At The Sunshine House, teachers plan environments and activities to support brain development and to help children learn specific skills they need for school and life. These developmental skills we want children to learn (in order to be ready for school and life) are developed while children play and engage in learning activities.
Children learn to write by scribbling and writing letters and words about topics that interest them. They learn about how specific letters are formed when they watch teachers create the charts, graphs, and stories that are part of so many of the activities. When teachers write the children’s words on art work or take dictated stories, children connect the spoken word with the written word. As children develop, they take an active role in helping write words for the word wall or creating the graphs, charts, and stories that are part of the classroom.
Children learn to read by being read to, and by reading words that are meaningful to them. They gain knowledge about specific letters and sounds as teachers lead the Seeds of Literacy and Language activities that are part of our curriculum. These experiences lead children in connecting letter shapes with the sounds these letters represent.
Children count, sort, classify, measure, add/subtract everyday objects that they are working/playing with. The Critical Thinking activities that teachers plan intentionally lead children in math activities so they will learn these skills.
Children learn to observe, predict/hypothesize, and record outcomes (the work of scientists). The Sensory activities help children experience and think about the world through the eyes of scientists.
Children learn about relationships between people, and the roles of people in our families and communities through dramatic play and through nurturing, loving, positive interactions with those who care for them. The Social-Emotional/Relationships activities help children develop the intra and interpersonal skills they need to be a productive member of our society.
Children learn to express themselves through words, conversations, stories, and creating with a variety of materials. Oral language is the foundation for both reading and writing.
Most of all, through meaningful experiences, children develop a love of, and excitement for, learning that will make them successful both in school and in their lives. Studies have shown that more than the skills children bring into Kindergarten, the dispositions they bring to learning indicate future academic success. At The Sunshine House, we develop both.
