Joy and Rigor, Hand in Hand
The Owls Kindergarten at Vanderbilt’s Susan Gray School is an inclusive, one-year program that blends the academic content of kindergarten with a play-based pedagogy. Teachers use an emergent, nature-based curriculum that follows children’s ideas and curiosities as they explore Vanderbilt’s arboretum campus.
A YEAR OF INVESTIGATION
With the Owls, kindergarten year is structured around six week investigations. The topics are directed by the children from topics they experience in their outdoor classroom and nature walks. When the cicadas are out, the theme becomes cicadas. When the fall turns to winter and rain turns to snow, the topic is water.
The classroom theme becomes the structure around which the daily rhythm is set.
First, the class makes a list of what they know about the topic and what they would like to study. Then they head to the Vanderbilt library to check out books on all aspects of the topic. Over the course of the investigation, they use the books for learning the basics of reading and share together as a group.
Within the topic, they plan large art projects like gigantic paper mache grub worms to learn the life stages of a beetle and sea murals to showcase the five levels of the sea. They use emergent literacy skills to label parts of their project and communicate important information to their audience. Providing children opportunities to write for a meaningful purpose is highly
motivating and accelerates literacy learning.
At the end of the module, Owls write and illustrate books about their learnings.
A DAY WITH THE OWLS
Each week starts with the assignment of classroom roles and ends with writing and drawing their learnings in a letter to their family.
After their morning meeting, the Owls balance their day between three in-classroom stations - Readers Workshop, Writers Workshop, and Math - and outdoor explorations.
Each Owl gets outdoor time daily — rain, shine or light snow. In the morning, children take full advantage of Vanderbilt's walkable, arboretum campus: neighborhood adventures, public art and green open spaces. In the afternoon, they explore the Susan Gray School meadow. Research shows play in nature builds creativity, problem-solving skills, focus, and self-esteem — and Owls puts that research into daily practice.
- READER'S WORKSHOP: As they begin the year, teachers lead the reading as the Owls choose favorite books and stories to read this week. As the year progresses, the Owls read the books themselves and engage in deep discussions about how wonderful it is to read great books over and over again. By the end of the year, they notice new details and story elements each time we re-visit their favorite books.
- WRITER'S WORKSHOP: Each week in Writer’s Workshop, Owls learn to write letters, letter groups, words, and then sentences. They document reflections in their weekly letters and in their writer’s notebooks.
- MATH: Each day, Owls use their Math small group to build on core math and science concepts which are inherent in the nature topics they are investigating. They learn concepts like subtraction using multiple strategies from kinetic to number lines or explore measurement and symmetry within the nature theme.
- NATURE EDUCATION: Rich, abundant learning happens by walking through the Vanderbilt Arboretum. Owls' nature-based design honors children's fascination with the living world, building science understanding and emotional well-being through daily outdoor exploration of light, weather, seasons and the plants and creatures of our campus neighborhood.
WHOLE CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Every child is known fully — cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically. Teachers use their understanding of how five- and six-year-olds grow to build a classroom that's safe, rigorous and full of joy, where children are actively engaged every single day.
Creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking anchor every kindergarten day. Peer engagement adds richness to learning, and children practice these core competencies, while still focusing on the development of writing, reading, and math skills.
Children with and without disabilities learn and play together throughout the day. For children who would be eligible for an Individualized Education Plan in a public school setting, we create a Susan Gray School Education Plan in partnership with the child’s family. We use the Woodcock Johnson, Teaching Strategies GOLD, and DIBELS assessments to determine present levels of academic achievement and functional performance and set goals in the areas of basic reading skills, mathematics and pre-vocational skills. Families receive progress reports in October, February,
and May.
Occupational, physical, and speech language therapists from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center provide related services in the classroom during the school day to eligible children enrolled at the Susan Gray School, including kindergarten students. Therapy services are not included in school tuition. Families pay VUMC directly via insurance or private pay options.
