Trinity School Early Childhood Program
Welcoming children ages 2-6
Children must be two by September 1st, 2021*
Located at 330 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA.
Philosophy and Pedagogy
The Early Childhood Program values an emergent curriculum that advocates for children’s play in an intentional learning environment and sees each child as a competent, capable individual. Thoughtfully facilitated projects emphasize the understanding that knowledge is constructed over time and in socially charged environments. Teachers and children work together on a shared desire to uphold the classroom as a place for the children’s theories to evolve and open-ended materials and media are powerful tools for communicating ideas and stories.
Our educators believe teaching must be constructive and instructive with an aim to facilitate understanding. Our practices rely on cultivating relationships with peers, adults, and materials to offer a differentiated curriculum that meets a wide range of developmental levels.
Learning Spaces
We have three classrooms, purposefully designed to suit the age and stage of development for children ages 2-6. The spaces are inviting, aesthetically pleasing, and incorporate natural elements and loose parts that encourage children to design, create, and represent ideas and discoveries through conversation, art, writing, and invention. Educators value students’ graphic language expressed in a painting, a sculpture, and in written words. The visual representation of children’s ideas becomes increasingly deliberate as teachers document to make learning visible and drive a responsive, actionable curriculum. Music and dance, storytelling,
Pine Room- 2 and young 3 classroom
Laurel Room - 3’s classroom
Tierra Room- 4 and 5 Years old classroom
This classroom for our youngest learners prioritizes active exploration in a tactile learning environment. Educators facilitate learning experiences that emphasize socialization, independence, language, and physical skills. Educators work collaboratively with families with potty training, establishing consistent routines and child-sized toilets to ensure a smooth transition.
Age Specifics: 2 and young 3 (turned 2 before Sep1, 2021 and turning 3 in Fall 21)
The 3-year-old classroom is specifically planned with the growing toddler as the focus. Open-ended materials and engaging provocations are designed to facilitate an understanding of identity and self-esteem. Engaging conversations and collaborative projects emphasize key developmental concepts through independent exploration, hands-on activities, and small and large group work.
Age Specifics: 3’s classroom (turned 3 by Sep 1, 2021)
The stimulating classroom environment facilitates independence, collaboration, integration, and imagination by offering opportunities to actively investigate questions and research answers. Educators encourage the children to think critically, extend their schema, and represent their theories. The differentiated curriculum encourages young children to participate in emergent reading and writing activities that are both age and developmentally appropriate.
Age Specifics: 4 and 5 Years old: turn 4 by Sep1, 2021 & 5/6 (turning 5 or 6 in year 21-22)
Learning Experiences
As the children engage with learning opportunities, questions and observations form the basis of interaction with teachers and other students.
Handling, moving, and thinking about different materials leads to problem setting and problem-solving. A piece of string might generate a conversation about line; a found wheel might lead to exploring why certain shapes roll and others do not. All of this exploration leads to transformative thinking in classroom spaces that provoke curiosity and invite engagement.
Every activity in our Early Childhood Program is offered on the premise that collaboration in the pursuit of knowledge is enjoyable and rewarding for all.
Why Play?
- Play has been recognized globally as an important learning tool and as an important right of children
- It promotes development in all domains
- Builds social skills
- Allows practice of cultural roles
- Alleviates stress
- Allows construction of meaning from emotional experiences
- Is a vehicle for optimal cognitive development
- Encourages flexibility in thinking and risk-taking
- Encourages self-regulation
- Enhances language and literacy skills
- Allows children to practice skills in meaningful ways.
Sample Daily Schedule
Specialist Classes
Specialist Programs accentuate and complement the teaching and learning practices in the classrooms. Engaging with these teachers, and their expertise, throughout the week, offers a unique and holistic opportunity for our children to explore and extend their learning.
- Music and Movement
- Library
- Design Thinking
- Chapel
- Studio Art
Developmental Milestones
Trinity School’s Early Childhood Program looks at teaching and learning through a holistic lens, placing equal value on wonder, curiosity, engagement, focus, initiative, learning dispositions, and social-emotional well-being along with age-appropriate skills and concepts.
Learning trajectories are assessed with formative, ongoing assessments, small group, and individual activities in the classroom. Formative evaluations are an essential component of emergent teaching practices that allow educators to modify, differentiate, scaffold, and extend to offer developmentally appropriate curriculum.
Summative assessments are compiled into quarterly report cards, followed by conferences to ensure collaborative and shared goals for the child’s growth and development.
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