Monthly Themes
Each month we have a different academic theme upon which the circle-time books and activities focus. We also transform the room and change the materials to reflect the theme. Although all three classrooms follow the schedule below, books, activities and materials are based on the developmental levels of the children. Accordingly, with our pre-K children, we read more challenging books, get into quite a bit more depth in our studies and incorporate higher-order reasoning skills into our activities than we do with our three and four-year-olds. Below is a list and brief description of our monthly units:
September - Establishing Classroom Community - Phase-in; introduction to school, teachers and classmates. This month we play many games that help the children learn each other's names as well as special things about the children. This month is devoted to establishing a warm and positive classroom community.
October - Bats, Spiders and Bones - Oh My! During this month, we read a variety of stories about bats, spiders, scarecrows, skeletons, ants, owls, autumn leaves and Halloween. The kids participate in spinning a spider's web and learn new vocabulary such as nocturnal, migration, hibernation and photosynthesis to name a few. The children create fall and Halloween art and sing October songs.
November - Polite Pilgrims - This unit stresses good manners and healthy nutrition intertwined with the story of the first Thanksgiving. In Practical Life the children learn to set the table, fold napkins, spoon beans and cut Velcro fruits and vegetables. The kids bake Thanksgiving muffins that are shared with the parents during a special Thanksgiving celebration held in the classroom. Rhythm is learned through drumming activities and there is lots of turkey art and songs.
December - People Around the World - Cultural Studies - During this month, the children play instruments, learn about music concepts ("piano" and "forte") and enjoy great holiday literature. We also learn about children around the globe and their dress, customs and culture.
January - Legends and Lore - Thinking and listening skills are developed as children manipulate felt board stories to sequence events or predict outcomes of stories. Memorizing Mother Goose rhymes and learning new vocabulary through finger plays and songs is great fun for the kids. Many fairy tale stories will be read and children can build their own castle with castle bricks. Fine motor skills are enhanced through the children's creations using the "Star light, Star-bright" materials. Songs, bells, rhythm instruments and classical music are introduced. And best of all, old-time games are learned and played during a special "game day."
February - Kindness Counts - This month we stress the importance of kindness and we read books and discuss emotions and feelings. With the parents help, children earn kindness hearts for their kind deeds at home and at school. The kids practice helpful and kind behavior which empowers them to realize the control they have over their actions.
March - Animals - The children learn to classify, sort, group and match animals according to their characteristics. The children act out Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? in creative dramatics. Rainbow reading corner is transformed into "Hibernation Station" where the children read their favorite books by flashlight. The dramatic play center is transformed into a "Veterinary Clinic" where the children doctor their injured animals. Children howl, bleat, moo, cluck, neigh and sing at music time during this fun unit.
We also focus on dinosaurs in this unit and the classroom is transformed into a vast jungle. Our children turn into amateur paleontologists and dig for dinosaur bones in the "Excavation Station." Math skills are expanded when the children sequence numbered dinosaur bones into a dinosaur skeleton. Vocabulary words such as excavation, extinct and many "saur" words are introduced to the children. The reading corner is transformed into "Dino Den" where children can peruse the many books on dinosaurs. The children create dinosaur songs, dances and sculptures and the classroom truly takes on a new look by the end of this unit.
April & May - Spring Science - Bugs, Planets, Oceans and More! Children talk about and observe the "magic" of spring including the metamorphosis of painted lady butterflies, plants growing, flowers blooming and weather. The planets and solar system are introduced as well as basic geographical principles through our social studies unit called "My Own Backyard and Beyond." Children become little "cartographers" and make maps of their own backyards while learning about different types of maps and directional vocabulary.
Rave Reviews
"I can think of no other school which collaborates better, does systematic yearly planning, or has a better climate than Little Red Schoolhouse."
- OKC Public Elementary School Principal