What We Do

Our “learning through doing” curriculum has grown and developed over the past 50+ years. We’ve developed our educational programs alongside so many meaningful individuals who make the field of education a better place. Parents, adults, teachers, and students have all contributed their own little piece that makes up the mosaic that is KPS at its heart—the curriculum. Some things are so good we’ve kept them around, like our end of the year celebration—tradition for more than thirty years. Other things, we are still adding to our school culture, because we are still learning it from you!

Build a foundation for family involvement

 We strive to empower families to have a long-lasting, active role in their child’s education. Many schools have transitioned into spaces that often can feel unapproachable and isolating to parents and families. We want to ensure that all adults in a child’s life have the opportunity to participate, and appreciate the value of engaging with schooling at any (and every!) stage.

At KPS, grown-ups are involved by helping in the class on a regular basis. Each class operates with each family’s adult(s) taking turns helping. See our class pages to learn more about parent expectations for each class.

Cultivate community responsibility

Each year provides fresh opportunities for developing community—inside and outside the classroom. Often, community underscores everything we do on a daily basis. Washing our hands protects our bodies, and our community from germs. Learning each others names demonstrates respect and care. We practice exercising tolerance, understanding, and mutual respect with ourselves and our community.

Throughout the year, we build upon these small responsibilities with projects, conversations, and activities. During weekends, a local Girl Scout troop utilizes our property. From the T-Th Class walking around our local P-Patch to the T-W-Th-F Class spending group time learning how to work as a team to stack cups, or solve a puzzle. In previous years, students have made notes of kindness and left them in our free library outside, assisted in setting up the library, and created a kindness quilt.

Encourage learning through play

Cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic, and physical development are all dynamic processes that are intrinsically interlinked and support each other. Play promotes learning and highly complex thinking by fostering self-regulatory practices, agency, belonging, and sense of purpose in an environment that is joyful. Incorporating an array of experiences, individual differences, and cultural backgrounds supports peer learning and scaffolds development towards thoughtful world thinkers.

Each item in our classrooms is carefully chosen for students to subtly work towards learning objectives. Typically every 3 weeks, the learning theme changes. When we change the topic, we fully variate the classroom materials and the look of the room, including furniture and posters. We strategically place toys and fun learning materials in different and new locations to stimulate thinking, awareness, and environmental understanding. Through every theme we introduce, we provide ways to explore STEAM topics, fine motor skills, team building, and imagination.

Our teachers are skilled in observing and promoting learning through play. This can look like a series of careful questions or cues that stimulates the child to make connections to previous knowledge and experiences. You can find flyers posted in the different play areas of our classrooms for the grown-up classroom helpers; they help provide an idea of how the children may be processing and learning in that environment, and gives suggestions to the grown-up on how they could interact to further the child’s learning.

And, of course, we all have an awful lot of fun.

Beyond Kindergarten preparedness

Skills developed in early childhood are a part of our core foundation for the rest of our lives. We want to ensure our students are prepared not just for Kindergarten, but also the rest of their lives. Learn about Treasure Box Book Club and our 4-day class.

Learning in action

A picture is worth a thousand words—come explore our gallery of play, problem-solving, and classroom fun.

Teaching objectives

Read more about our teaching objectives here, or on the individual class pages.

Safety and security

Safety at school is our highest priority. We know that school safety is not what it was when our school started. We know that as adults in education, it is our duty to be more vigilant than ever before.

Our staff and teachers are experienced with everything from managing complex family cases to first aid training, and allergy management.

Tools and “Textbooks”

  • To use in conjunction with the blocks for imaginative play, math development, and coordination.

  • To teach everyday living skills, cooperation, and language development.

  • To foster self-confidence, math and science concepts, and nutritional values. We have reduced this aspect of our program in response to COVID-19.

  • Both inside and outside: climbing bars, slides, sandbox, balancing apparatus, puzzles, small manipulative items, scissors, art utensils, and skill-building games and activities.

  • To aid in developing social skills and to teach listening and direction-following skills.

  • To encourage language development and a love of literature. Students in the T-W-Th-F Class have biweekly sharing opportunities.

  • The best piece of equipment any of us has!