Preschoolers negotiate conflicts, differences, similarities, rules, and responsibilities in a community of learners. They are learning how to interact and respect one another in an environment based on kindness and equity. As they negotiate relationships and interact within this community they are beginning their social studies. They learn about people with different backgrounds, cultures, jobs, family, and traditions. Children are aware of and affected by human differences from an early age. We try to foster a community based on respecting and appreciating similarities and differences found within our school, neighborhoods, and throughout the world.

What you might see:

• Children participating in dramatic play exploring the different roles of families and others living in the community. Children may be taking orders, serving food, and making menus as they create a restaurant in the kitchen area of the preschool room.
• The class working together during a class meeting to develop rules for the group that emphasize respect for others, materials, and the class environment. Children participating in a meeting discussion about similarities and differences among groups of people.
• A child with family members sharing a family tradition such as Chinese New Year with the class.
• Children exploring music and what music means to people from different cultures including: Salsa, Reggae, Jazz, Cuban, and Ghanaian drumming. Teachers may lead children in "Call and Response" as they try out Ghanaian drums.

Language and literacy development is the process of children learning to decode symbols and communicate successfully in a variety of ways. The preschool classroom environment is filled with language, symbols, and books which foster children’s desire to use pictures, letters, and words to communicate. Communication can take many forms and children are learning to convey their thoughts, feelings, and desires in ways that they feel comfortable and confident. Exposure to all aspects of language through print-rich environments, and child-centered, multi-sensory activities build the foundation for future literacy readiness. Books are available in the classroom and school library and teachers often read stories to children. Connections to literacy grow as children enjoy listening to stories and looking through books. Children also work with a Spanish teacher twice a week playing games and learning songs and words in Spanish.

What you might see:

• Children participating in dramatic play activities together with a teacher helping facilitating them in figuring out how to resolve conflict with one another. During Friendship Meeting children would discuss how they felt when there was a conflict and what helped them in working it out.
• A child sitting at the writing table working on a letter to mail in the message center to one of his/her classmates. The child creates his/her own words using inventive spelling and some scribbles to create the message. A teacher joins in at the table and asks about the letter. The child dictates the message and the teacher transcribes the child’s words and adds it to the bottom of the letter. The child recognizes the symbolic nature of print and associates his/her words with the writing and is excited to find another way to communicate with a friend.

"Mathematics helps young children make sense of the world around them and understand their physical world. Children are inclined to make comparisons, notice similarities and differences in objects, and group their toys and materials. This ability to organize information into categories, quantify data, and solve problems helps children to learn about time, space, and numbers." (Vermont Early Learning Standards, p.14) Many math activities and games are woven into the preschoolers’ day. In our preschool class children develop math skills in many ways including taking attendance, playing games, exploring music, as well as in beading, sorting, and counting activities.

What you might see:

• During Explore Time, a child working with an assortment of wooden blocks in the block area creating a ramp. A few more children join the building process and they begin to experiment with what happens when they lengthen and shorten the ramp. The teacher asks them questions about what they are building using mathematical terminology. The children continue experimenting with the concepts of length, width, and area as they build and modify structures.
• Children setting up snack for their classmates practicing one-to-one correspondence in setting up the table. As they put out cups they count how many seats are at each table and match the number of cups with the number of chairs. After they set the table, they count out two crackers for each child at the table and decide they need ten crackers for each table.

Preschoolers have many questions about how the world works such as: Will objects sink or float? What do worms eat? How do instruments make different sounds? What happens if two different colored paints are mixed? Their natural curiosity leads them to explore their world. Through the processes of prediction, trial and error, and observation, and documentation children build the foundation for scientific inquiry. Science is seen as an active process in which children make sense of their observations and the world around them. Teachers present science in structured and unstructured activities to facilitate this active exploration for preschool students. Children have opportunities to inquire and explore questions using a variety of materials, books, tools and experiments in the classroom.

What you might see:

• Children at the sensory table experimenting with materials of different textures and properties. A child filling a tube and cup with dried corn kernels and then experimenting with different containers.
• Children exploring nature and collecting natural objects during trips to our schoolyard wetlands habitat.
• Students recording observations in their science journals found in the Science Center such as documenting the growth of a tadpole developing into a frog. A child takes a clipboard that is hanging next to the aquarium at the science table. They draw a picture of the tadpole and then place the paper in their science folder.
• Children participating in cooking activities observing the ingredients changing properties as they mix them together and alter temperature.

In the preschool, we view social and emotional development as two distinct domains in child development. Emotional development refers largely to how a child views him or herself as a valuable and valued individual, while social development refers to ways children relate to and interact with others. The social and emotional curriculum builds upon children’s intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, supporting them in learning how to make choices, identify emotions, become self-aware, and aware of group needs. Preschoolers learn a great deal through their interactions with their peers, other Bellwether students, and teachers throughout the day. In both large and small group settings children learn to express their feelings verbally and work to resolve conflicts that arise.

What you might see:

• Children sitting in a group during Friendship meeting discussing interactions they have had with their peers that day and how they felt during those interactions. A child may talk about how she felt happy when some friends invited her to join their play. The teacher might then talk about what it means to include or exclude someone and how we can treat each other respectfully and kindly.
• Two children and a teacher discussing how they could share materials and build a puzzle together during an Explore time activity.

Preschoolers use the arts throughout their day to express their ideas and feelings. Music, movement, drama and the visual arts stimulate children to use words, manipulate tools, and solve problems in ways that convey meaning and are aesthetically pleasing.

What you might see:

• Children painting scenery for a West African folktale they are adapting for a class play. They discuss what they want to paint as a group and then figure out how they can work together to paint the background for the play. The teachers set up a painting area and you hear children discussing what they are painting.
• Children sitting in a circle with drums practicing "call and response" with their teacher. The teacher does a simple beat on the drum and then pauses. The children respond by repeating the beat they have heard. The teacher then changes the beat slightly and the children respond. The teacher shares a story about how drums are used in a different culture.

Service learning begins in the preschool room as children learn to respect our classroom community. Preschoolers take responsibility for the well-being of others by sharing, inviting each other to play, resolving problems, listening to one another, and helping others (i.e., setting up nap mats, getting dressed). Children also take care of the classroom environment, participate in the life of the school community, and learn how to show care and concern for the environment, animals, and people in the larger community.

What you might see:

• Students putting away toys, taking out recycling, cleaning tables, sweeping floors, setting up the snack table, and participating in other classroom responsibilities.
• Children learning about how to take care of their school and the natural environment. They may participate by cleaning up our outdoor areas on Green-Up day, planting ferns in the wetland, composting their garbage in a worm bin, and caring for plants, bugs, and animals in the classroom.
• Preschoolers participating in school-wide community activities such as: community sings, buddy lunch, play-yard cleanups, and other school-wide events.
• Students learning how we can show care and concern for the environment, animals, and the human community by participating in our Solstice Fair and First Friday Food Drives.

Physical development is an integral part of children’s well-being. In the preschool room the focus is on developing gross and fine motor skills. A primary focus is on children’s ability to move in ways that demonstrate control, balance, and coordination. Fine motor skill development lays the groundwork for artistic expression, handwriting, and self-care skills.

What you might see:

• A child participating in an explore time activity with math manipulatives.
• Children playing games and exploring the outdoor balance beams and stepping stones.
• Preschool students taking a walk together in the wetlands behind the school.