Sunnymont's Classroom Activities
At Sunnymont, we believe children learn best through play. Our teachers plan a curriculum with specific learning goals in mind, and providing students with many opportunities for play and exploration.
Playdough Table. Tactile activities provide children with a chance to develop their sensory processing and increase their dexterity. This is also a great place for some children to ease into the classroom by looking around and observing what is going on.
Dramatic Play Area. This is a wonderful play area that we change through out the year. It might be a house, a doctor's office, a post office, or a kitchen. By playing out the adult roles they see around them, children build identity and self-esteem, as well as enhancing cognitive development.
Group Time. Each class has one or two group times per class session, led by the teacher. Everyone sings, dances, listens to stories, talks about classroom issues, and experiences being part of the large group.
Music Area. We encourage children to learn the joy of singing, and some of the foundations of understanding of pitch, tempo, and music as artistic expression. Musical instruments are always available to the children.
Manipulative Activities. While manipulative activities happen all over the school, one table is set aside for a manipulative activity each day. This table offers activities such as patterning blocks, pegs, puzzles, beads, and building sets, offering many different ways for kids to work on their fine motor skills and consider cognitive concepts such as patterning and matching and grouping different objects.
Library. We have a library corner where we have plenty of books for children to explore and listen to and check out.
Science Center. At the science center children get to explore life science. We might be growing plants, studying ants, sand and rocks, checking out birds nests, or hatching silkworm caterpillars.
Art. As young children explore art, they learn about color, shape, form, technique while building coordination and creative expression. Our goal is to have children explore a variety of techniques and media for both two and three dimensional art.
Fergie. The children help care for and feed our guinea-pig. Caring for an animal helps children learn to nurture, be gentle, and take responsibility.
