School Program

Children begin each day with Circle Time. This is a time when the children gather together to find out the schedule for the day.  Children may choose to sing, dance, or share something with the larger group at this time.  Younger children learn to listen, to take turns and to follow directions.

Following Circle Time, the children choose which activity they want to participate in.  This gives them a sense of ownership of their time and gives them an opportunity to develop new interests, friends and skills.

Before snack time, the teachers gather the children together for story time.  We believe children develop early reading skills and a love for reading when they are exposed to stories and books.  Our school library area is always open for children, and throughout the day, you will see children reading with their teachers.  Often, teachers will take smaller groups of children to the public library for specific research or simply to encourage the children’s interest in books.

Weather permiting, we have outdoor play every day.  Being outside allows children to work on gross motor skills, make new friends and learn to control their growing bodies. We take about one field trip a month with the students in order for them to explore their neighborhood and to enhance the curriculum at school.  We are nearby and connected to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Prospect Park Wildlife Center the Brooklyn’s Children Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Below is a brief description of the age-specific activities we offer at the Maple Street School.  Children develop skills and interests at different times throughout the school year.  As a staff, then, we look at the whole child and seek to support each child’s individual educational experience.

Twos

We keep the twos projects simple and fun.  In art, they finger paint, glue, make prints and experiment with many different kinds of materials.  Two-year-olds are tactile and like to feel glue and crush play dough.  They also like to use their bodies so we offer many opportunities for the twos to climb, dance, and run.  We encourage their curiosity and nurture their imaginations. Throughout the day, the twos are encouraged to use their words and ask for what they need.  They also practice self-help skills such as putting on their own coats, using the toilet, and washing their hands.

A supportive environment is at the heart of the School, and it is our objective to help the twos feel safe and fully enjoy their first school experience.

Threes

The threes are involved in more sophisticated projects.  One of our projects is the study of our neighborhood.  The children take a walk and observe what they see.  When they return to school they recreate the neighborhood in a group collage.  They also create their own picture book about the neighborhood and create their own neighborhood people out of cardboard.  We encourage children to reflect on themselves and their families.  The threes might create life-size self-portraits using a number of materials and are encouraged to share descriptions, stories and pictures of their family.

The threes are usually interested in looking more closely at the world around them.  We foster their curiosity by offering them many ways to explore in and out of the classroom. Throughout the year, the threes are involved in storytelling, drama, cooking and planting.

Fours

The fours are eager to understand concepts, interact verbally with their peers and their teachers and have fun learning.  The Maple Street School is a language-rich environment.  The fours love to share stories and they often create characters and practice role-playing.  Teachers help students make their own books at this age, and dictate their words to the teacher for a number of projects.  The fours look closely at the world around them and enjoy initiating learning activities.  In the past, students have wanted to study bugs, trees, animals, food, puppets, and many more subjects.  It is our pleasure to help facilitate and enhance the subjects that interest the students.

We challenge children throughout the day to prepare them for their kindergarten days ahead.  Our program goal is for children to have fun, to make friends, and to create memories that will last a lifetime.