CURRICULUM
The da Vinci School takes a thematic approach to learning,
with our primary emphasis being SCIENCE (social studies
is a secondary focus). We find the topics that fall
under the general discipline of science are of high
interest to young children. Young children have a tremendous
curiosity about the world around them. They want to
know — What is that? How does it work?, Why is
it that way? and Let ME try it! For this reason, the
classroom is very hands on. Science is also a rich springboard
for exploring the other developmental disciplines —
art, literature, language and reading skills, cognitive
processes, practical life skills, fine and gross motor
development, math concepts, music, and social development.
These skills can be enjoyably acquired in the context
of topics young children find interesting and appealing.
Developmental Assessment
The da Vinci School utilizes an extensive developmental
checklist in its classes. The teachers incorporate elements
from the developmental checklist into their lesson plans
so that over the course of a school year the children
have had experiences in all the areas considered important
within the field of early childhood development. The
checklists are updated for each child twice each year
for parent-teacher conferences.
