A Day At The New Dawn Center
At the New Dawn Center, children are immersed in a special
world that stimulates every one of their five senses. to give you a feeling
of that special-ness, we'd like you to experience a typical day in our 3-5
year old classroom. At these ages, children are building a foundation for
the more in-depth study of language, culture, math, science and
interpersonal skill building that occurs in the 6-9 year old program.
Imagine for a moment that you're a young child filled with
wonder and innocence at a world that's just beginning to unfold. Your legs
move excitedly up worn, wooden stairs into a playground that overlooks a
pine forested canyon. You run exuberantly towards the sprawling oak,
pine and fruit trees. You gaze in awe at the vegetable and flower garden -
there was nothing there when you helped plant it just a few weeks ago.
A gentle sounding bell rings and you're embraced by a
genuinely caring teacher. She ushers you and your classmates into a cozy
house filled with colorful, enticing objects. You chuckle at the self -
portrait hanging on the wall. While reaching over to pet Cutey, the hamster,
you stare in amazement at the graceful movements of the tarantula, Houdini.
As you sit by the fireplace to play the harp a classmate offers you sliced
fruit from a platter.
Sitting with classmates of varying ages, you beam as
everyone sings "good morning" to you in any one of five different
languages. Your eyes light up as the teacher presents one interesting
project after another to work on today. As usual, it's your choice. You
might start the day by finishing your needlepoint project. It would also be
fun to add more words and pictures to the book you're making. And how about
the world map - maybe purple would be a good color for Argentina. That leaf
pressing project needs some work, too. Or perhaps this is the day you'll be
able to count to 1,000 on the golden bead chain while your classmates stand
to admire your achievement.
Before you know it , lunch time is here. You take your seat
at the small wooden table with your nameplate on it. After lunch, you wash
your flowered plate, sweep up the crumbs you left, and head for the
playground. There you join your laughing friends as they shoot down the
slide, swing in the hammock, erect sand castles and chase after squirrels
and birds. Soon you'll return to the classroom for storytelling, singing and
body movement exercises. Your day at school is just about over. As you bid
friends and teachers goodbye, you're already anticipating the next day at
The New Dawn Center.
