STAR Academy Announces Pre-K & 6th Grade Fall 2019
One of the oldest and leading elementary charter schools moves into uncharted territory. The 14 year charter school continues to expand while some charters close.
Why is early literacy important? Is pre-k worth it?
Candid conversation with Rob Harvey, STAR Academy Head of School
How do preschool children learn through play? "At Star Academy, we believe that inquiry-based play is the focus of our Little Stars. Play is intuitive. Through play, children learn language, mannerisms, and meaning. They learn how to read faces, learn about themselves and their families, learn what makes someone happy or sad, and what place they occupy in the world. Through play, oral language development flourishes. Play that occurs in a rich language environment at school and at home helps the child make connections to print and leads the child to search for meaning regarding print. This search leads children to books and print and to a desire to master the alphabetic code. Through play, children begin to apply the basic math principles of numeracy that are intentionally woven into our curriculum. Counting, measuring, and 1:1 correspondence are important early math concepts in Preschool. Our teachers choose real ways to incorporate math objectives into the day so that they are placed in a meaningful context for young children.
Through play, young children begin to learn social and emotional skills. Empathy is modeled through stories, puppets and plays, which encourage negotiation and problem solving in social situations. By giving support when dealing with social-emotional issues, a child learns to be part of a larger community. Through play, children practice questioning and inquiry. Children wonder, investigate, innovate, and experiment much as adults do in a bio-lab or an ad agency or technology company. In the block area, children are often heard asking other children who have had success at making their bridge stay up, 'How did you do that?' Children at easels who are mixing paints will ask another child to show them how they made that color or created that pattern.
In Little Stars, our 4-year old students are introduced to social and emotional growth, and learning how to be a friend, how to be part of a group, and how to care for one’s self are central concepts. Our days are filled with meaningful play, giving students opportunities to explore art, music, literacy, math, science, and social studies at their developmental level. Spanish, Fun and Fitness, and trips to the school Library supplement classroom activities. Thematic units that emphasize literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies fill our days with learning. In addition to Spanish, Fun and Fitness, and trips to the school library, JK students also enjoy a supplemental Music class."