OUR CURRICULUM
Rooted in wonder. Ready for what’s next.
The Island Classroom takes its name from where we are. Every week, the island comes into our rooms and our garden — soil, seeds, stones, bark and water — and becomes the material children read about, count, sort and make with. It is a curriculum built on one idea: children who feel they belong are free to learn.
A consistent structure gives children security, while teachers adapt the experience to the children in front of them.
Each class follows the same daily rhythm, with time adjusted for each age. Consistency is deliberate: children who know what comes next feel safe, and children who feel safe are free to explore.
The whole group gathers to start the day together — a song, a sound, a counting moment, the week’s question and the week’s book.
Meals are made from scratch and eaten together. Children pour, serve, pass and clear with growing independence, and there is time to talk.
Materials set out for children to discover on their own terms, without instruction. Teachers watch, listen and follow where children take it.
Songs, sounds, letter shapes and language play, growing more focused as children get older.
Children take part in real classroom jobs at their own pace — pouring, sweeping, buttoning, preparing food and looking after the room together.
Painting, music, movement, drama and making, with plenty of room for children to work in whichever language suits them.
Every week connects to the garden, the outdoor classroom and natural materials brought in from the island.
After lunch, younger children nap and older children rest quietly, with soft music or stories. An adult is always present.
The same ending every day — a blessing, one gratitude from each child, and the same goodbye, so children go home settled.
Five anchor moments provide a consistent rhythm across classrooms, even on days with art, music, PE, mindfulness or chapel.
Every week has a question at the center of it — a theme children return to across the whole week. It shapes the book they read, the materials set out to explore, and what happens outdoors. Returning to the same idea gives children time to notice, wonder, respond and revisit their thinking in different ways.
Teachers shape it for each age, using language and experiences children can engage with. A toddler might hear it spoken aloud as they play. A four-year-old might argue about it.
SOMETHING TO ASK AT DINNER
What did you notice today?
Each month the whole school explores a single character trait together — through the month’s books, its art, Morning Circle and the ordinary moments of the day.
WELCOME
Children learn that they belong here, that they are known by name, and that there is always room for one more.
COURAGE
Courage grows when children try something difficult, even when they feel unsure, and know someone is there to support them.
GENEROSITY
Generosity is explored through sharing, helping and noticing the needs of others.
GRATITUDE
Children practice noticing and giving thanks, including for the ordinary things that are easy to overlook.
Young children learn best when academic foundations are woven into meaningful experiences. Early literacy and math are part of the daily rhythm. Children hear sounds, build words, count real things, compare what they find, and return to those ideas throughout the year.
Children are grouped with peers close to their own age, and move up to the next class as they grow. What they work on shifts with them.
Words and songs, first steps toward independence, and a great deal of touching, carrying, filling and emptying. Children learn the shape of the day and that this is a safe place to try things.
Language grows quickly. Children sort and match, begin counting real objects, take part in classroom jobs, and start to name what they are feeling.
Children hear and play with the sounds inside words, count and compare, work with shapes and patterns, and take on longer tasks from start to finish.
Children work toward blending sounds into words, forming letters, early writing, and more complex number ideas. They also serve their classmates, lead a group task and finish something hard on their own.
By the time children leave us, they have early literacy and number foundations kindergarten asks for — and, just as importantly, they can listen, wait, try again after something goes wrong, ask for what they need, and work alongside other children.
Teachers know where each child is in their development and keep families informed along the way. Formal progress conversations take place twice a year to talk through your child’s growth, celebrate progress and address any questions. In between, communication is ongoing — whenever you or your child’s teacher has something to share or discuss.
The best way to understand this is to stand in a classroom while it’s happening.
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The outdoor classroom extends the week’s learning into the garden and the surrounding environment. Teachers pull from a standing palette of natural materials — most of them free, most of them from our own garden — and tie them to the week’s theme.
Seeds pressed against the glass so the roots show. Children check them every morning at Circle, and come back to them months later to see how far they have come.
Same flowers, three jars: no water, plain water, colored water. By midweek one is drooping and one is turning color from the inside, and children can see the differences for themselves.
Wash, cut, share, serve. A banana halved and then quartered is the fraction lesson. The activity also creates a natural moment to practice sharing and serving others.
One pumpkin travels from class to class. Feel its weight, open it, pull and count the seeds, weigh it, and guess whether it sinks or floats. Then they test their predictions and see what happens.
Each week brings art, physical education, mindfulness, music and chapel into the school rhythm. Children go to the specialist’s room for each one.
Chapel is held weekly and is often one of the children’s favorite parts of the week. It is warm, musical and age-appropriate, giving children a shared moment for songs, stories, reflection and gratitude. It is a joyful part of our school rhythm and something children often continue talking and singing about at home.
Science, technology, engineering, art and math are taught by your child’s own teacher, inside the classroom and the outdoor classroom. Science grows from outdoor investigation, math from the daily counting moment, art from creative work, and engineering from building, testing and trying again. Technology is introduced through purposeful, age-appropriate tools and experiences.
Learning continues at home when children are given space to stay curious. Families are invited to build on what children are exploring at school by asking questions, noticing things together and following their interests a little further.
That might mean asking, “What do you notice?”, “Why do you think that happened?” or “How could we find out?” The goal is to keep the habit of wondering, questioning and exploring going beyond the school day.
Families can also reinforce the character traits children are exploring throughout the year and take part in service opportunities through the Day School, PTA and Key Biscayne Community Church. These experiences give children simple, meaningful ways to practice caring for others and contributing to their community.
The best way to understand The Island Classroom is to stand in a room while it is happening. Visit our classrooms, see the garden, and meet the people who will know your child by name.
Request a tour