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Our Curriculum

The Corcoran School’s exclusive curriculum is based in a philosophy that encapsulates the fundamental Principles of Montessori, Reggio Emilia and NAEYC. Specifically, our philosophy is rooted in the development of social competence, child directed play, exploration and intrinsically directed learning.  

The Corcoran School offers your child a variety of stimulating programs through degreed and dedicated staff.  We will challenge your child at all ages, and you will enjoy regular communication from teachers, as well as progress reports on your child’s development. Our teachers plan daily activities in each classroom in our six learning categories: Science, Sensory, Art & Creative Development;  Music & Movement Development; Computers, Math & Cognitive Development; Language & Literacy Development; Physical Skill Development; and Dramatic Play & Imagination Development.  Teachers are specially-trained on guidelines set by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and will provide, a safe, fun, and educationally and socially rich environment for your child.

The Corcoran School and our teachers utilize our six learning categories: Science, Sensory, Art & Creative Development; Music & Movement Development; Computers, Math & Cognitive Development; Language & Literacy Development; Physical Skill Development; and Dramatic Play & Imagination Development.  The following is a description of these learning categories:

Science, Sensory, Art & Creative Development

In Science & Sensory, children will learn about the world around them. This not only includes natural science, but practical life skills, social skills, basic history, and the environment around them. Activities planned in this subject area could include pouring water, washing hands, emotions, safety, sand and water table.  In Art & Creative Development, children will be given activities that allow them to express themselves creatively with a wide variety of media, including paint, chalk, markers, crayons, pencils, and clay. Through their art experiences, children will learn ideas about mixing colors, cutting and pasting, and properties of different media. Art is a great way to give children practice with their small muscle skills as well! Not only is Art & Creativity an enjoyable part of the day, but it is an exciting way to teach children a variety of practical skills and freedom of expression.

Music & Movement Development

One of the first ways children express themselves is through movement and music. Children are offered an assortment of instruments and equipment to encourage creativity. Some of the materials may include cultural music, scarves, ribbons, drums, and piano/keyboard. Music can also impact children’s literacy and cognitive development, social interactions and overall academic performance.

Computers, Math & Cognitive Development

When teachers plan lessons in this category, they are designed to encourage children to use their reasoning and logical thinking skills. Children are challenged with different activities, including sequencing, counting, comparing size, shape or color, and problem solving. Teachers are encouraged to teach critical thinking skills in an exciting and creative way, so that children are learning through play. Children are introduced to real life skills, such as the calendar, telephone numbers, calculators and computers, measuring and basic concepts of money.  Children will also have significant use of classroom computers, tablets, and the iMac computer lab as part of the classroom instruction.  This will prepare them for the connected world we live in at an early age, and give them an edge over other children as they enter the primary grades.

Language & Literacy Development

Lessons in Language & Literacy development include activities in reading, writing, oral language, sign language, vocabulary and basic Spanish. Children will work on reading readiness skills, such as letter discrimination and phonics, learning sight words, and rhyming sounds. Children will have exposure to books and story telling on a daily basis, as well as activities planning in writing and journaling. Children will experiment with different types of literature, including poetry, books, and music. Teachers plan their lessons with one goal in mind, teaching children that reading and language can be a great source of pleasure and fun.

Physical Skill Development

Children will have the opportunity every day to work with their large and small muscles. Activities in this category can be implemented indoors as well as outdoors, and may be included in other subject categories. For example, cutting is a small muscle skill that is often done in our Art & Creativity center. Children develop their muscle skills in infancy, as they learn their pincher grasp, and skills will increase as the children grow and learn how to crawl, walk, jump, kick, draw, and write.

Dramatic Play & Imagination Development

Children are encouraged to use their imaginations throughout the day in many different activities. In our Dramatic Play center, children are encouraged to imitate mom or dad as they cook dinner, or pretend to be a doctor as they put a make-believe bandage on a friend. Teachers use a wide-variety of ways to incorporate children’s natural desire to role-play and make believe. Children learn how to handle social situations by watching and imitating the actions of those around them.