Typical School Day
Every day at LGPNS is filled with a variety of activities designed to assist children’s natural social, motor and cognitive development. The curriculum includes large group activities (circle and sharing times), small group activities (snack and story times) as well as individually-directed activities (free choice and free play times).
Circle Time
Teacher leads the whole class with stories, songs, movement, and finger play, and other group activities. Children learn about listening, taking turns and large group dynamics.
Free Choice
Children may choose between three or four activities prepared by the teacher and working parents, and are encouraged to attempt each activity. Activities may include art projects, science experiments, cooking, playdough, and more. Free choice activities are designed to encourage use of small motor skills, focus, exploration and experimentation.
Free Play Time #1
Children explore, discover and play, indoors or outdoors, under the supervision of the teacher and the working parents. Activities or points of interest are often brought out by working parents or the teacher, such as bubbles, climbing mats, sidewalk chalk, gardening, sensory table, and more.
Snack Time
Groups of 5-6 children gather with working parents at snack tables to share a snack and a small group activity. This part of the day often facilitates small group dialogue amongst children and offers a great opportunity for practicing good manners!
Sharing
Our Pre-K class participates in “sharing” each day. Sharing is carried out as a guessing game in which children are given the opportunity to deduce the identity of the item being shared based upon clues given by the sharer. This is a fun, large group activity that exercises descriptive and deductive reasoning skills, and helps introduce classroom skills like raising hands and respectful, active listening.
Free Play Time #2
Children have the chance to return outside to play in the castle, ride bikes or play in the sandbox. The parents and teachers help the children work out problems and assist in finding fun and interesting activities, both inside and outside.
Story Time
During story time, groups of 5-6 children gather with a working parent who reads stories from the school’s vast children’s library. It is a great way to close the day, calming the children down and coming back to small groups.