Beginning as a preschool, Duke School builds a strong foundation for our youngest learners. Check out our top 5 experiences in preschool: 

 1.   Outdoor Learning Environment

  As an extension to the classroom, the outdoor learning spaces provide our preschool students with the opportunity to engage and freely explore throughout their inside and outside learning environments. The outdoors is considered an extension to learning and the classroom.  Adjacent to Duke Forest, students explore nature at its finest. Exploring forest trails, exploring and engaging in the natural environment, students learn about the natural world that surrounds them. Through project-based learning, students listen to birds, identifying trees and leaves, and exploring the ecosystems along Mud Creek.  

 2.   Real world experiences

 Through project-based learning, students are engaged in learning kinetically as they learn and investigate real-life topics.  To enrich the learning experiences in our preschool program, guest experts share knowledge on the topic as students ask   questions to acquire knowledge.  Learning experiences afford students to learn and engage in the world around through project-based learning.  

 3.  Cultural competency

 Students celebrate their own individual unique character traits and sense of self.  A culture of respect of one's similarities and differences in our preschool settings, creates a safe, secure, environment for young children to freely express themselves as unique individuals.  Through the Responsive Classroom (First Six Weeks of School) and throughout the school year, cultural awareness of ones and learning about the worldview of others is discussed.   Reading culturally diverse books, prompting in-depth discussions and conversations, exploring these differences in project-based learning, and incorporating curriculums of the Anti-Bias Curriculum allow students to be culturally competent in a diverse world.

 4.  Right Sized Learning

 At Duke School, we recognize that development is not a race.  Children learn and grow at their own pace; therefore, in our preschool programs we guide the individual child and not just the whole group.  Children are exposed to a wide range of learning experiences which are geared to each child’s individual learning styles. Considering the various learning styles and developmental ranges of young children, differentiation of instruction and scaffolding occurs daily throughout our multi-age classrooms.              

 5.  Enrichment Activities

 Preschoolers are able to experience additional experiences outside of their classroom with additional experts.  Students are able to learn about art through use of materials and techniques during art programming with the art teachers weekly.   They are also engaged in music and movement activities weekly with our music teacher and they participate weekly in physical education in the gymnasium, where they work on physical motor skills in stations. 

 We would love you to learn more about our Preschool and Project Work.