Primary Program

Discovery of Learning’s Primary Program is inspired by the educational philosophies of Bev Bos, Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia.  We believe in an eclectic approach to enriching our classrooms and activities, you will find our teachers hand crafting your child's experience at DOL.

What are parents saying? 

“My daughter has enjoyed getting to know her own learning style and feeling like she controls where her curriculum goes at DOL.  She has become more self-directed at home too!  The teachers have always been supportive and encouraging during her 3 years at DOL.” ~ A grateful mom

 

“I never knew kindergarten could be so much fun! My daughter misses her teacher and classmates on her days off. What led us initially to DOL was my daughter's separation anxiety. Just knowing that I, the parent, was welcome in the classroom any time, and for as long as my daughter needed me there, was an instant relief to her. For the first couple of weeks, she did ask me to stay just outside her classroom. Now, she practically runs into her class when I drop her off and frequently asks me if she can stay at school longer when I come to pick her up! I'm so grateful that DOL allowed us to handle the separation anxiety in a gentle and gradual way that felt right to us. I also love and am amazed by how much her interests are encouraged by her teachers. This is truly a wonderful place for my daughter to learn and grow.” ~ Z Samuelson

Our primary program offers a multi-age classroom setting (children are typically grouped within a 3 to 4 year range) with a child-centered, developmental, project-based, hands-on approach.  Learning takes place at a child’s own pace, giving students opportunities to make choices about how to approach a subject.

At Discovery of Learning, our Primary Program Classes:

• Address the whole child and adapts to multiple learning styles, as well as giving emotional health the same importance as academics
• Children learn valuable problem solving and critical thinking skills when teachers and/or parents support the social and emotional development of each child.
• Students are able to move around the room, interact with each other on the floor, and make decisions together.
• Classes are not divided according to child age or grade level, but grouped together in grade ranges, giving children an opportunity to learn and work to the best of their ability.
• Curriculum, covering the four core subject areas of Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science, is hand-crafted.
• Children learn through a variety of activities that are teacher guided, child led, project based, involve cooperative games, incorporate arts and music, and use a variety of enriching materials
• Teachers provide the children with immediate feedback, working collaboratively to make changes to their work and learn from it.
• Lunch and outdoor exploration time are considered an extension of the learning environment and are crucial to the child’s social, physical, and intellectual development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Typical Day at Discovery of Learning

When peeking in on a DOL classroom you will find children engaged in a multitude of activities and community building.  Our teachers strive to introduce structure to the children through regular routines which are flexible and flow with the children's natural development and learning styles.  Below is a typical daily routine:

• 9:00-9:30 Free Exploration
• 9:30-10:00 Morning Meeting/Group Time
• 10: 00-11:15  Individualized Language Arts and Math
• 11:15-12:00 
  
  • (2 day program)
    • Day 1: Science
    • Day 2: Social Studies
• 12:00-1:00 Lunch hour
• 1:00-2:30
  • (2 day program)
    • Day 1: Elective 1
    • Day 2: Elective 2

 

 

 

 

Our Primary Program Subjects

In this unique setting, our teachers work collaboratively with students to provide guidance and individualized instruction in Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science. This can be done with work already begun and brought from home, or our teacher will create individual curriculum
for each child based on their abilities at that time in Language Arts and Math. Our teachers work as a team to develop Science units that are engaging and hands-on with the guidance of "Supercharged Science" curriculum and following a DOL crafted World Studies curriculum with a focus on learning about the geography and culture of each country while studying the similarities and differences to our own country. These classes also use the arts to bring learning to life on a daily basis. Teachers additionally engage the children in on-going interest led projects. The multi-aged classroom provides children the opportunity to be leaders, learn from others, and collaborate with peers.

Electives: Students are introduced to 2-3 elective subjects per week, depending on the number of days they attend campus.  Each Elective course runs for 8 weeks, allowing children to explore the subject with more depth. Subjects are then rotated in 8 week sessions. These classes can be taken as part of our full day program or enrolled in as an Electives only option.