This program for new mothers and their babies is led by a trained early childhood clinical psychologist and meets once a week for six to eight weeks. In a gentle and nurturing environment, the mothers find mutual support, newfound confidence and a sense of being part of a larger community.
Music is a magical way to socialize, to have fun, and to encourage development of fine and gross motor skills. Music Time is offered to toddlers ages 12 to 24 months, accompanied by a parent or caregiver. Led by a talented early childhood educator, children will explore the wonderful world of music through finger-plays, movement games, sing-a-longs, percussion instruments, and stories. The program’s goal is to provide toddlers with enjoyable, hands-on musical experiences in an environment that encourages the growth of each individual child. Music Time is offered on Wednesday afternoons for fall and spring sessions.
Together Time is a class for toddlers, ages 16 to 25 months. Children attend one or two afternoons a week for an hour and a half, accompanied by a parent or caregiver. The class is meant to be a bridge from life at home to the years ahead at school. Led by an early-childhood educator, the program provides a rich group of experiences in a warm, safe environment. Children and adults explore and grow together. They enjoy free-flowing play, singing, story time, snack and gym time. For parents and caregivers, this is a comfortable place to carry on informal discussions about child development and parenting.
A pioneer in twos classes, Grace Church School offers a nurturing environment for children’s first school experience without parents. The children are divided into three classes: Morning Twos, Afternoon Twos and Young Twos (for children who turn three in the spring or summer). In a carefully planned step-by-step process, the twos begin to trust their teachers and socialize with peers while gently separating from their parents. In the classroom, the children are encouraged to explore their own particular interests at their own pace. They are busy with arts and crafts, circle time, outdoor or gym play, cooking, dancing and movement, singing and music-making. Cooperative play skills, self-confidence and independence evolve naturally as the school year progresses. Children become active members of the classroom, creating bonds of trust and joy in learning.
There are three classes for this age group: Morning Young Threes, Morning Old Threes and Afternoon Threes. At this age, a child’s emerging language and socialization skills lead to a greater understanding of being an individual within a group. Play areas in the classroom encourage cooperative learning and sharing. Threes do puzzles, play dress-up and are busily engaged in block building and crafts projects. They sing with our music specialist and spend part of each class on the roof playground, the gym or in the school garden.
In the threes, the children also begin to play in a way that lays the foundation for academic learning. The teachers read to the children daily and encourage them to “read” books on their own. The selection of children’s literature is changed often and used to complement classroom projects. The children develop beginning math skills by using Cuisenaire rods, Unifix cubes, blocks and geoboards; they explore natural science by using magnets and magnifying glasses and experiencing the sensory elements of water and sand. Teachers encourage the children to express their thoughts and emotions; group dynamics result in animated discussions of ideas and feelings.
The two fours classes—Young Fours and Old Fours—are designed to provide the children with the optimal combination of structure, independence and nurturing as they build their social, physical, and academic skills.
Fours are ready to learn to take turns, listen and participate. They form a community as they share ideas, make plans for the day and discuss classroom projects. The curriculum themes often follow the seasons and holidays, including a school-wide Chinese New Year celebration. Special projects follow the children’s growing interests and curiosity about the world around them. During the year, they explore the world of Native Americans, life in the Middle Ages, Chinese and Japanese cultures, and the New York subway system (the Old Fours build a subway car they can actually sit in). At this age, the children are able to hone their knowledge of letters. With a “Letter of the Week,” the fours move through the alphabet, identifying letters and their sounds, brainstorming words, and decorating and tracing the letters. Stories and projects, including cooking, reinforce the week’s letter. The fours keep journals in which they dictate their thoughts, stories and dreams, and illustrate with colorful pictures. The journals build self-confidence and self-esteem as the children grow comfortable expressing themselves to teachers or parent volunteers. By year’s end, the fours are ready and eager for the challenges of kindergarten.
Kindergarten is the culmination of the Grace Church School experience. It is a rich year of consolidation, achievement and preparation for the elementary school years. Even as they continue to “learn by playing,” the kindergarten children begin to focus on the concepts of reading, writing and math. Our kindergartners also take French and classes in movement and music.
Of paramount importance is nurturing the children’s emerging literacy, which we do in many different ways. The kindergartners work on letter sounds and the phonetics of simple consonant/vowel/consonant words. By listening to taped stories while following along with a book, the children learn to match written and spoken words. Using “Big Books,” a concept from New Zealand, teachers read a storybook, then distribute miniature versions of the book that the children illustrate. (At home, they proudly read and show off their books.) Kindergartners start their own writing, as well. In addition to dictating their thoughts and feelings for their journals, they write their own stories. These phonetically written pages are dated and kept in each child’s portfolio to be shared with the class and their parents.
Using programs from the University of Chicago, our kindergartners develop an understanding of mathematical relationships such as sorting, classifying, patterning and graphing. We build competency in number concepts using specially designed math materials like Unifix cubes, Cuisenaire rods, pattern blocks, snap blocks and calendars. Math is also integrated into classroom activities such as block play, cooking and science.
Even as they are developing specific school preparatory skills, the children are absorbed in projects that give them a greater understanding of themselves and the world. Sometimes changes in our immediate environment determine the course of study: the end of summer leads to an investigation of animal camouflage and metamorphosis; snow leads to an exploration of crystals and evaporation. The end of daylight savings time prompts a study of nighttime, nocturnal animals and night jobs; the study of the water cycle includes a discussion of how different cultures transport water. The children learn about bones and the human body, early American life and Chinese culture. Because we believe that children’s experiential learning is the most effective kind of learning, we take trips to the Staten Island Children’s Museum; the Prospect Park Audubon Center; the Richmondtown Restoration in Staten Island; and the South Street Seaport.
This is a special year for the children, because as kindergartners they are the leaders of the school. They truly enjoy their stature as the oldest children and take pride in setting an example for the younger ones. The kindergartners leave the school with a great sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. They often return as alums to see teachers and relive their nursery-school days.
In weekly classes with our movement specialist, the fours and the kindergartners build spatial awareness, learn about team playing and hone their gross motor skills. They practice ball handling, team games, basic motor skills, gymnastics and dance.
Our goal is to promote the children’s self-confidence and joy in movement and lay the foundation for a lifelong interest in physical activity.
The GCS music program seeks to inspire the love and joy of singing. Weekly classes include a diverse repertoire of songs celebrating our culture, daily life in our city, and various holidays and celebrations that occur during the school year.
At the kindergarten level, the children learn basic musical skills and the different instruments of the orchestra, and also gain an introduction to the rich world of the performing arts.
In the kindergarten, the children’s horizon is extended to include French: a new language, people and culture. We believe that in learning the French language, the children will learn to appreciate how other people think and live. French meets twice a week for forty-five minute sessions. During the classes, children are introduced to numbers, colors, days of the week, the weather, parts of the body and animals. The classes involve drama (including puppets), games, songs and chants, arts and crafts, the celebration of French customs and occasionally French cuisine (some of which they prepare themselves). The children learn an extraordinary amount over the course of the year, and many continue French as an extracurricular activity once in elementary school.