Blog

Our mixed-age classes allow children to have an opportunity to develop empathy, mature at their own pace, and be challenged throughout the years in our program. In a mixed group, play is rich and children learn from one another. Younger students are given the opportunity to imitate the older children and, eventually, to be the leader of the class and help care for the younger children. By being with the same class for multiple years, there is a sense of community and a deep bond with the teacher.   

A Three-Year-Old's Experience 

When three-year-old children enter the classroom, their experience is much different than that of a returning four or five-year-old. The three-year-old soaks up the world around them and is fully immersed. Coming out of the parallel play of toddlerhood, the three-year-old child has much to learn while navigating the social aspects of play. They are immersed in their imagination, yet their planning skills are developing as they are just starting to build and make use of many props in their play. Those executive functioning skills which involve planning, organizing and completing tasks, will strengthen in the coming years in our program. The open-hearted imagination of the three-year-old appreciates the planning and rich imagination of the four and five-year-old children.  This age group spends more time observing, working on building their fine and gross motor skills, and experiencing the classroom for the first time. Tasks such as getting ready to go outside can take quite a while, as they are learning the self-care skills that will become easier for them with time. Self-care is highly focused on in this year as they gain independence in various activities. At circle time they often watch, and one day they will start to imitate, the teacher’s movements and gestures, as well as speak and sing along. When a group of three-year-old children try to make a line, it tends to look more like a heard of sheep than the straight line that a group of five and six-year-old children would make! The older children in the class help model and care for the younger ones, giving them something to aspire to and bring form to the class. 

The Four-Year-Old in the Classroom 

When four-year-old children return to our program, they so do with greater confidence. They know the rhythm and expectations of the class and therefore feel as though they are among the bigger children that year.  Their play skills are growing, and they are developing more planning skills.  They gather plenty of materials and start to build and construct more elaborate play scenarios. The four-year-old children are more confident in their self-care skills; they are excited that they can get ready quickly and are no longer in the last half of the line to go outside! The physical work and chores in the classroom are more complex for them as well. When clean-up tasks are assigned to a three-year-old, they are often simple tasks or tasks paired up with one of the oldest children. However, the four-year-old can have more complicated jobs that take greater planning and execution, challenging them with a multi-tasked job. At circle, they are imitating the teacher and picking up the language and songs with ease. They are still strengthening their gross and fine motor skills and enjoy doing more difficult tasks outside- digging large holes, building or climbing a tree. They offer their help to the youngest children in the class, proud that they have made the switch from needing help to being the helper.  

The Five-Year-Old’s Golden Year 

The five-year-old children come into our program ready to be the biggest children in the class. This year is full of a lot of change for the children as many of them will turn six and be ready for first grade the following year. The five-year-old’s play is rich in imagination and execution. It is the year which culminates the rich imagination of early childhood with the skills gained to execute it with joy and excitement. The children will often remember the games and play scenarios from previous days and pick up where they left off. They begin to really enjoy handwork projects and often want to do them with little to no aid from the teachers. The children have been developing deep relationships in the class, including with their teacher. This relationship with the teacher is extremely important, as the children feel a great love and understanding from their teacher and the teacher knows the children’s strengths and how to encourage their growth. The jobs given to children at this age continue to gain complexity. At circle, they are active and participating and are excited if a song, verse or circle from last year returns and they remember it. Throughout their years in the program they have been building inner pictures while puppet plays and stories are told, and at this age they are able to fully live in those images.  

Our Six-Year-Old Golden Eagles 

Some children enter the school year already six years old, but most turn six in the year prior to first grade. As three and four-year-old children they looked up to the Golden Eagles (our program for the last year in kindergarten) and are excited to finally be a part of this group! 

As the children turn six their play starts to be less immersive and filled with more planning and talking. They may spend the entire playtime creating a city, but never really playing in it! The elaborate worlds that they create are perfect to share with the younger children, as they fill the space with their immersive nature.  As the six-year-old approaches the end of kindergarten, they start to say that they are bored and want more challenge, which is just what our Golden Eagle Program offers. Throughout the year they are growing their capacities to meet the demands that they will need in first grade. Multi-stepped tasks are given to the children, especially ones that allow them to feel the independence that they are wanting as a six-year-old. It is important that they develop their physical abilities, as brain growth and physical movement are intertwined. Having great balance and fine and gross motor skills allows the child to sit at a desk, listen to a teacher, and do the writing that will be asked of them in first grade. It is also equally important that they have strong abilities to work well with others. Throughout their journey, they have learned social skills and are encouraged to solve problems on their own through physical and social challenges that arise. The Golden Eagles must learn how to work together through respect for one another and the six-year-old is able to grasp these social concepts in a new way. They become models to the younger children, giving the six-year-old a reason to be worthy of imitation. In the beginning of the year, they are the ones asked to model all the work of the classroom, such as dish washing and cleaning. The empathy that was nurtured throughout our program is given its cumulative test as they care for those that are younger than them.  

Our Golden Eagles get to work closely with our Golden Eagle teacher. She brings them extra challenges through handwork, jumping rope and learning to tie their shoes. They spend Friday mornings outside and form as a class. There is a focus on community service in this last year, as they feel confident and can now turn that towards helping others. Gardening and work around the school is taken up as they spread mulch and grow vegetables. Through their experiences during this crucial year, they are provided with the right environment to grow as they leave the garden of Early Childhood and enter the consciousness of a grade-school child.