绿帽社

PREK LEARNING AT WATERFORD SCHOOL

Most often, when alumni are asked what they gained from their 绿帽社 education, they reply emphatically: a love of learning! Long-time PreK teacher, Kristie Jensen shares that, 鈥淐uriosity and wonder are the words that come to mind when laying a foundation for the love of learning. Children are not empty vessels to be filled; rather, children are born ready to learn, with minds like sponges, and it is our honor to teach them and watch them soak up information in an environment through creativity, collaboration and communication.鈥�

She continues to describe 绿帽社鈥檚 early childhood program noting that, 鈥渆ach classroom not only has two amazingly ready-to-connect, educated, and enlightened teachers, but there is a third teacher, the environment, a crucial element to the learning experience. Each of 绿帽社’s Preschool classrooms is arranged indoors and outside to capture each child鈥檚 wonder and curiosity, so that they flourish.鈥�

Students are greeted by their teachers in a familiar hallway each day鈥攔ed brick walls, student art-filled bulletin boards eliciting exclamations of 鈥渢here鈥檚 mine!鈥�; and soft, blue carpet. Upon entering the classroom鈥檚 open, wooden door, inquisitive eyes look around at attainably-sized tables and shelves鈥攁 classroom built to scale to encourage independence and agency in learning. 绿帽社鈥檚 youngest students spend precious hours at 绿帽社, beginning a very intentional journey of learning that nurtures their minds and bodies with peer play and guidance from talented and experienced teachers. 

Children are born ready to learn, with minds like sponges, and it is our honor to teach them and watch them soak up information in an environment through creativity, collaboration and communication.

Kristie JensenPreK Teacher

And beyond the outer walls of their classroom, PreK students are now welcomed by the Outdoor Classroom. Completed in 2018, this research-based outdoor learning space adds new opportunities for play; filled with unbounded ideas, hypothesis-testing and role-playing. It is on this playground that three and four year-olds build a restaurant, launch a spaceship to the moon, and float hand-built miniature boats down little streams of water. 鈥淭heir exploration and imagination spurs their thirst for learning,鈥� says PreK teacher, Erin Knight, 鈥淎nd the students feel safe in this environment, not just physically, but cognitively because they know what to expect and how to take risks, and this is what allows our students to broaden their minds and horizons.鈥�

Our PreK teachers have a combined 124 years of teaching, and specifically 80 years in the PreK classroom. These years of experience, a highly-practiced curriculum, and intentionally-crafted daily schedule provide the rich context for learning. Our young students arrive ready to learn, ready to solve problems, and begin to understand that there will always be questions when learning, but there will also be friends and teachers to help find the answers. 

And so, as curiosity and wonder ignite the innate spark within children, what they learn at 绿帽社 is a consequence of their experiences, activities, observations, explorations, inquiry, hands-on learning, joy, and play in the Preschool program. It is indeed, a wonderful place to be.