Work in the Kindergarten around social studies revolves around relationships-- the relationship to the school environment, to the home environment, the relationship of the child to the school community and to the larger community. Class meetings offer us perhaps the most important opportunities as it relates to our class as a whole. During these meetings, we talk about social concerns affecting our immediate classroom: "How do you make a friend? Who can you play with at recess?". As children begin to feel comfortable with their classmates, they begin to ask for help in dealing with issues outside the school: "How do your make yourself feel better after having a bad nightmare? What do you do when your mom or dad goes on a trip and you miss them?", are just a few that have come up in past years. The questions children bring to the classroom are very important, but it is also essential to challenge them with questions they may not have thought about before, issues that come up in class: "Have you ever felt left out? Can it ever be brave to cry?". Helping each child establish a positive sense of themselves as individuals and as members of the group is a primary goal not only in the Kindergarten year but also throughout their years at Fayerweather. We regularly incorporate work with gender and fairness into your child's experience. We also do a lot of role-playing and talk around teamwork. Our classroom community is made up of diverse family structures as well as people from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds – this diversity enriches our classroom and is a backdrop to our curriculum. Your children’s personal stories count.

Cooking becomes an important bridge between home and school.

Children have been paired with a Special Friend in a third/fourth grade class. The experience is rich for both groups of children and connects your child with an older student in the school as a special buddy. Visitors into the room and field trips also give children a sense of their community. Some social study themes we will study this year are:

• Family
• Self
• Friendship Building/issues
• Teamwork/Passing Kindness
• Conflict Resolution
• World
• Our Classroom Heritage'
• Mapping and geography
• African Folk Tales
• Celebrations of Light
• Chinese study
• Community Systems: post office, hospital, markets
• The Environment
• Various other areas that come up

Art
Art is an integral part of our curriculum. Painting, clay and construction, as well as a central project table offer children a variety of materials and mediums to work with throughout the day. Free exploration and experimentation is encouraged and valued as a means for self - expression and discovery. With each discovery a child gains confidence and self - esteem and is eager to test out new ideas. Within the art area we try to present a variety of art experiences, which offer children a means of self-expression and creativity. The intent is that each child will find a material or medium that they enjoy and with which they feel successful. When they share their work, they share part of who they are – “here is a part of me”!

Art experiences are often integrated into other aspects of the curriculum. Art is a big variable in creating the colorful areas in dramatic play. We also engage in some group projects throughout the year.

Throughout the year we explore a variety of projects in depth, including: color, printing, weaving, sewing, sculpture, clay work, candle making, papermaking, puppets, collage etc. These units of study provided opportunities to explore a particular topic or medium through a variety of experiences. In addition, it seems as though children naturally inject and incorporate "art" into their work and play. Whether it is designing stationary to send a note to a friend, or making background scenery for a puppet show, art materials are always available to children as tools for creative expression in their work and play. We plan an exciting field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts sometime during the year.

Yoga
Yoga helps build your child’s self-awareness, self-esteem and strengthens their minds and bodies. It helps practice the art of mindfulness. The body is made to do yoga. Yoga postures and angles create certain pressure to stimulate the body and brain. It is a time of togetherness for the group.

Outdoor Play
Engaging in vigorous play outside is hugely important to the children’s health. With a friend or group of friends, children run, jump, hop and hold hands. They discover worms and bugs and notice when a hawk flies over the recess yard. They delight in taking the path to the park. They practice inclusion and deal with exclusion. They make plans for recess. They confer over “rough play”. They use the “Talking Rock” to solve problems and practice, “Win-Wins. They delight in playing with older and younger children. As the seasons change, they add to their repertoire and breathe deeply!