San Francisco, CA
Buen Dia Family School

"In 1977, Buen Dia Family School was founded on the understanding that when young children learn to see themselves as competent individuals, they will be confident and better able to meet the challenges presented in everyday life. Through a developmental, learn-by-doing approach, the curriculum encourages self-expression and active exploration. The school strives to provide opportunities for positive interactions, discovery and learning. Through a wide variety of creative arts, block play, cooking, science, language development, music and outdoor play, young children learn about their world and discover its physical properties through their senses. They gain self confidence in their abilities, they learn to express their feelings and ideas, and are encouraged to consider events in different ways. They also learn to release energy in non-aggressive ways and follow directions to achieve a rewarding goal. Buen Dia offers a program for preschool children ages three to five. The teaching staff is culturally sensitive to the individual needs of the children and there is a Spanish-bilingual component to the program."

Extracted from the Buen Dia Family School Web-Site

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7:45-9:00 a.m. Greet children and parents. Parents sign in and relate any important messages to the teacher who is greeting that day. Many children have their own good-bye ritual that helps them with this transition.
7:45-10:00 a.m. All the classroom areas on the main level are open: block area, dress-up room, art area and the front room--where you find all the manipulatives and books. This is a free time and children can choose where they want to play. Free play allows for personal discovery and is an important part of our day. Furthermore, children tend to concentrate more and extend their learning when they can choose most of their own activities. Some free play activities include: play dough, books, science table, drawing and outdoor activities.
8:30-10:15 a.m. The yard is open.
9:00-10:10 a.m. Prepared Art Project. Children are encouraged to participate but are not required to do so.
9:00-10:00 a.m. Snack Preparation. Children are encouraged to come and help prepare snack as with the art project; this is a voluntary activity.
10:15-10:30 a.m. Group Time. Different activities are planned each day. Some group times involve all the children; others involve children meeting in their small groups. The daily schedule is as follows:
Monday: Sharing in small groups. Children bring something from home to share with their peers or talk about a subject of their choice.
Tuesday: Kinder Gym preparation. Children who are going to k-gym are told during group time. The children that stay go to music at 11:00 am. taught by a performing arts specialist who comes twice a week.
Wednesday: Spanish Group. All the children meet in the front area for group time. Concepts are taught such as: colors, shapes, foods, memory games, songs, games, etc.
Thursday/Friday: Small Groups. This is a time when a small group of children meet the same teacher each day to share their thoughts, discuss issues important to them, engage in a science experiment or go on a mini field trip. Before going to small groups, announcements or special presentations sometimes occur with everyone together in a large group.
10:30 a.m. Hand Washing and Snack Time. The children participate in clean up and hand washing before snack.
10:45-12:00 p.m. Free Play Time. All the areas of the school are open. On Tuesdays there is music at 11:00, on Thursdays there is a dramatic storytelling project (where children dictate stories to the teacher and later act them out with their peers on a stage). On Fridays we have a Capoeira specialist that comes and teaches a class to two of the groups. Capoiera is a Brazilian martial art.
11:55-12:00 p.m. Clean-up Time.
12:00-12:30 p.m. Lunch Time.
12:30-1:00 p.m. Outdoor and indoor play for the children. They can use the computers, play on the stage (a mini kindergym), read books and play with the science and math games.
12:45 p.m. Nappers go to bathroom and get ready for nap.
1:00-2:00 p.m. Nap Time.
1:15-2:00 p.m. Resters go to the classroom on the lower level for rest time.
2:00-3:00 p.m. Art. The children who are awake can participate in the afternoon art project. The yard and the block area are open and there are activities set up on the tables.
2:15-3:00 p.m. Snack Preparation.
3:00 p.m. Many children leave at this time. Teachers help children put on their shoes and get ready to go home a little before 3:00 pm. All nappers are usually awake at this time.
3:30-3:50 p.m. Group Time. There is a Spanish group twice a week. Parents come and do special presentations on varied subjects. (Special cultural holidays, their jobs, singing, sharing an important event in their lives, etc...) Otherwise, the afternoon teacher introduces either an activity for the whole group to participate or a discussion.
3:50 p.m. Hand Washing and Snack Time.
4:00-6:00 p.m. Free play time. All the areas of the school are open. Once a week there is a science activity. Parents pick up children between 4:00-6:00 p.m.
5:00-6:00 p.m. The last hour of the day. Teachers often read stories and play games with the children who stay late.

Creative Arts specialists give on-going workshops each week in various disciplines. Community presenters offer talks and discussions on topics interesting to children. This schedule is a general outline and changes somewhat from day to day depending on the needs of the children and on field trips."

Extracted from the Buen Dia Family School Web-Site

source: