Early Childhood Education

Building blocks of a strong academic foundation are developed by using a variety of teaching strategies that are appropriate for each developmental level of the ECE program.

• In Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten, children develop cognitive skills and acquire knowledge in the content areas such as language arts, math, science, and social studies in a variety of ways.
• Teachers plan and implement in-depth studies of topics or themes that are meaningful and relevant to the children, address the development of the whole child, and integrate all of the content areas.
• The physical classroom environment provides students with hands-on opportunities to develop skills and gain knowledge as they explore carefully designed learning centers and materials related to creative arts, dramatic play, manipulatives/blocks/puzzles, sensory and science experiences, and listening and reading opportunities.
• Daily routines such as taking attendance, calendar and weather time, and snack time also provide daily exposure and practice of skills and knowledge.
• In Kindergarten, students are applying these cognitive skills in structured learning activities in all of the content areas including math, science, social studies, and language arts.

• Preschool/Pre-Kindergarten classes are 5 days per week. Students can attend half-day mornings (8:45 AM - 12:45 PM), full-days (8:45 AM - 3:30 PM), or a consistent combination of half-days and full-days.
• Kindergarten is 5 full days, from 8:25 AM - 3:30 PM.
• ECE classes provide a nurturing and caring environment led by highly qualified staff with a maximum class size of 20. In each classroom, there is a full-time teacher as well as a full-time teaching assistant which assures a ratio of 1-10.
• ISM provides Extended Day Care in the morning from 7:00 AM until the classrooms open at 8:15. A cereal, milk, and juice breakfast is provided for students who arrive before 7:50.
• ISM also provides Extended Day Care in the afternoon from 3:30 until 6:00 PM for those who attend full-day.  Students are supervised by the Extended Day staff and for this service there is no additional cost. In addition, students may choose to enroll in special after-school classes for which there is an extra charge.

Our ECE program promotes the development of the whole child including: social/emotional development, physical development, language development, and cognitive development.

• The main emphasis at the Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten levels is on social/emotional development. ISM provides experiences for the children to develop pro-social behaviors, develop self-confidence, and develop self-help skills.
• During the Pre-Kindergarten year, more time is spent on developing the cognitive skills necessary for entry into Kindergarten.
• The full-day Kindergarten program completes the students' preparation for the Lower School.
• At all levels of the ECE program, ISM encourages the development of gross and fine motor skills through music, art, movement, and working with manipulatives. All Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten children enjoy outdoor play daily, weather permitting, and participate in weekly swimming lessons.
• Students in all levels are provided with a variety of learning experiences for language and literacy development including singing, dramatic play, poems, finger plays, and read aloud stories.
• To develop phonetic skills which support students' quest to read, students use the fun-filled program called Letterland each week. It is through this program that letters become friendly, enjoyable characters whose letter shapes and sounds are explained in a memorable way.

World Language instruction is an intrinsic part of the ISM curriculum that begins in Preschool and continues through grade twelve.

• Students participate in daily French or Spanish classes taught in the target language by native speakers.
• Children quickly become comfortable with a second language through conversation, music, stories, rhymes, audio-visual materials, art, and games.
• The concepts covered in World Language class typically mirror the concepts that are being taught in the Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten classroom.
• As early as age three, students learn to appreciate the differences and similarities of children and families from all over the world. At ISM each classroom resembles a mini-United Nations.

ISM's ECE program is enriched by a variety of regularly scheduled classes taught by specialists who share their knowledge and talents in the following areas:

• Swimming - All levels of ECE participate in swimming classes once a week throughout the school year.
• Library - All students have the opportunity to check out books from the ISM library on a weekly basis.
• Art - While all ECE teachers engage their students in creative endeavors such as painting, drawing, and sculpting with clay, ISM's formal art curriculum begins in Kindergarten with instruction once a week by our art specialist.
• Physical Education - Preschool, Prekindergarten and Kindergarten students participate in physical education classes in the gym and on the school grounds once a week with our P.E. specialists.
• Computer - Kindergarten students visit the computer lab on a weekly basis to use educational programs that support concepts that are being taught in the classroom.