves reading a text together with a small group and includes scaffolding of various sorts to help students read and understand the text. These group readings of a book often build a bond among the group as we come to appreciate a work together.

Students spend a chunk of the reader's workshop each day reading independently. Each student has a basket with a variety of books at an appropriate level that are of interest to the student. Early readers tend to have many books in their baskets as any given book may only take 5 - 10 minutes to read. As students approach fluency in reading, they tend to stay with one book for a period of days or longer, and so may have only one or two books in their basket at a time. Students chose books on their own as well.

While students are reading independently, we are either reading with a group or conferencing with individual students. Both group and individual time with students provide opportunities to help students develop reading strategies as well as assess students' progress.

Other reading activities include reader's theater (voice acting scripts), puppetry and plays based on or created from pieces of literature, singing with our songbooks (we sing at some point most days and have a continuously growing songbook with many songs in it), reading recipes for cooking, reading the class newspaper we publish, and reading with partners (within the group as well as with older students in the school).

Writer's Workshop

The workshop usually begins with a brief lesson about some aspect of the writing process (e.g. finding inspiration for what to write about, revising a piece to make it clearer, using quotation marks, exploring ideas for writing a poem, reading a piece of student's work or the work of a published author to illustrate the effective use of a writing technique).

Students then engage in on-going writing projects of their choice: a description of a recent important event in a student's life, a fiction story, a collection of poems, a newspaper, a narrative about a topic the student has researched. Students who are at the pre-writing stage of development draw their ideas. As students begin to write, they write as they are able, often beginning with simple labels, then beginning sounds, and progressing gradually into the full-fledged use of the conventions of writing.

We conference with students individually as they write. Students also conference with each other when they are stuck or need the feedback of another writer. Pieces that the student deems important are revised, edited and then published. Publishing can take the form of the student carefully rewriting and illustrating the piece, or having us type, print and bind a "book" which the student carefully illustrates. Publishing helps to give value to their work and makes their work easily sharable, thereby increasing the motivation to write.

Open choice writing is balanced by writing activities in which everyone writes about a shared theme or in a common genre. Class books are created about experiences the group has shared, to create a record of information learned or to express ideas the group has developed together.

Project Work

Through the year, we engage in a series of thematic inquiries in the areas of science and social studies. Each inquiry provides a focus for learning about an aspect of the world in depth, and gives us a context for activities that develop critical thinking skills, communication skills and creative expression. An emphasis on hands-on activities helps the explorations to be meaningful to the students. An investigation of insects might include creating habitats for various insects for temporary observation within the room, drawing insects in personal sketchbooks, reading about insects, investigating insects in the nearby ecosystem, visiting a beekeeper, enacting a bee honey dance, creating 3-D models of insects, developing a group mural depicting insects and their various habitats, and each student writing a book about a particular insect after doing research. The topics for inquiries arise through a combination of response to students' interests and the selection of content that the teacher thinks is important for students to explore. Students sometimes each pursue their own topics, with input and guidance from the teacher as to possible ways to demonstrate their learning.

11:30

Lunch and Outside Time

The group eats together with the teacher. This is followed by outside time in which the children freely decide what they will do. Activities commonly include play on the outdoor structures and swings, make-believe games, sledding and ball games.

12:30

Read Aloud

After a high energy outside time, the group comes back together inside to hear a story read aloud. There is often a book in progress that takes weeks to finish - the group shares this world together and it becomes the springboard for many conversations and analogies.

Math Workshop

The focus during our math workshop includes whole group, small group, partner and individual activities. Hands-on activities in which the students manipulate objects as they work to understand a concept or develop a skill accompany pencil and paper work with symbols until students have a firm grasp of the concept. While students work independently on projects, math and strategy games, or folder work, other students can be engaged in direct instruction and activities with the teacher. We emphasize understanding of concepts, real world applications and problem solving. Students work at their own level and at their own pace.

Project Work

Another chunk of time is given to project work.

2:00

Physical Activity

The group often goes for a walk together in the area near the school (the campus is surrounded by a variety of ecosystems: woodland, open fields, a pond and a stream). On other days group games are played outside.

Older Younger Partners

Each older student in the school is paired with a younger student and given support to form 'mentor' relationship. Partners work on special projects over the course of the year such as making a small quilt, creating a cartoon story, cooking or holiday activities. Group games that incorporate the older-younger partners are played as well.

Arts Choices

All students choose a special arts' elective class each quarter. The classes have a wider mix of ages than regular classes. Some of the choices that have included primary students are puppetry, print making, collage, woodworking, murals, beading and singing.

Wednesday Workshop

Each Wednesday afternoon, students engage in special workshops. Workshops typically last about 4 weeks. Students have input into the ideas for workshops and choose among workshops for each session. Workshop are offered in the arts, outdoor adventure and other experiential learning opportunities. Examples of workshops include pottery, small boat making, cross-country skiing, knitting, adventures at the local Watershed Center, making strategic board games, shadow puppets and cooking.

2:30

Chores and Closing Circle