Preschool/Kindergarten Class

Educational Philosophy

At Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences, we believe that education involves the whole child head, hands, and heart. We approach education as an interactive art form, believing that real intelligence arises when children are given opportunities to engage not only their intellects, but also their hands and hearts. Therefore, our curriculum simultaneously nurtures children's abilities to read, write and think, as well as to paint, draw, sing, play music, dance, make things, and learn through cooperative experiences with other children and adults.

In this community of learning, we strive to help children to become balanced, integrated and harmonious human beings. We believe in education that aims for excellence, not only in terms of academic achievement, passion for learning, and the joy of creativity, but also in the development of good character, a healthy sense of self, and positive qualities like resiliency, respect for self and others, generosity, compassion, and caring. Social emotional development is an important foundation for all that we do.

In keeping with our whole-child approach to learning, we believe that the best environment in which children thrive and grow is an environment that is safe and supportive, stimulating and challenging, fun and playful, open and expansive.

We bring together a teaching team that embodies these qualities, to create an optimal setting in which children can live and learn. We welcome parents and extended families as an integral part of this circle of working, playing, dancing, and laughing, where we teach and learn together.

Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten Classroom Ages 3 to 5

Since play is the primary mode of learning, we use a thematic approach to learning which allows children to integrate the fundamentals of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies, in the context of interesting age-appropriate topics. A theme such as "The Circus" allows for the exploration of shapes and colors, dress-up and face painting, balance and movement, laughter and fun. A theme such as "Baby Animals" lets us explore nurturing and caring for animals, the introduction of concepts such as habitat, and the exploration of natural science. Themes arise from the interests of both the teachers and the children, and are uniquely designed to foster different levels of learning and understanding for each child. Ensuring for the active engagement of children and providing opportunities for them to make choices, experiment and explore is a big part of our child centered program.

Reading, writing and communicating are all addressed through the language arts program which engages children through both the large group themes and small learning groups, or through one-on-one tutoring in the classroom. Children move from letter recognition and letter sounds to formation of words and the creation of their own individual writing journals. Letters become friends as they are formed in the sand with a stick, made large and soft with velvet on cardboard, or sculpted out of clay or bread dough. Reading skills are taught through an integrated approach including being read to and listening to stories daily, children telling the stories themselves with pictures as guides, whole word recognition, word families, phonetics, and using the body to capture the rhythm and memory of words together.

Our multi lingual classroom supports children naturally in their development of speaking and understanding the English language, as well as introducing and integrating American Sign Language (ASL), and Spanish. The multi lingual environment stimulates not only communication, but is recognized as a key element in comprehensive brain development and supports all areas of learning, thinking, and expression.

The mathematics program utilizes the three dimensional materials developed by Montessori, allowing children to physically manipulate the components of numeric sums. Children work on counting, patterns, sorting, measuring, addition, and subtraction, as well as an elements of geometry and problem solving. Working with numbers is also integrated consistently into classroom themes, such as counting and measuring the poles for the construction of a tipi, or doubling a recipe for custard.

Multi cultural and social studies draw from our local diverse community, exploring the Native American and Spanish cultures, as well as giving children an awareness of the global community through the celebration of cultures around the world, from Africa to South America, from Europe to Asia. Children participate in live experiences of African dance or Indonesian shadow puppets, connecting geographic places to arts and people. Stories read aloud highlight young children in different parts of the world, helping our children to imagine themselves in foreign lands and identify with diverse peoples and customs.

The natural sciences program involves children in hands-on projects with animals, plants, and simple experiments. Local field trips take children to outdoor classrooms in which rocks and living things are seen and experienced in their natural home. The wonder of nature is cultivated through simple activities such as sharing in a school garden and attending to the cycles of weather and the seasons.

Specially chosen volunteers and community elders bring unique gifts and talents into the classroom, exposing the children to a real fireman, cowboy, ballet dancer, cellist, or clown. Children are given the opportunity to interact with the guest presenters in a way that creates a living bridge between the child and a particular area of expertise and expression, thereby leaving children with the seeds of possibility for their own future choices and experiences.

The Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences curriculum is an interaction between the vision of the teachers and the specific strengths, needs, and interests of the children. Attention is given to the broader goals for learning, as well as to the unique learning milestones for each child. The Preschool and Kindergarten classroom is seen as a pivotal foundation where children come to know themselves as active, happy, and successful learners, and as important and special members of a school community.

School Calendar