Class Descriptions

ABC
Club
Kindergarten
Smart Start
Early
Literacy
1 2 3 - A B C
Math Journals
Book
Bunch
Junior
ABC
Specialty
Summer Classes

A Getting to Know Your ABCs Class

Ages 4 - 5

Club members are introduced to the letters through fun and exciting ABC books, fairy tales, fables, poems, and parodies. Listening, speaking, and oral language skills are incorporated in the getting to know your ABCs literacy activities. There is a special emphasis on multisensory activities in order to best match all students’ learning styles. Students are guided and encouraged to actively participate in their own learning.

We will meet those ABCs any which way we can! Creative movement, cooking, building, painting, sponging, beading, seeding, planting, drawing, coloring, finger painting, toe painting, book making, acting, and singing. We even enjoy alphabet inspired snacks. Our members are determined to make those ABCs our friends!

The ABC Club is a lot of fun and the students enjoy getting to build friendships with each other as they greet the world of letters.

Specially Designed for Kindergartners

Must currently be enrolled in a kindergarten program

Specially designed for full and half-day Kindergartners, this class offers extra practice and exposure with reading readiness skills. Nurturing the development of phonemic awareness is at the center of this class. Students will be guided to extend their own letter knowledge beyond simple recognition and make the sound /symbol link . Students will be immersed in great contemporary and classic literature! The literacy-oriented activities provided involve the children in all of the communication skills -- listening, speaking, writing, reading, illustrating, experiencing, and doing! Students will interact with their favorite stories through creative dramatics, cooking experiments, theme dress-ups, language and phonics games, first time story writing, author mysteries, and artistic expression. Early writing is given special emphasis with tender loving encouragement. We even publish a class book!

This class is a great accompaniment to any Kindergarten program. The Smart Start class is set in a relaxing, fun , and non threatening environment that invites learning!

I Know My ABCs and I Can Write My Name - Now What?

Ages 4 - 6

Carefully designed for young children who have had some experience getting to know their ABCs. The letters are further explored with an emphasis on sound-letter relationships through exciting children’s literature. We will enjoy old favorites as well as contemporary tales with easily memorized language patterns.

This class provides opportunities for children’s language and literacy skills to develop through meaningful experiences such as listening to appropriate, fun stories and rhymes, dictating stories, puppetry, cooking, character dress-up, talking with other children , language games, simple songs, experimenting with writing by drawing, copying, and using their own invented spelling. Specially designed literacy activities to promote large and fine motor skill development will be provided: ABC Hopscotch, Rhyming Word Beading, and Balance Beam Name Game - just to name a few...

The Early Literacy class even makes their own snack - yes, we read giant recipe cards! We also pay a special tribute to reading at the end of each month; September will be our Reading Round - Up. Cowboy duds for everyone!

Stretching our minds and provoking our mathematical thoughts:

First and Second Grade

This class offers irresistible multisensory activities to help all kids learn about those never ending numbers! Humorous tales, favorite poems, and tried and true fairy tales are springboards for providing unique and kid friendly problem solving opportunities. This educational approach aids children in making mathematical connections and genuinely motivates their thinking as well as sparks their imaginations.

Emphasis is placed on helping children understand that there is more than one way to arrive at a correct answer and that many problems have multiple solutions. True to life mathematical situations are provided for them to explore and investigate, including our very own version of a popular game show! Math Journals offer students a way to demonstrate their reasoning as they communicate and illustrate their thinking. Simultaneously, writing skills are strengthened!

It's great fun sharing our unique problem solving methods. The excited sounds of “ah-ha , I get it!” are often heard throughout the Club Literacy classroom. A Club Literacy favorite; this class provides a stress free environment that gives students an authentic reason for learning more math!

The book bunch is a group of "book buddies" working together towards success in literacy:

First - Third Grade

Their collective goal is to become the best readers possible. This class is specially designed to reinforce Phonic skills and basic sight word recognition . Strong emphasis is placed on these skills, allowing the "book buddies" the opportunity to gain automaticity with their reading. In turn , more energy can be placed upon gaining comprehension . Proficiency in reading will only lead to more enthusiasm about reading.

Students are encouraged to understand the importance of becoming a good reader while building a love and appreciation of a variety of books. The "book buddies" are introduced to wonderful authors – they discuss and choose which types of books and authors they prefer! Students are guided through the creative writing process as they write and produce their very own children’s book. The finished product is a beautifully bound "real" book. The Book Bunch brings the reading and writing process full circle, and gives many budding young authors their first chance…