Early Childhood

In the Eaglets year, children learn through a balance of intentional instruction and play-based exploration of their environment. Our classroom environment is designed to foster independence, confidence, and competence in self-expression, self-care, and practical life skills. Outdoor exploration and play in the natural world are also integral parts of our program. By learning and playing with others, Eaglets develop the foundational social skills that will enable them to be active members of a community. The sense of belonging they experience encourages self-expression and fosters an understanding of others' feelings. In our classrooms, children learn valuable lessons about sharing, taking turns, negotiating, waiting patiently, and forming meaningful friendships.

In junior kindergarten, students fully embrace our “hands on, minds on” learning approach.. The curriculum is thoughtfully designed to build upon the Eaglets year as students continue to learn a broad range of skills and concepts in a playful and child-centered way. Our classroom environments are intentionally crafted to foster students’ growing independence and collaborative spirit, while outdoor exploration and play remains an integral part of the active and engaging junior kindergarten day. Journeys off campus allow students to extend their understanding of the community and extend their learning in concrete ways. Throughout the year, a strong emphasis is placed on building an understanding of community. By learning and playing alongside their peers, junior kindergartners further develop essential social skills that enable them to be compassionate and caring members of their community. The feeling of belonging they experience encourages self-expression and nurtures an understanding of others' emotions. In our classrooms, children learn valuable lessons about sharing, taking turns, negotiating, waiting patiently, and forming meaningful friendships. Students share their voices and proudly demonstrate their growing musical and performance skills in the annual Junior Kindergarten & Kindergarten Spring Sing.

The kindergarten year at Summit serves as a bridge between the play-based learning of Early Childhood and the academic learning of Lower School. We nurture the whole child as students encounter new learning opportunities. The curriculum is thoughtfully designed to introduce a broad range of skills and concepts. Students encounter formal academic learning with a differentiated approach so each child is supported and challenged according to their needs. Our classroom environments are intentionally crafted to foster students’ increasing independence and collaborative spirit, while outdoor exploration and play remains an integral part of the kindergarten day. Journeys off campus allow students to extend their understanding of the community and extend their learning in concrete ways. Throughout the year, a strong emphasis is placed on building an understanding of community. By learning and playing alongside their peers, kindergartners continue developing essential social skills that enable them to be compassionate and caring members of their community. The feeling of belonging they experience encourages self-expression and nurtures an understanding of others' emotions. In our classrooms, children learn valuable lessons about sharing, taking turns, negotiating, waiting patiently, and forming meaningful friendships. Students share their voices and proudly demonstrate their growing musical and performance skills in the annual Junior Kindergarten & Kindergarten Spring Sing.

In the Eaglets program, our literacy, social studies, and science curricula are carefully designed to harness and nurture the innate curiosity and wonder children possess towards the world. We integrate language acquisition and usage into every aspect of the Eaglets' day, providing them with enriching experiences that stimulate their love for reading and storytelling. Weekly trips to the library, purposeful story time with meaningful children's literature, the exploration of academic vocabulary, and guided conversations all contribute to critical language development. To establish a strong foundation in literacy, students are introduced to essential skills such as rhyming, sound discrimination, and letter recognition. Moreover, the materials in their environment and teacher-led guided activities enhance their fine motor skills and hand muscles, setting the stage for their future success as proficient writers.

Our science and social studies units of study prompt our students to keenly observe their surroundings and describe their observations. From exploring life cycles to understanding change over time, our goal is to foster an inquisitive and curious mindset in which students routinely notice, question, and explore the fascinating aspects of the world they inhabit. Eaglets students begin a self-study through portraiture that continues throughout Early Childhood.

In the junior kindergarten program, our literacy, social studies, and science curricula are carefully designed to harness and nurture the innate curiosity and wonder that children possess for the world. Weekly trips to the library, purposeful story time with meaningful children's literature, the exploration of academic vocabulary, and guided conversations all contribute to critical language development that reinforce learning begun in the Eaglets year. Through early writing opportunities, such as creating signs, drawing pictures, telling stories, advocating for causes, and sharing opinions with peers, students develop their capacity to express and articulate their thoughts. To establish a strong literacy foundation, our curriculum includes essential skills such as letter and sound recognition, letter formation, and phonemic awareness. As students approach formal writing instruction, we place emphasis on developing fine motor skills to prepare their hands for writing.

Our science and social studies units of study prompt our students to keenly observe their surroundings and describe their observations. From exploring life cycles to understanding change over time, our goal is to foster an inquisitive and curious mindset in which students routinely notice, question, and explore the fascinating aspects of the world they inhabit. Junior kindergarten students work on a self-study through portraiture that continues throughout Early Childhood.

Literacy

In the kindergarten program, we provide students with a supportive and intentional learning environment that nurtures their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Weekly trips to the library, purposeful story time with meaningful children's literature, the exploration of academic vocabulary, and guided conversations all contribute to the continued development of critical language skills begun in the Eaglets and junior kindergarten years. Students receive daily phonics and phonemic awareness instruction that is designed to build a strong foundation for future reading success. Through the use of decodable texts, games, and concrete materials, students actively engage in building strong letter-sound connections and begin decoding simple words. We place a continued emphasis on phonemic awareness skills, such as blending and segmentation, ensuring that students develop the necessary skills for spelling and reading with confidence. Students apply their growing phonics knowledge in the writing workshop, a vibrant learning space during which student voices are valued and find an audience. Students are introduced to various genres and learn about writing craft and conventions. They particularly enjoy publishing their works and sharing them with their peers. Throughout the year, kindergarten students continue developing their fine motor skills and embark on the exciting process of learning the lowercase cursive alphabet.

Social Studies and Science

Our science and social studies units of study prompt our students to keenly observe their surroundings and describe their observations. From exploring life cycles to understanding change over time, our goal is to foster an inquisitive and curious mindset in which students routinely notice, question, and explore the fascinating aspects of the world they inhabit. Kindergarten students complete a self-study through portraiture that is worked on throughout Early Childhood.

The Eaglets math curriculum focuses on number sense, pattern work, and analytical thinking. Students’ number sense is developed throughout the program, from daily calendar activities to guided practice. Eaglets learn the basics of counting, recognizing written numerals, and subitizing small collections of items. Students notice the patterns in their environment, create patterns, and use mathematical vocabulary to describe patterns. Shape recognition and understanding attributes are emphasized, as well. We aim to expand and enrich students’ mathematical vocabulary, empowering them with the language necessary for effective mathematical communication. Our math curriculum lays a strong foundation for future mathematical exploration and comprehension.

The junior kindergarten math curriculum focuses on number sense, early operations, geometry, and analytical thinking. Students’ number sense is developed throughout the program, from daily calendar activities to guided practice with concrete materials. The classroom environment is designed with math in mind, so that students can infuse their play with mathematical tools and concepts. Junior kindergartners begin rote counting to larger numbers, recognizing and forming numerals, subitizing collections of items, and building early concepts of addition and subtraction. Students learn about patterns, shapes, and attributes to enable them to use mathematical vocabulary to describe their world. We aim to expand and enrich students’ mathematical vocabulary, empowering them with the language necessary for effective mathematical communication. Our math curriculum lays a strong foundation for future mathematical exploration and comprehension.

The kindergarten math curriculum focuses on number sense and working with numbers to twenty, addition and subtraction strategies to twenty, geometry, classification, and analytical thinking. Lessons incorporate mathematical thinking and sharing, and help students develop a robust mathematical vocabulary. Students form and use numerals and mathematical symbols with increasing fluency. Our math curriculum is designed to cultivate confident mathematicians who possess the creative problem solving skills to tackle a wide array of mathematical challenges and respectfully share their ideas. We strive to create connections between the rich math tasks in our classrooms and the real-world applications surrounding each student.

Eaglets have Spanish class once a week. They sing and play games as they use Spanish to explore basic information about the world around them.

Junior Kindergarteners sing and play games as they use Spanish to explore basic information about the world around them, including greetings, colors, numbers, and the seasons.

Kindergarteners sing and play games in Spanish about greetings, colors, numbers, the seasons, and some adjectives with a focus on opposites. They explore the topics of farm animals, seasons, and clothing.

Eaglet musicians are introduced to music through a music and movement approach. They sing, use imaginative and finger play. Eaglets learn and recite poems.  They dance to music while learning about steady beat rhythm and musical expression. They explore pitch and opposites.They learn about the five different voices and get to play with instruments like rhythm sticks, shakers and scarves.

JrK musicians explore and identify high, medium and low sounds. They explore steady beats and how to move and play to the tempo. They use and identify the five different voices. Students explore instruments like rhythm sticks, shakers, wood blocks and drums. The highlight of the Junior Kindergarten music program is when students rehearse and perform in their first Spring Sing.

Kindergarten students explore in depth high, medium and low sounds. They practice keeping a steady beat and how to tell when there is or is not a beat.  They move and play music games to a steady beat. They explore song phrases and identify different sections of the music. They listen to music, sing songs and share about the places they are from. Students dance to songs and learn poems. The highlight of the Kindergarten music program is when students rehearse and perform in the Spring Sing.

Early Childhood students learn to be good stewards of the library by developing responsible habits. Children learn about book care and are encouraged to return books weekly. In storytime, students are introduced to books, authors, and illustrators that recognize monthly cultural celebrations and holidays. After storytime, they learn to navigate the library by exploring topic-sorted bins and pulling and peeking at picture books from the shelves before selecting weekly checkouts from the picture book and early reader sections. We also investigate the differences between nonfiction and fiction books; with help, some students search for developmentally appropriate nonfiction books for special topics. 

Early Childhood students learn to be good stewards of the library by developing responsible habits. Children learn about book care and are encouraged to return books weekly. In storytime, students are introduced to books, authors, and illustrators that recognize monthly cultural celebrations and holidays. After storytime, they learn to navigate the library by exploring topic-sorted bins and pulling and peeking at picture books from the shelves before selecting weekly checkouts from the picture book and early reader sections. We also investigate the differences between nonfiction and fiction books; with help, some students search for developmentally appropriate nonfiction books for special topics. 

Early Childhood students learn to be good stewards of the library by developing responsible habits. Children learn about book care and are encouraged to return books weekly. In storytime, students are introduced to books, authors, and illustrators that recognize monthly cultural celebrations and holidays. After storytime, they learn to navigate the library by exploring topic-sorted bins and pulling and peeking at picture books from the shelves before selecting weekly checkouts from the picture book and early reader sections. We also investigate the differences between nonfiction and fiction books; with help, some students search for developmentally appropriate nonfiction books for special topics. 

Students are introduced to concepts like spatial awareness, directional skills, and locomotor skills. Students develop their ability to listen to instructions. Students start to learn how to interact with peers through various activities with movement, boundaries, and cooperation.

Students are given opportunities to develop the core concepts of spatial awareness, directional skills, and locomotor skills. Students continue to develop in their abilities to listen to instructions. Students are also continuing to grow in their ability to interact with peers through various activities with movement, boundaries, and cooperation.

Students fine tune concepts like spatial awareness, directional skills, and locomotor skills. Students are introduced to manipulative skills such as underhand/overhand throws, catching, dribbling with hands and feet, and kicking. Students are given opportunities to listen and follow more complex sets of instructions. Students  continue to develop foundational teamwork skills.