The Grasshoppers Class
An Inquiry Learning preschool class
for children who are 30 months through turning 4
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1:4 teacher-child ratio
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Small homerooms to build a caring community
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Monday-Friday, 9:30am-1:00pm
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Since 2007, 90% of Bellevue Discovery preschoolers have moved on to gifted programs
The Grasshoppers Curriculum
Play-Based Exploration: fostering social-emotional growth, divergent thinking, executive function skills and foundational learning about our world
Skill-Based Instruction: art, science, math, reading, writing, and fine motor skills, with small group hands-on activities and a variety of Building Block centers to support the weekly inquiry learning theme (Art Studio, Drama Club, Math Games, Reading Nook and Science Lab)
Inquiry-Based Learning: nurturing the 21st Century Skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creative production
Grasshoppers learn foundational skills - social-emotional, executive function, fine motor and pre-academic - building an "inquiry learning toolkit" to help them thrive in the Dragonflies class. The children are introduced to Project-Based Learning with a variety of teacher-guided small group projects and open-ended problem-solving activities. Grasshoppers move toward presenting their projects over the school year, with monthly galleries of their work that they enjoy with their families.
Best Practices: Bellevue Discovery teachers follow NAEYC and NAGC best practices (National Association for the Education of Young Children; National Association for Gifted Children). We work closely with the Dragonflies Teaching Team to ensure that our younger preschoolers are fully prepared to thrive when they move to Bellevue Discovery's pre-kindergarten class.