Inside the Summer Program: Bees, Trees and Me

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.

The Grove School of Plano
p: (877) 664-7683
f: (972) 208-1341

The Grove School of Cary
p: (877) 684-7683
f: (919) 460-7450

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?

Look around the site.
Do our goals mesh with yours?
Share your resume with us.
- The Grove School of Plano
  6800 Independence Parkway
  Plano, TX 75023
  p: (877) 664-7683
  f: (972) 208-1341
- The Grove School of Cary
  2590 Laura Duncan Drive
  Cary, NC 27513
  p: (877) 684-7683
  f: (919) 460-7450

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.)

You and us, face to face, let’s get to know each other.
Use the numbers or emails below to schedule a time to meet.
- Videos, photos, tweets—help us create something to talk about. Why?
  YouTube
  Flickr
  Twittter
  Yelp
- RSS Updates. What’s RSS?
  The Grove School
  The Grove School of Plano
  The Grove School of Cary
- Contribute to our blogs. How?

The Grove School of Plano
6800 Independence Parkway
Plano, TX 75023
p: (877) 664-7683
f: (972) 208-1341

Find us
The Grove School of Cary
2590 Laura Duncan Drive
Cary, NC 27513
p: (877) 684-7683
f: (919) 460-7450

Find us

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 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.

- 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.

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.

Inside the Summer Program: Bees, Trees and Me

Linda Nelson | February 24, 2010 | Comments (2)

This is the second article in a series about The Grove School Summer Program. The program runs from Monday, June 7 through Friday August 27, 2010 at both our Cary, NC and Plano, TX schools. Learn more about the program.

Bees, Trees, and Me

During this unit, children will learn about rain forests and boreal forests. The classroom environment is filled with pictures and objects representing each type of forest, allowing children to gain a better understanding of the greatness and wonders of forests and forest environments. Creating books and writing in their journals about forest adventures will further children’s abilities to recognize letters and their sounds and give them practice with fine-motor skills. Children will also participate in measurement, sorting, and patterning activities that will enhance their mathematical thinking.

What We’ll Read
The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer

The Salamander Room is a beautifully illustrated book showing the importance of the forest environment to the life of a little salamander. With imagination and care, a young boy transforms his bedroom into a forest home good enough for any salamander. As the story unfolds, the boy’s mother asks him how he will accommodate the needs of the salamander and the other forest animals, revealing the intricacies of boreal forests and the myriad of animals who depend on forests to survive.

With its wondrous forest scenes in glowing, woodsy hues, The Salamander Room is sure to captivate children’s imagination and inspire them to learn more about forests and the creatures who live within them.

Culminating Event — Campfire
Some preschool-age children have already experienced the thrill of sitting around campfires with family and friends. For this unit’s culminating event, children will participate in a pretend campfire experience. Children will work together to create paper logs and paper fire for the “centerpiece” campfire. They will also sing camp songs and eat trail mix they have made themselves.

Be Sociable, Share!

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.