Our Early Childhood Program (PreKindergarten and Kindergarten) is predicated on the belief that children learn most joyfully and deeply when the learning process is designed around their own interests and needs. Our overarching theme, Connecting to Our Community, is the foundation for our thematic curriculum. It is also the basis of our philosophy around early childhood education.
CRS students thrive as part of a community that encourages them to become lifelong learners by enjoying the journey. They develop confidence, explore, innovate, and help shape their own learning through inquiry, collaboration, and play. They acquire skills, develop character, and build knowledge and community through our integrated, flexible PreK/K program.
CRS is committed to multi-age learning for our PreK/K program and has one homeroom for these early childhood grades. This research-based model naturally aligns with the CRS approach, and provides children with the education that will best prepare them for the future. Co-teaching is central to our model; two dedicated lead teachers facilitate each classroom community, and enable small group and one-to-one learning.
Classroom-specific themes allow students to make meaningful connections through inquiry and explore areas of particular interest to them. Core subject areas, such as math and language arts, are integrated thoughtfully with thematic study. We continually review alignment between our goals, the curriculum, instruction, and assessment across and within grades.
Our early childhood maker space, the Collaboratory, provides students with an area to create, invent, and learn with a variety of tools and technologies. Our outdoor campus, classroom gardens, covered areas, Wetlands Lab, and the Town of Dover provide us with regular outdoor learning adventures, and opportunities to explore and learn about the environment and our local community.