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Children naturally learn about, classify, and organize their environment through their senses. They are encouraged to delve into classroom materials and activities using sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch to consider weight, contour, dimension, shape, and texture.
Literacy is a social process that focuses on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Children expand their vocabularies, use rhythm, rhyme, and repetition to build expressive language and comprehension—teachers model awareness of body language and facial expressions, social greetings, and simple directions. Children are encouraged to question, verbalize needs, and participate in role-playing. Teachers provide open-ended questions to help children retrieve information. Prewriting skills are advanced by developing dexterity and hand strength with playdough, clay, and writing utensils. Books with predictable text, rhymes, concepts, and repetitive verse promote good reading habits and conversation. Children are offered various writing materials such as crayons, markers, pencils, paint, and sand to practice scribbling, drawing, and writing. Hand and grasp strength is developed by using clay, carrying backpacks, and pulling and pushing toys.
Stepping Stones children experience quantity through their senses of touch and sight. Children learn to classify by grouping things according to common traits, shapes, colors, size, weight, seasonality (clothing) groups (fruits and vegetables). Using stacking cups, blocks, puzzles, and nesting dolls, they arrange objects in order by size. They begin to understand one-to-one correspondence/quantity by using pegboards, counting out snacks, books, and varied number activities. The concept of space is viewing the world from different perspectives, returning work to its proper place, solving puzzles, and finding where to sit among a group. Children develop an awareness of sequence and pace, learn the routine of the day, introduce time during cooking projects, or is it time to go home. To learn about patterns and sequencing, we ask children what comes next, discuss the sequence of events, look at patterns on clothing and with blocks and beads.
The integral components of the Stepping Stones science curriculum are observing, wondering, and experimenting. Students use everyday items such as cups, funnels, and other materials to discover physical science concepts such as volume, weight, and gravity. They plant seeds, observe caterpillar metamorphosis and witness animals in natural habitats to develop a deeper understanding of life sciences. Children observe seasonal changes to learn about the environment.
Our curriculum gives children a sense of community outside of home. Children appreciate cultural diversity through stories, music, objects, art, language, geography, celebrations and foods, starting with acknowledging and respecting the diverse heritage of the children and families in their classroom.
