All Children Thrive in an Active Literacy Environment:
Joyful Experiences in Oral Language Fuel the Curriculum
We celebrate language and the rhythms of sound — from clapping and handjiving to singing and signing our ABC Sign Language and Phonics Song. Multisensory learning builds long-term memory connections.
Memorizing nursery rhymes builds the syntax of the English language. Children love to recite and perform the age-old lyrics of Mother Goose.
Our Puppet Theater Center provides creative opportunities to use writing and to retell favorite fingerplays and stories.
Children Deserve to Memorize, Recite, and Perform Language
We Recognize That Powerful Learning is Social,
Emotionally Engaging and Meaningful
We learn the most important high-frequency (“by heart”) words through singing and signing L-O-V-E Spells Love and other spelling songs.
Soon we can read, write, and spell “I love you” with confidence and pride.
We study about the natural world outside the classroom.
The “O” Dance teaches the counter-clockwise motion for o,c,a,d,g. Efficient handwriting skills support fluency instruction.
Our curriculum is rich in the arts. Painting and learning to draw with detail supports learning to write with detail.
Children Love Coming to School: A Nurturing Environment Builds Community and Positive Discipline Helps Children Want to Do What is Right
A Joyful Writing-to-Read Classroom Systematically Teaches Phonics Skills and the Process of Learning to Read
We get to make “really cool
books”: Hands-on literacy centers reinforce skills.
Imaginative strategies support children's transition from “kid writing” to adult writing: The King of “ing” builds memory connections.
Timed “brain exercises” build fluency with important high-frequency words. Phonics skills are practiced as students learn to write. Drawing enhances the writing process.
We use writing for real world purposes: Taking surveys to learn about our friends.
Read and Sing Books Build a Foundation for Reading
Success and Accelerate English Language Development
Shared reading and singing allows all children to affirm “I Can Read!”
We teach parents and volunteers how to use the Neurological Impress Method of supported reading as a transition from “magical memory reading” to fluent independent reading.
Every child perceives himself as successful as he reads and rereads his little book. These books are for the children to take home and keep for continued reading pleasure.
Quality literature and informational books are a vital part of our “loving to read” program. Our class libraries invite children to enjoy real books.
We Systematically Build the Neuro Pathways for Fluent Reading
