Admissions
Hopefully you've looked around and The Grove School feels like a great place for your child. Fantastic! We’d love to meet up with you in person, answer your questions and tell you more first hand. Shoot us an e-mail or give us a call and we’ll get back to you shortly.
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Careers
We're looking for rare individuals. Teachers with degrees in early childhood or environmental education and a fire in the belly to make a difference. Administrators with a head for business and a heart for helping children reach their full potential. People who are so invested that they'll stay with us for years, growing and developing our educational community. Is that you?
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Let's play
Kids learn through play, but what about the grown ups? The Grove School is a playground for everyone. Join the fun!
(Psst, you can move the colored circles with your mouse.)
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  • the core experience

    themes we explore

    age groups

    before + after school

  • Each day, your child moves between structured group activities, one-on-one with teachers, and indoor and outdoor play. In everything we do, the focus is on developing critical foundational skills in language arts, math, science, social skills and personal expression. And we're always attentive to the unique personality, interests and needs of your child, suggesting appropriate activities to keep them happy and engaged.

  • the core experience

    themes we explore

    age groups

    before + after school

  • The school day also includes learning opportunities structured
    around these themes.

      • Nutritious eating habits and the importance of rest, fresh air and plenty of physical activity.
      • Self-expression through different types of media and the basics of shapes, dimension, texture and composition.
      • New experiences with rhythms, instruments, notes and musical terms.
      • Explorations of the world around us with an emphasis on ecology through the sciences.
      • Introduction to storytelling with props, puppets and costumes.

  • the core experience

    themes we explore

    age groups

    before + after school

    • EARLY PRESCHOOL
      Games, songs, movement and art help children reach developmental milestones for two year olds. They explore and discover at their own pace and gain confidence with social skills such as cooperation, sharing and taking turns.

    • PRESCHOOL
      Children are encouraged to explore with an emphasis on self-confidence and mastery of learning. Three and four year olds develop and strengthen literacy, math and science skills through thematic units and activities that combine learning and fun.

    • PREKINDERGARTEN
      Children learn to share, cooperate and practice independence through a curriculum designed to meet state and national early learning standards. We also introduce four and five year olds to projects, journaling and alphabet letters and sounds.

  • the core experience

    themes we explore

    age groups

    before + after school

  • We also offer before and after school programs to continue the day’s learning. Activities might include yoga, phonics and Spanish. Since each school offers different opportunities, please connect with the school director about your options.

 
 
 

There is wide agreement among the scientific and educational communities that motor skills develop as a result of the interaction between a child’s hereditary potential and his or her life experiences. Children’s physical abilities and motor skills develop in a predictable manner. Changes in physical development are qualitative, sequential, cumulative, directional, multifactorial, and individual (NASPE, 1995).

Here’s a description of these characteristics.

Qualitative. Children’s motor skills change in qualitative ways as they grow and gain experience. For example, the running of a three-year-old child looks very different from the running of a nine-year-old child. The movement patterns of typically developing children become more effective as they age.

Sequential. Children’s motor skills develop in a sequential, orderly manner over time, progressing naturally from immature to advanced. Activities designed to support children’s physical development should follow a scope and sequence based on both vertical and
horizontal progressions of skill development. Activities within each block of Healthy Me follow a scope and sequence based on knowledge of motor-skill development in children. The early childhood years are associated with the fundamental movement phase of motor development. Healthy Me teachers have knowledge of the typical sequence of acquisition for fundamental motor skills such as walking and jumping.

Cumulative. Developmental change is built upon previous developments. Fundamental motor skills act as building blocks for more complex skills. For example, the ability to walk is a building block for the later emergence of the ability to run. Foundational skills and abilities should be developed before more complex and difficult skills are introduced. Children are offered sufficient opportunities within planned learning experiences to practice the skills they are acquiring. This helps children develop a sense of confidence about their movement abilities. In Healthy Me, children are given multiple opportunities to repeat activities and to explore specific motor skills in multiple ways before more complex activities are introduced.

Directional. Developmental change occurs in a direction, or toward a goal. In terms of movement, the ultimate goal may be for children to become skilled movers. The direction of developmental change can be progressive, moving toward the goal; or regressive, moving away from the goal. Change may be regressive with age, progression of a disease, or lack of practice.

Multifactorial. Motor skills do not develop in a vacuum–they develop simultaneously with skills and abilities in other domains of human development including cognitive, social, affective, and psychomotor. Development depends on many factors acting together. For example, a child must have strength, balance, perceptual capabilities, and motivation to develop the ability to hop on one foot. Healthy Me goals and outcomes consider interactions between all areas of a child’s development. These goals and outcomes have been carefully designed to acknowledge children’s skills and abilities related to all domains of development.

Individualized. In addition to following the predetermined program scope and sequence for skills instruction within each block, teachers implement Healthy Me in a way that is consistent with children’s individual abilities, skills, and knowledge. Motor-skill development is age-related, but not age-determined. For example, one four year-old may have developed the ability to alternate feet while ascending stairs, but another child of the same age may still be placing both feet on each step. The rate of motor-skill development differs from one child to another, depending on each child’s body characteristics, experiences, and environmental situations.

Healthy Me considers children’s individual characteristics such as developmental status, body size, age, previous movement experiences, and fitness and skill levels. The program recognizes differing capabilities for movement and provides learning experiences that challenge each child to move to his or her next stage of development.

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Linda is a program development senior specialist and holds a master's degree in Early Childhood Education. She loves the fact that The Grove School curriculum and learning environments help children take care of themselves, one another and the natural world.

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