school life

Pre-Primary Program – Levels III and IV
The Suzuki Pre-Primary Program is designed for children who are two and three years old and consists of Levels III and IV. Children at this age are leaving behind the early stages of pure discovery and exploration and are ready for periods of more formal instruction. This second growth period in a child’s life is a time of immense activity and discovery as the child investigates his world and, most importantly, learns to form his own opinions about it.

Interactive Classrooms: At this age, children learn best when absorbing knowledge through all five senses. We recognize each child’s need for autonomy during this unique period and allow for long periods of discussion and experimentation so that she can formulate a hypothesis, test it repeatedly and arrive at a logical conclusion. These children are passionate about voicing their opinion in matters that pertain to them. The classroom is designed so that children can freely explore their materials, choose them and then replace them in an ordered fashion. Consistency is very important while they are testing their world.

Our Curriculum and Materials: The children are now ready for deeper experiences in math and literacy, building upon concepts introduced in infancy. The Suzuki School has developed a curriculum that draws from more than three decades of experience with our students, as well as from the best practices and materials available in Early Childhood education. We do not adhere to one specific approach or doctrine, but rather incorporate those -- whether developed internally or from other sources — that allow us to best meet the needs of the students. The primary phonics series we use in Levels III is Scholastic’s “AlphaTales.” In Level IV “Active Literacy” published by Sundance, and “Reading-Line” by Scholastic are used in pre-reading activities as are Scholastic’s “NumberTales” and the award-winning “Handwriting Without Tears” program. Both classrooms use Suzuki-developed social studies, math and science programs.

Both classrooms heavily emphasize a wide array of materials to refine motor development in a practical life setting. This refinement is necessary in the proper development of the hand and arm muscles that facilitate writing.

Homeroom & Rotation Routines: Each child is assigned a homeroom teacher to facilitate communication with the parents. The children are placed in multi-ability groups and rotate throughout the week to all the teachers during their morning lesson block. This rotation allows the children to work in succession with all the classroom teachers in the areas of math, phonics, fine motor skills, art, practical life and social studies/science.

Foreign Language: Native French or Spanish speakers teach Level III children French or Spanish twice a week using a language immersion curriculum. These programs are taught during the school year and during the summer program.

Enrichment: Our regular curriculum is supplemented by special visitors, including storytellers, musicians, magicians and nature specialists. Students participate in small group music instruction once a week. They also have the opportunity to participate in optional enrichment activities such as a sports movement class and music readiness.

Toilet training usually begins in either Levels III or IV. This milestone skill is taught as a child demonstrates signs of readiness. It is important that parents recognize that this is a process and each child masters this skill when she is ready, whether in a few days or in a few months. The teachers work with both student and parent to teach the proper skills.

Communication: At Suzuki, we recognize the parent as the child’s first and best teacher. To foster our partnership, we communicate with parents daily so that you are informed of your child’s progress and of his or her day. In Level III, your child's teachers will send home a daily evaluation form describing the day and are available for brief discussions during early morning and late afternoon periods. Teachers in Level IV do not provide daily evaluations for each child, but rather encourage daily communication with the parents, supplemented by a monthly newsletter. Communication is an integral part of the Suzuki program and ties the efforts of school and home together.