SMS   - Programs

PROGRAM GOALS

Given our philosophy, the teachers facilitate the children’s learning and development by: providing all children with a warm, supportive and caring prepared environment in which learning is joyful, encouraging, supporting, and challenging children to reach their highest developmental potentials; involving children in planning environments that encourage interaction, exploration and investigation.

Our program goals are derived from five (5) major areas:

Aesthetic and Artistic.

The fine and performing arts areas are a natural and essential part of children’s development. They provide pleasure, satisfaction, and are a way for children to respond to and interpret their real and imagined worlds. Through the arts, children express their creativity, feelings and understandings. In addition, the arts provide a context through which children may discover and appreciate aspects of their cultural heritage and the heritage of others.

Emotional and Social Development.

All children need and deserve acceptance, respect, empathy, and understanding. Our program seeks to facilitate a positive self-concept among all children by offering opportunities to gain confidence and competence in functioning along and cooperating with others.

Physical Development.

Physical well being is an integral part of living and learning. Children are provided with experiences to help them learn about growth and development, and about their own role in maintaining a healthy life style.

Intellectual Development.

The experiences and knowledge children bring to their learning environment, combined with their natural desire to learn, curiosity, and sense of wonder form the foundations for their learning. The adults provide the optimal prepared environment for the children to construct their knowledge and sharpen their thinking skills.

Responsible Living.

The development of responsibility requires that people understand the interdependence of social and ecological issues and are willing to commit themselves to making a difference. The program provides children with experiences to help them learn to value and respect individual contributions as well as cultural identity and heritage. It seeks to help children understand their individual and collective rights and responsibilities as members of society.

CURRICULUM

In planning and implementing our Montessori based curriculum, we include three proven theories that we know best work for all children. One of these three is the theory of Multiple Intelligences. The basic principle behind this theory is that we are all smart or intelligent in at least eight (8) different ways. These ways are: (1) Verbal Linguistics Intelligence (the use of written and/or spoken language and words); (2) Logical Mathematical (the use of numbers, sequencing, and patterns to create and/or solve problems; (3) Visual/Spatial Intelligence (the use of shape, color, and form, and the relationships among subjects); (4) Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence (skillful use of the body for self-expression); (5) Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence (communicating through and enjoying listening to music); (6) Interpersonal Intelligence (ability to perceive what other people are thinking or feeling through observation or body language and gestures or voice moods); (7) Intrapersonal Intelligence (being able to identify one’s own feelings and moods); and (8) Naturalistic Intelligence (ability to work with nature, plants, etc.) The second theory is the Constructionist Theory. Application of this theory implies that given an optimal learning environment, all children construct their own knowledge as they interact with the social and physical environment in a given setting. Lastly, the Montessori Theory sees education as much more than the passing of knowledge from adults and materials to children. Dr. Maria Montessori saw education as facilitating the full development and release of human potentialities. In setting up the prepared learning environment, she strongly believed and has been supported by today’s research that children’s development occurs in stages, with each stage building on the previous one. Additionally, development of a child is both interactive and integrated.

Through a fusion of the three theories, we are able to plan and implement a program that meets all the children’s needs depending on their developmental levels. These theories are apparent as we teach or enrich the major subject areas (i.e., mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, art, music, physical education, geography, technology) using an integrated approach across these subject areas. The foundation of our curriculum would be left unfinished if we did not pay attention to the works of: l) John Dewey (with his experiential learning; 2) Marian Diamond (with her concept of stimulus-rich-environments as they affect learning; 3) Reuve Feuerstein whose work on "Mediated Learning Experiences" has lead to intense debate on how the classroom affects students’ metacognition; 4) Jean Piaget who theorized that the learners’ interactions with the social and physical environments lead to structure in how they think about things as they assimilate data; and 5) Lev Vygotsky who theorized that we learn first through person-to-person interactions and then individually through an internalization process that leads to deep understanding.

GROUPINGS

The Infant Community

This group consists of babies two (2) months to fourteen (14) months. The classroom area (yellow trimmed in white) consists of a movement area, a quiet sleeping area, an eating area and a physical care area.

The Toddler Community

There are two (2) toddler community classrooms. One is for children ages 15-25 months known as the "junior" toddler community. The classroom color is mauve trimmed in purple. The second group (Senior Toddler) is 26-36 months. The classroom color is green. Both groups have individual work time, group time for singing, dancing, reading, outdoors education and eating.

PROGRAMS

The Primary Program

There are three (3) primary program classrooms (color of classrooms: teal, red, and blue). The prepared environment for these children includes areas for geography, botany, mathematics, sensorial, language arts, practical life, the fine arts, and the performing arts.

Out of School Program (Before/After School Program)

This is an arts, sports, and academic enrichment program for children first through fifth grade. The children receive homework support, relax and play indoor and outdoor games and read their choice of books from the school library. They use both the multipurpose room and the library for most of their activities.

Summer Leisure Program

Loaded with leisure projects, sports and fine and performing arts activities, the program is usually made up of five (5) two-week sessions. Field trips, visits to Club Sienna for golf, tennis, basketball, swimming pools, and the amphitheater dominate the summer leisure program.

Saturday Enrichment Program (The Sienna Super Star Program)

The purpose of this program is to facilitate high achievement motivation levels in Science, Mathematics, and the Arts among children between the ages of four (4) to nine (9) years. The science and mathematics programs are done using concrete hands-on materials and projects. Children’s thinking skills are sharpened through mental and physical Piagetian thinking games.

The Arts Program (dance, drama, music, visual arts) provides the children a unique mode of experience that stimulates creative and intuitive thought while developing aesthetic judgement, a sense of personal worth, individual confidence within art forms, and confidence in the ability to express themselves.

At the end of each session, participants hold a talent show in all the subject areas. In order to fully benefit in this program, all enrolled children are expected to participate in all the subject areas. The program is held from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. with a midmorning snack. Working under the leadership of a Saturday Program Coordinator, the facilitators are individuals with education and experience in teaching mathematics, science, visual and performing arts, and thinking skills.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

All parents are members of the Parent-Teacher Committee. They participate in various program activities, attend parenting classes, and they are always available to provide any social and psychological support to all the children.

MEALS

For all children who are ready for solid food, the school provides state approved catered hot lunches and school planned snacks (morning and afternoon). Infants on liquid meals have family provided formulas or Mothers milk. Solid food meals can be eaten in the lunchroom, in the courtyard or in the classrooms. Teachers, together with the children, have the option to select where they want to eat on a given day and/or occasion.

TRANSPORTATION

The school uses a state-approved bus for field trips. All children must be either in seatbelts or buckled up in parent provided car seats. For additional safety precaution, attendance is taken at the time the children get on and off the bus. Additionally, a buzzer located in the back of the bus goes off when the driver closes the door after children leave the bus. The only way for the driver to turn it off is by physically going to the back of the bus. This allows the driver to see if any child is still on the bus, possibly sleeping.