Taking children between the ages of two and three years through the transition from parallel to group play is a significant piece of the curriculum in the Guppy classroom environment. To help the children differentiate between active and quiet play, the classroom is divided into sections. Within those sections are designated activity areas. Children may play at these areas with a variety of materials complementing the weekly lesson plans. The Guppy classroom currently includes the following activity centers:
CREATIVE MOVEMENT
Development of fine and gross motor skills and self-expression are exercised in the creative movement center.
DRAMATIC PLAY
Students are able to explore their early social skills, learning to define emotions and modeling behaviors in the safe, non-threatening context of make-believe.
FINE ARTS
At the peak of their sensory exploration, the Guppies participate daily in a broad range of fine art activities. Whether gluing and pasting paper and other textured materials like pasta or feathers together or molding play dough into birthday cakes and snakes, the worlds of color, shape, texture, and size come alive for the Guppies as they participate in these various activities.
LANGUAGE ARTS
The Guppy room is filled with words, books, posters, pictures, and conversation designed to teach the connection between written and spoken words.
BLOCKS
As the two year olds gain more control of their motor skills, they take great pride in what they can build with blocks. Initial play may involve simple stacking (and knocking down) of blocks, creating rows and patterns, and exploring different shapes and sizes.
MATH & SCIENCE
The Guppies have fun doing math – they just don’t know their doing it! Sorting and stacking pegs in various patterns and shapes provide opportunities for rehearsing number order. Visualizing patterns establishes early problem solving and prompts the children to make predictions and test hypotheses. Puzzles, ball trackers and bead mazes enhance memory and cognitive skills.
