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Hopefully you've looked around and The Grove School feels like a great place for your child. Fantastic! We’d love to meet up with you in person, answer your questions and tell you more first hand. Shoot us an e-mail or give us a call and we’ll get back to you shortly.
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Careers
We're looking for rare individuals. Teachers with degrees in early childhood or environmental education and a fire in the belly to make a difference. Administrators with a head for business and a heart for helping children reach their full potential. People who are so invested that they'll stay with us for years, growing and developing our educational community. Is that you?
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Let's play
Kids learn through play, but what about the grown ups? The Grove School is a playground for everyone. Join the fun!
(Psst, you can move the colored circles with your mouse.)
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  • the core experience

    themes we explore

    age groups

    before + after school

  • Each day, your child moves between structured group activities, one-on-one with teachers, and indoor and outdoor play. In everything we do, the focus is on developing critical foundational skills in language arts, math, science, social skills and personal expression. And we're always attentive to the unique personality, interests and needs of your child, suggesting appropriate activities to keep them happy and engaged.

  • the core experience

    themes we explore

    age groups

    before + after school

  • The school day also includes learning opportunities structured
    around these themes.

      • Nutritious eating habits and the importance of rest, fresh air and plenty of physical activity.
      • Self-expression through different types of media and the basics of shapes, dimension, texture and composition.
      • New experiences with rhythms, instruments, notes and musical terms.
      • Explorations of the world around us with an emphasis on ecology through the sciences.
      • Introduction to storytelling with props, puppets and costumes.

  • the core experience

    themes we explore

    age groups

    before + after school

    • EARLY PRESCHOOL
      Games, songs, movement and art help children reach developmental milestones for two year olds. They explore and discover at their own pace and gain confidence with social skills such as cooperation, sharing and taking turns.

    • PRESCHOOL
      Children are encouraged to explore with an emphasis on self-confidence and mastery of learning. Three and four year olds develop and strengthen literacy, math and science skills through thematic units and activities that combine learning and fun.

    • PREKINDERGARTEN
      Children learn to share, cooperate and practice independence through a curriculum designed to meet state and national early learning standards. We also introduce four and five year olds to projects, journaling and alphabet letters and sounds.

  • the core experience

    themes we explore

    age groups

    before + after school

  • We also offer before and after school programs to continue the day’s learning. Activities might include yoga, phonics and Spanish. Since each school offers different opportunities, please connect with the school director about your options.

 
 
 

Science exploration and discovery is not limited to one area of the classroom and can take place indoors or outdoors. Children’s interests tend toward finding out what things are and how things work, and they become engaged in activities that give them opportunities to explore and learn. As children work through experiments, examine objects, and talk about what is happening they are calling upon a variety of developmental skills, such as communication, counting, identification, and comparison. They are also using their senses and bodies as they manipulate tools and materials. Science learning crosses into each of the different learning domains in the early childhood setting.

Language and Literacy Development

Science is rich in language and provides many opportunities for vocabulary development and engaging in conversations with others. As children participate in meaningful science activities, they talk about what is happening, their observations, and their predictions. They listen to others’ ideas and formulate their own based on prior experiences and knowledge. They express themselves through spoken and written communication and learn to document information using graphs, charts, journals, and drawings. Science activities can also be enriched by sharing fiction and nonfiction books and incorporating songs and fingerplays into the lessons.

Social and Emotional Development

Science experiences can be individual, small-group, or large-group oriented, meeting the social and/or emotional needs of children in different ways. For example, a science activity might have children hunting for insects with a group, chasing a partner’s shadow, or silently contemplating a spider crawling up a downspout. In each case, the child’s experience might be the same or different from others in the group, but all of the children belong to the community of learners represented by the class.

Besides learning to discuss and formulate ideas, children can use science principles to resolve conflicts that may arise. By viewing the situation as a scientific experiment, children can find answers to such questions as, “What is involved in this situation?”, “What would happen if we did…?”, and “What things can we try to make this better?”

It has also been observed that children involved in scientific endeavors become so engaged in their explorations and discovery that disruptive behavior completely diminishes (Conezio and French). Instead, cooperation increases as children work together to solve problems, reach conclusions, and document findings.

Mathematics

Science and math go hand-in-hand because they utilize many of the same principles: counting, measurement, describing attributes, shapes, colors, and textures, as well as the use of the five senses. Use of standard measurement tools such as rulers and balance scales is commonplace in science activities, and both math and science share vocabulary words such as volume, dimension, and set.

Artistic Expression

Children involved in science exploration can use artistic renditions, such as drawings and collages, to document what they are learning about a concept or subject. Three-dimensional art, such as sculpting or constructing, is also useful for science documentation. Expressing their science understanding in artistic ways serves to develop childrens’documentation skills as well as their creative skills.

Motor Development

Young children develop fine-and gross-motor skills through science. Using various scientific tools engages both the large muscles of the arms and legs and the small muscles of the hands and fingers. As children examine objects under a magnifying glass, for example, they are using their fingers to grip the magnifying glass and manipulate the object they are observing while also using their arm to move the magnifying glass for better viewing. The small muscles of the hands are also used when children write and draw about their science experiences.

Bibliography

Science in the Preschool Classroom: Capitalizing on Children’s Fascination with the Everyday World to Foster Language and Literacy Development, Kathleen Conezio and Lucia French, Spotlight on Young Children and Science, NAEYC item #281, 2003

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Linda is a program development specialist. Our curriculum benefits from her 23 years of expertise. She's also taught all age groups of children, with an emphasis on preschool and prekindergarten.

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