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Preschool Life
Preschool life at Buen Dia is based on a philosophy of
structured freedom. The daily
routine provides a framework within which the children alternate
between activities that they choose to participate in and those which
everyone participates in together, either in large or small groups. Daily
activities emphasis is in four areas: art, language development,
block building, cooking and science, music and outdoor play.
Each day of the week has a special activity at group
time. Monday is sharing day, when
children have an opportunity to share with words. Each child is encouraged to bring
something from home to share with their peers. On Tuesdays, some of the children go to
KinderGym at the University of California,
San Francisco and some of the
children have music with a performing arts specialist. Wednesdays the
children have Spanish group.
Thursdays and Fridays the children meet in small groups of age mates
with whom they engage in science experiments or mini-field trips.
Each month of the school year is punctuated with special
projects and events that include the children's families. Special projects encourage the children
to share who they are as individuals and as members of a family with their
classmates and teachers. For example, the school year begins with the
children putting together a display about what they did over summer
vacation and sharing their "Personality Bags" with the
school.
Special Annual Events provide opportunities for the
children to share their experiences, their families and their diverse
cultures with the school community, as well as expose the children to a
variety of cultural traditions important to the wider community. For example, in November, the children
bring organic vegetables of their choice to make "Friendship
Soup". In February children
celebrate the Lunar New Year by making a huge dragon with which they parade
around the block accompanied by live music.
In May the children serve their parents breakfast for Parents
Appreciation Day. In preparation,
the children paint aprons, cook food, paint placemats and menus, and set
and decorate the tables.
Each school year culminates with a graduation ceremony
in which all children are honored for their contribution to the school
community that year. In
anticipation, the children make props and sets, write stories, and create
books of stories and writings. On
graduation day, the children put on a dramatic performance of their stories
(read aloud by teachers), which incorporate acrobatic and dance feats of
their imagination accompanied by live music played by the teachers.
Throughout the year we celebrate many holidays in
nonreligious ways and encourage parents to participate in any way they
can--from presenting a special group on Dia de los Muertos to making
different snacks with the children for Passover, or planting a tree in our
yard for Earth Day. Buen Dia's
celebrations reflect the parent population and the greater community in San
Francisco, with the hope of honoring the
children's reality.
DAILY SCHEDULE
7:45-9:00 a.m.
Greet children and parents. Parents sign in and relate any important
messages to the teacher who is greeting that day. Many children have their
own good-bye ritual that helps them with this transition.
7:45-10:00 a.m. All
the classroom areas on the main level are open: block area, dress-up room,
art area and the front room--where you find all the manipulatives and
books. This is a free time and children can choose where they want to play.
Free play allows for personal discovery and is an important part of our
day. Furthermore, children tend to concentrate more and extend their
learning when they can choose most of their own activities. Some free play
activities include: play dough, books, science table, drawing and outdoor
activities.
8:30-10:15 a.m. The
yard is open.
9:00-10:10 a.m. Prepared
Art Project. Children are encouraged to participate but are not required to
do so.
9:00-10:00 a.m. Snack
Preparation. Children are encouraged to come and help prepare snack as with
the art project; this is a voluntary activity.
10:15-10:30 a.m.
Group Time. Different activities are planned each day. Some group times
involve all the children; others involve children meeting in their small
groups.
The daily schedule is as follows:
Monday: Sharing in small
groups. Children bring something from home to share with their peers or
talk about a subject of their choice.
Tuesday: Kinder Gym preparation. Children who are going to
k-gym are told during group time. The children that stay go to music at 11:00 am. taught by a performing arts
specialist who comes twice a week.
Wednesday: Spanish Group. All the children meet in the
front area for group time. Concepts are taught such as: colors, shapes,
foods, memory games, songs, games, etc.
Thursday/Friday: Small Groups. This is a time when a small
group of children meet the same teacher each day to share their thoughts,
discuss issues important to them, engage in a science experiment or go on a
mini field trip. Before going to small groups, announcements or special
presentations sometimes occur with everyone together in a large group.
10:30 a.m. Hand Washing and Snack
Time. The children participate in clean up and hand washing before snack.
10:45-12:00 p.m.
Free Play Time. All the areas of the school are open. On Tuesdays there is
music at 11:00, on Thursdays
there is a dramatic storytelling project (where children dictate stories to
the teacher and later act them out with their peers on a stage). On Fridays
we have a Capoeira specialist that comes and teaches a class to two of the
groups. Capoiera is a Brazilian martial art.
11:55-12:00 p.m.
Clean-up Time.
12:00-12:30 p.m.
Lunch Time.
12:30-1:00 p.m.
Outdoor and indoor play for the children. They can use the computers, play
on the stage (a mini kindergym), read books and play with the science and
math games.
12:45 p.m. Nappers
go to bathroom and get ready for nap.
1:00-2:00 p.m. Nap
Time.
1:15-2:00 p.m.
Resters go to the classroom on the lower level for rest time.
2:00-3:00 p.m. Art.
The children who are awake can participate in the afternoon art project.
The yard and the block area are open and there are activities set up on the
tables.
2:15-3:00 p.m.
Snack Preparation.
3:00 p.m. Many
children leave at this time. Teachers help children put on their shoes and
get ready to go home a little before 3:00 pm.
All nappers are usually awake at this time.
3:30-3:50 p.m.
Group Time. There is a Spanish group twice a week. Parents come and do
special presentations on varied subjects. (Special cultural holidays, their
jobs, singing, sharing an important event in their lives, etc...)
Otherwise, the afternoon teacher introduces either an activity for the
whole group to participate or a discussion.
3:50 p.m. Hand
Washing and Snack Time.
4:00-6:00 p.m. Free
play time. All the areas of the school are open. Once a week there is a
science activity. Parents pick up children between 4:00-6:00 p.m.
5:00-6:00 p.m. The
last hour of the day. Teachers often read stories and play games with the
children who stay late.
Creative Arts specialists give on-going workshops each week in various
disciplines. Community presenters offer talks and discussions on topics
interesting to children.
This schedule is a general outline and changes somewhat from day to day
depending on the needs of the children and on field trips. Read more about
our curriculum: Art, Language, Music and Outdoor Activities,
Cooking and Science.
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