Our curriculum is based on our beliefs about how young children develop and learn, with attention to the needs and interests of individual children. We emphasize the development of children’s thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities. We attempt to foster desirable dispositions and feelings, such as initiative, self-direction, curiosity, perseverance, competence, and love of learning.

The environment is structured to enable children to develop new skills and knowledge based on what they already know. Teachers provide support as children form their own hypotheses about their world, and test these hypotheses through physical manipulations and mental actions—observing, comparing, asking questions, and discovering answers. When objects or events do not conform to the working model children create, they are guided, supported, and encouraged as they revise their thinking to account for new information. This cycle of learning is continually repeated, reshaped, expanded, and reorganized by new experiences. It is not a linear process, but rather an integrated, cyclical experience.

Our curriculum, likewise, is integrated rather than divided into discrete subject areas. Students and teachers identify a number of topics as unifying structures. Opportunities for learning occur in both large and small groups. All subjects are integrated into Beginning School activities. Activities are responsive to individual differences in ability and interest and include manipulatives, games, written tasks, projects, and opportunities for imaginative play.

Learning occurs in an atmosphere of play, one of the primary ways children construct knowledge of the world about them. Play provides opportunities for children to practice their newly acquired skills and knowledge, to explore, experiment, manipulate, and make connections. Children are naturally interested in play activities that strengthen their skills, enhance their creativity, and deepen their understanding of the environment. They also learn to deal with feelings, cooperate with others, resolve conflicts, and gain self-confidence. In addition to classroom activities, time is set aside each week for Beginning School students and teachers to play, learn and reflect as a collaborative community.

In the selection of activities, teachers incorporate the following principles of developmentally appropriate practices as defined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children:

• activities that address the whole child—cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
  
  
• hands-on experiences with a variety of objects for children to choose, examine, and explore
  
  
• activities built around areas of interest to young children
  
  
• activities designed to help children develop new knowledge based on their current knowledge and skills
  
  
• activities designed to facilitate children’s generalization of knowledge and skills from one experience to another
  
  
• opportunities for children to work individually or cooperatively in small groups
  
  
• opportunities to use play to translate experience into understanding
  
  
• a loving, nurturing environment designed to develop children’s self-esteem, positive attitudes toward learning, and respect for individual and cultural differences