The children in the Dragonfly class go through a special transition. When four year old children are preparing for kindergarten, they are creating a bridge between two worlds: the world of childhood and the world of elementary school.
In kindergarten there will be a primarily academic curriculum, focusing on learning to read, letter sounds, math concepts, etc. There is no time for dress-ups, trains, etc. Kindergarten teachers have state-mandated bench marks to meet and the time available for free choice is limited. This is why we use the few precious years before kindergarten to embrace the development of creativity in a child’s life, not forgetting play and having fun with friends.
Because the Dragonfly children are generally younger, or temperamentally more suited to this class, the process of kindergarten preparation takes a different form. We move a bit slower, allowing children more time to make this huge transition. Our classroom includes some of the same things they will see on the wall in kindergarten, a calendar, weather chart, chores chart, letter of the week, etc. We practice sitting in circle, raising hands before speaking, and thinking of words that begin with this week’s letter sound.
As with the other older classes in the school the Dragonfly children also have time with our art teacher in the art room, participate in gardening, creating art for our yearly art show, baking and cooking.
There is emphasis during the year to help the development of independence, confidence, and a healthy self-esteem. We work on making sure each child has tools to use for conflict resolution, social ease and challenges that one might face when entering a new school. At the end of the year these children arrive at the same place of readiness as the Frogs class, ready for their next adventure into a new elementary school experience.