Curriculum

SOCDS has a comprehensive curriculum and planning process that is different from other preschool programs. With a foundation of Montessori objectives, we also focus on the development of individual tactics to meet the current learning objectives of each child.   Click here for a copy of our curriculum.  We have built out our social-emotional curriculum as well with monthly scenarios and intentional practice. 2024 Emotional Scenarios

Center Activities

At SOCDS our students are engaged with Center Work for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. The teachers set up different centers throughout the classroom and use a variety of techniques to start children to the centers and to ensure that children rotate through all the centers. The beauty of the Montessori Tradition is that most of the center experiences are scaleable. This means that similar materials can be used for a variety of skill levels. For example, using the 3-part card allows different levels of matching, vocabulary and spelling development all using the same tool. Maria Montessori referenced this method as letting children become familiar with their world, and then disrupting their current understanding. Children will feel safe exploring similar materials to better understand the next set of learning objectives.

Center Activities

  • Social Development

    Manners, empathy, sportsmanship

  • Mathematical Reasoning

    Sorting, pattern recognition and creation, one-to-one correspondence

  • Physical Development

    Large and fine motor skill development, body expression, dressing skills

  • Reading Readiness

    Oral language skills, phonemic awareness and letter recognition, reading comprehension

  • Each year, we update our monthly theme planning document to pace the social and emotional themes as well as out environmental awareness and poem study. This planning ensures we cover the important aspects of the curriculum, as well as builds a school community of common experiences and vocabulary.

    Our monthly planning process starts with teachers evaluating the objectives that have been practiced and mastered over the previous time period. Then the teachers review the next objectives and develop tactics that will appeal to the current students. As part of the lesson planning process, the teachers review the tactics to ensure that there is a mix of large and small group activities, as well as individually directed activities. In addition, the teachers check that the tactics address different learning styles: auditory, visual, and sensory. SOCDS 2024 Monthly Themes

  • Ms. Linda has created a hands on gardening program for our children. They are learning about the growth cycle as well as the relationship between our environment, animals, and ourselves.

  • Ms. Jenny has created a wonderful program that allows children to express their creativity while practicing eye-hand coordination, attention to detail, and patience.

    Each class joins her in the art room once a week.

  • We feel that children need to run and enjoy the outdoors. Our playground in the biggest in the area and provides a safe place for children to explore their body movements as well as nature. We are regularly outside and will continue leveraging the outside play space for our students. Our philosophy is based on Maria Montessori’s acknowledgment, “If you let children run wild, they will act like animals.” With this observation comes the responsibility to model good group behavior to be present to prevent conflicts between more dominant children and others.

  • Themes

    Our themes are meant to be broad enough to allow the teachers to create age appropriate activities, and comprehensive enough to provide extensive prompts for conversation during Morning Message and circle time.

  • Authors

    Our author study is more than just reading works from different authors. We want children to see what authors look like, to study how they work, and to appreciate different writing styles. We want children to leave SOCDS understanding that authors are people too.

  • Poetry

    SOCDS uses poetry as a tool to introduce vocabulary, visualization, and word play. Our students practice the monthly poems in their classroom and then we all practice together during morning meeting. 2023 Monthly Poems Monthly Poems