Willow Woods
Ours is a mixed-age classroom with ages 3 through 4. The kids stay with us longer than any other classroom at SPCC. The “Woodies” make incredibly strong bonds with teachers and each other.
Autonomy
Children in Willow Woods learn how to manage their social and emotional behaviors as well as conflict between each other.
Small Groups
Daily work in small groups helps kiddos learn to work together in different spaces and in different contexts.
Community Skills
Learning to care for our spaces and each other!
Autonomy is key
At this age, children are learning how to best articulate and manage the big feelings that they experience. Much of what we do as teachers in the classroom deals with helping our students find helpful language and strategies in order to express their emotions. As they are working to develop prosocial behavior, children in Willow Woods are encouraged to resolve conflicts between themselves first, before seeking adult help.
A Flourishing Community
In Willow Woods, we emphasize the importance of community and that this class is one type of community the students belong to. Being part of a community involves taking care of ourselves and others, as well as our environment. Some of the skills we focus on here include:
Self-care: handwashing, toilet learning, dressing/undressing, and independently getting ready for outside play (snow clothes and the like).
Care of others: checking on friends when they are sad or hurt, solving conflict peacefully, and being inclusive in play and work.
Classroom care: helping with our classroom pet guinea pigs, washing tables, sweeping floors, serving lunch family-style, and cleaning up work when finished.
Small Groups in Action
Woodsies have Small Group Work daily in our classroom. The children are broken into smaller groups (8 or fewer) where they leave the classroom to do specialized lessons in one of our many break-out spaces around the school. Like all of the classrooms here at SPCC, we practice an emergent curriculum where the children’s interests guide the learning and discovery. The teachers then plan activities and provocations to expand on these interests while also introducing concepts in science/nature, early math, and literacy. This gives our students an opportunity to have more individualized instruction with teachers who know the specific social and academic needs of each child in their group.
