Preschool Distance Learning

Our preschool teachers lead with love, and design lessons that promote discovery, self awareness and problem-solving. Because of intentionally limited screen time, involvement from a loving caregiver is necessary. A wide range of virtual experiences are offered including video montages, individual connections and whole group opportunities. Even on screen, pre-schoolers are exposed to a rich academic diet that includes science, literature, a sense of self and community, music, Spanish, PE etc.They will emerge from this experience with a broad sense of schema across the curriculum and a heightened social awareness. 

CONNECTION

Our preschool students find joy in seeing the faces of their beloved teachers and class pets on appropriately timed ZOOM visits. Though their screen time is limited, the CONNECTION remains strong. The children enjoy read-alouds from familiar loving voices, sing alongs with Mrs. Kelly, our enchanting music teacher and chats with their favorite Spanish speaking parrot. 

MOVEMENT

Grizzly Bears swim like fish in the sea as they race through their backyards with Ms. Stacey’s Youtube channel. They are reminded of this special PE time, usually held in our gym that remains meaningful and familiar in their own backyards.

PLAY

Just like at school, our youngest bears learn through play. Our cubbies experiment with soap bubbles and a whisk in the sink and learn how to mix colors by painting one hand blue, one hand yellow and squashing their hands together to make green!

DISCOVERY

Panda teacher Townley Cole guides her three and four year olds through the life cycle of a caterpillar, an experience that began in the classroom. Over zoom she excitedly exclaims that the larvae have transitioned into chrysalis’. The children marvel at the transformation. The screen dividing teacher and student becomes virtually invisible.

Lower Elementary School Distance Learning

Our youngest students should not engage computer screens in the same way or for the same length of time as an eighth grader will. We obviously keep this in mind and teachers make sure lessons are delivered with age appropriateness of delivery method a priority. The younger the student, the more involvement is necessary from a loving caregiver. This requires flexibility and a mixture of real-time, recorded, and self-paced activities that are balanced with the right balance of a consistent scheduling

We found that many of our families wanted different schedules for their children. In response to this, our Preschool – 2nd grade teams now offer 2 schedules. One is a more flexible, unstructured schedule for the day, and the other is a structured hourly schedule that mirrors a more typical school day. This allows us to differentiate not just because kids but also between partner households.

Our reading specialist meets with her students both 1:1 and in small groups no larger than 4. Using her training in Orton Gillingham, she provides our students with targeted, assessment based explicit instruction to meet their needs. Her lessons are interactive, engaging and use multisensory techniques as much as possible.

As we would do on campus, our K-2 classes offer daily small group math and reading instruction. Working in small groups with the students allows for differentiation, connection with peers and students, as well as quick and immediate feedback.

Upper Elementary School Distance Learning

Even when learning from home, third and fourth graders maintain the familiar rhythm of their classroom. They experience the day with a gentle start, followed by bursts of creativity and critical thinking, interspersed with movement and laughter. They meet daily for differentiated math and reading instruction, participate in hands-on science experiments, write daily using a variety of formats and continue to explore the world through history.

SHARING

Sharing projects continues to be a highlight of the CDS experience. Whether it’s a poem inspired by Shakespeare or a project on constellations, third and fourth graders enjoy immediate peer and teacher responses to their efforts.

DIFFERENTIATION

Small, differentiated math groups provide each student with exactly what they need: instruction is interactive, hands on and interdisciplinary. For example, while studying fractions, students measure the ingredients for “ship biscuits,” which they eat aboard the Discovery on their journey to Jamestown.

ENGINEERING

Newly minted Shakespeare scholars design and build a model of the Globe theater after performing A Midsummer’s Night Dream via zoom. They use measurement and proportions to minimize the theater and maximize their understanding of engineering principles.

MINDFULNESS

We end each day with deep breaths and down time as we dive deeply into read aloud. Students relax, snuggle in and listen to their teacher read a beloved chapter book. This ritual mimics a typical end to our school day and serves as a reminder that we are all in this together.

Middle School Distance Learning

Middle School Distance learning offers the same amount of rigor, investment and opportunity that our in class experiences provide. Fifth through eighth graders continue to meet educational benchmarks while striving for excellence and fine tuning their social awareness. New material, across each subject, is delivered in a creative, out of the box way that encourages students to dig deep and connect to their studies using a wide range of skills.

EMPATHY

During fifth grade English, students meet in small self selected book groups. They investigate literature that is designed to encourage empathy and offer perspective during this difficult time. Books such as A Long Walk to Water and Inside Out and Back Again challenge children to understand a world of hardship that is bigger than their own. They then meet in small discussion groups and discover that quality literature makes you think, feel and connect to one another in rich and meaningful ways.

DEBATE

Eighth grade historians create presentations on different decades from the early 1900’s through the turn of the century. They then debate the merits and relevance of their specific time period. Students attempt to persuade their classmates that their decade was the most important historically, using verbal arguments, presenting statistics and evaluating the global reaction to the decade.

SELF-DIRECTED

Middle schoolers tap into their individual scientific interests using the “You pick two” method. They use poetry, song, experiments, videos etc. to explain scientific concepts such as wind energy, ecosystems and biomes.

LOVE

Students are sent personal letters lauding their individual efforts and achievements.They may find a hand delivered helium balloon in their yard attached to an inspiring quote or perhaps they receive a candy gram from a beloved teacher they dearly miss. No matter what the method, CDS students know with certainty that they are loved.