Areas of Practice
Music
Music is an essential part of early childhood education. Teaching through melody and rhythm helps with authentic, long-term learning and provides opportunities for students to collaborate and explore. Emmalee has over 20 years of musical training in both vocal skills and alto saxophone and musical learning is deeply embedded in her teaching practice. Whether it is a song teaching the steps to proper hand washing, or a chance to sing in one’s non-native language, musical learning knows no bounds. At Honeybee Preschool a young child’s musical education includes activities such as: exploring instruments, playing rhythm games, composing songs and listening to music from all over the world.
Visual Art
Art can be so many things: beauty, therapy, expression, emotion, collaboration. When a child is given the opportunity to explore a myriad of artistic tools and styles, it supports their unbridled creativity. Honeybee places an equal emphasis on abstract and representational art. We also encourage limiting waste by repurposing materials, creating art with found items from nature, and even making temporary art that can be dismantled and re-created. Emmalee has over twenty years of experience in personal and professional art education.
Yoga and Movement
Emmalee studied ballet, tap and modern dance in her youth. She began practicing yoga as a young adult and it is a very important part of her life to this day. She has trained with “Imagination Yoga” (story yoga for children) as well as years of practice in Vinyasa, Kundalini, Yin, Hatha, Bikram and meditation. At Honeybee we find ways to move our bodies everyday! Movement is essential for large motor learning and coordination, as well as a valuable tool in learning safe ways to exert energy. Conversely, stillness and meditation help with self-regulation and body control. Both are important elements of early childhood development.
Mathematics
Math isn’t always a subject associated with preschool. However, counting, sorting, number grouping, shape work and pattern identification are all early math skills. We play games with unit pieces to practice counting, subitizing, and eventually moving into simple addition and subtraction. Writing skills also include recognizing and writing number symbols. These challenges are presented as fun offerings, as opposed to skill evaluations.
Literacy
At Honeybee, children are never taught through learning drills or memorization. Instead, students learn letters and writing through teacher and peer support as individual interest grows. Children naturally gain a desire to create the letters in their own names. Soon after, they want to write important words associated with special people and their favorite toys. Not only does writing support fine motor development, it also fosters a sense of identity for young learners.
Children adore looking at books and being read to and at Honeybee, students will have access to a diverse classroom library. Students will observe word labels around the classroom and will sing letter songs as well as visit the letter-writing station during free play and make their own books. We believe in making literacy just as fun as everything else at school!
Science
Science in preschool can be many things: observing life science by growing seedlings or studying life cycles, anatomy by learning about human and animal bodies, chemistry by making playdough or homemade volcanoes, physics by making a marble roll down a ramp - and so much more! There are scientific elements to much of our play.
