Welcome to our Early Elementary Blog
Our Early Elementary Program is a special corner of Brightworks.
It is here that we preserve the joy of exploration, build the foundations of collaborative work, and tie learning and play together so intricately that children see them as one in the same.
Find information about the fundamentals of our early years program and updates for our K-2 families.
Building Blocks of Literacy
Literacy is more than just a subject or a box to check in the daily schedule—it's the key to understanding and exploring, and it unlocks the ability. to fully engage with the world around us
In our early years program, we lay a strong foundation for reading and writing by combining structured phonics instruction with play-based exploration. Our goal is that every child develops the skills and confidence to become a lifelong reader and thinker.
A Balanced Approach to Literacy
Our literacy instruction is designed to be both systematic and joyful. We integrate formal phonics lessons in small groups (students are matched by ability) with opportunities for children to explore language through rich stories, conversations, and creative play. This balanced approach ensures that students not only learn the mechanics of reading but also develop a genuine love for language and storytelling.
Implementing Read Write Inc. Phonics
To provide a solid foundation in phonics, we utilize the Read Write Inc. (RWI) program, a structured and evidence-based approach to teaching reading from Oxford Press. RWI focuses on teaching children the sounds in English, the letters that represent them, and how to blend these sounds to read words. The program includes reading books written using only the letters and sounds that students have learned, allowing them to build confidence and fluency as they progress.
Small Group Instruction for Personalized Learning
Recognizing that each child learns at their own pace, we conduct phonics instruction in small groups four times per week. These groups are tailored to the students' current skill levels, allowing for targeted teaching that meets each learner's needs. This personalized approach ensures that all students receive the support and challenge necessary to develop their reading abilities effectively.
Integrating Literacy Across the Curriculum
The reality is that literacy is not confined to a single subject area. We weave reading and writing into all aspects of our curriculum, from science and social studies to art and project-based learning. By engaging with texts across various contexts, inviting visiting authors to our school, and going to the library, students see the relevance of literacy in their everyday lives and are motivated to apply their skills in meaningful ways.
Fostering a Community of Readers
Reading is ultimately a social activity that thrives in a supportive community. Our classrooms are rich with opportunities for shared reading, storytelling, and discussions about books. By creating a culture that celebrates reading, we encourage students to view themselves as capable readers and enthusiastic participants in the world of literature.
At Brightworks, our commitment to literacy is grounded in the understanding that reading is essential for accessing information, expressing ideas, and connecting with others. Through our thoughtful integration of structured phonics instruction and engaging literacy experiences, we empower students to become confident readers and lifelong learners.
Learn more about Read Write Inc.
This video, taken from the Ruth Miskin website, explains a bit more about the program:
Read daily!
Not only does Read Write Inc provide curriculum for schools, but they also offer fantastic resources for parents. Their site is a great place to find out about how the students are learning to read and what you can do to help at home!
Get some fresh ideas for encouraging your child’s reading at home, check out the RWI online eBook library with access to over 130 free books and find out more about how reading is taught in school.
There’s also a handy guide to understanding phonics and information on the reading programs used at Brightworks.
More resources for reading at home with your child
There are lots of websites available to help your child with their phonics:
Phonics play https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
ICT games https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/literacy.html
Family learning http://www.familylearning.org.uk/phonics_games.html
What is Play-Based Learning?
What is Play-Based Learning?
Play-based learning is an education style that emphasizes physical play, movement, exploration, and problem solving. Children are given time to play and work independently, which allows them to learn naturally and develop social and emotional skills.
Creative problem solving is a critical skill best learned in early childhood when brain growth and innate curiosity are at their peak.
In the primary years, children are beginning to think in complex ways about themselves, their environment, and others. Our collaborators play a crucial role in honing children’s brain development and learning.
By providing early learning experiences to students to lay the foundation for life-long thinking, Brightworks strives to transform the way children learn and the way they contribute to the world. Curious what this looks like in action? Here’s a peek into a week with our Kindergarteners. Their collaborator is the creative, Melissa Nocero and the Band (class) name is Garnet.
A week in the life of a kinder kid:
The Monster Arc has finally launched! We started our week off by reading Color Monster: A Story About Emotions. This group is so skilled at recognizing their emotions, sharing them with others, and understanding others' emotions might be different at the same moment.
Building off the book, we got crafty, making our own color monsters and showing off our end of day emotions with a shared Magna-tile art piece full of all the colors representing our emotions. We will continue to use "monster" to look at our emotions and dive into a lot of SEL work.
We are having so much fun exploring letters through so many mediums. Beyond the usual pencil and paper, last week we used shaving cream and this week it was Magnatiles. This activity provided opportunities to practice our letter recognition as well as geometric concepts such as rotation and reflection and work on sharing our materials. The letter U got some extra care from one of the Garnet Banders to make it look more smoothly curved and the rest of the band was ready with appreciations for the extra effort.
Banana slugs remain the star of the show during science with Rich and this week they began to take form out of clay. Working their little hands, the Garnet Band created their own clay banana slugs, making sure to include the anatomy that they have been studying. They are definitely looking forward to painting them this week.
Once again, we made it out to Battery Bluffs on Thursday afternoon. They ran, they played, and they made observations, also labelling their drawings. We noticed everything from the sandy beach to the dogs running along Crissy Field to the Golden Gate Bridge to the work trucks in the distance by Sports Basement. Seeing what really catches their eye is just another way that I am getting to know them even more.
We have been exploring the number ten as it holds so much importance in the mathematical world. We are currently working on making tens by seeing what two numbers we can combine to get to ten. We are using many tools to explore this concept including our fingers, paper and markers, and our favorites, Unifix cubes. By the way, counting with their fingers is an important part of building their math brains...research shows it.
Friday was an incredibly special day. In the morning, we got to enjoy 'reading buddies' for the first time with our Opal Band buddies. The Garnet Band selected books they wanted to read with their buddy and drew them a picture. The joy in the room was truly contagious and I honestly can't tell you which band seemed to enjoy it more. They are already begging for their next reading buddies time.
In the afternoon, the lower school enjoyed our Community Friday time out at the Tunnel Tops. We ate lunch up on the main lawn and then ventured down to the Outpost playground where all the kids from Garnet to Citrine explored the playground activities together. Walking back to school alongside the Citrine Band was definitely another highlight. These kids love their time with their older friends.
This week is going to be another fun one with our exploration of Monster and will include some monstrous sounds with the arrival of Fleet Week.
How do Kindergarteners at Brightworks Learn?
We play
We build
We learn through play-based explorations, through emergent projects and through stories
Educators model excitement and a love of learning
Brightworks is a Small School that is Big on Connection.
Connection to other ages - we find that segregating children by age can pathologize normal, developmental differences and deprive children of the opportunity to bond with, teach, and learn from each other.
Connection to the community - there is a school-wide mandate to get out of the school building at least once a week.
Connection to experts - students and collaborators bring in experts to dive deep into a topic.
We expose students to new ideas through play based explorations that lead them to provocative questions
We acknowledge the innate drive to learn about ourselves and our world that children possess, and we very intentionally make sure we are not negatively interfering with that by imposing anything that interferes with that.
Our structures and supports are designed to use that inherent momentum and augment it and support it, not to interfere with it.
We design projects that invite students to use the skills of collaboration and build their other problem solving and academic competencies.
We honor and support autonomy and agency.
We reserve time for students to practice the skills they need to take their projects to the next level. We do this in a way that invites student choice and agency.
We honor and support inquiry, interest, creativity, and the needs of the child.
We have community circles, we take time to help students mediate conflict, we discuss relationships and tools for navigating them, we help students do their own internal work on how to identify and regulate those emotions.
We recognize that everything we say and do teaches something about power and relationship, and we endeavor to make sure those lessons are healthy and helpful for the goals we are striving for.
We learn how to be in community with each other, and how to work it out when our needs conflict.
Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning cannot be a standalone class, and cannot be taught as subject. It has to be lived, in every moment, and it is at the core of everything we do at Brightworks.
In the early years, play leverages the brain’s natural curiosity to explore. It leads to child-led discoveries, group collaboration, and building all the things that make good humans…self-discipline, self-direction, collaborative problem, and the habits of life-long learning.
Anthony Consiglio—Director of Community, Slowness, Caring, and Jokes—speaks here about our approach to SEL at Brightworks.
Exploring our New Neighborhood
Home Sweet Home: The Presidio
We feel incredibly lucky to have our school embedded in one of the most spectacular parks in the city. The Presidio has so much to offer, from museums to restaurants to hiking trails to wildlife. And even a campground!
Here are a few of our favorite spots so far:
Tunnel Tops Park - a new attraction in the Presidio, a national park site in San Francisco. It’s free to all and open every day. Presidio Tunnel Tops is easy for everyone to enjoy. It’s built on top of the Presidio Parkway tunnels, with amazing Golden Gate views. It has places to be in nature, picnic sites, lawns and gathering spaces, and an incredible nature play space for kids. Come out for free family-friendly events and activities and return for music, art, food, and fun throughout the year. See the Calendar for details.
The Spire & Wood line - The Presidio is home to the largest collection of British artist Andy Goldsworthy’s public works on public view in North America, including Wood Line, the snaking wood piece on Lover’s Lane, and the towering Spire.
Mountain Lake, which can be found here near Lake and Veterans Boulevard, is one of San Francisco’s three remaining natural lakes. The other two being Lake Merced and Pine Lake. It boasts a great playground, nice walking trails, and sports fields.
Rob Hill Campground - the only overnight campsite in San Francisco, is located at the Presidio’s highest point above Baker Beach in a eucalyptus grove.
Cafe Rx - Located in the Presidio's Letterman District within the Tides Converge campus, Cafe Rx is a little bit off the beaten path. And it’s delicious! You're more likely to find park workers than visitors at this reliable, reasonably priced, and unfussy walk-up eatery.
Educating the Whole Child Through Play
Play and learning are inextricably intertwined.
“The function of play is to build pro-social brains, social brains that know how to interact with others in positive ways.”
Confidence is really important to children. When a child feels safe and confident, they feel that they can try new things. So this confidence will allow them to start their next learning adventure. This is the way in which children are learning through play and how play helps the brain to grow.
As scientific evidence continues mounting to show play is the best way for children to learn and thrive, we are proud of our model and the whole-child learning that takes place at Brightworks.
From a child’s earliest days, play is how they relate to the world, and to others. When children have plenty of opportunities to learn playfully, they do what they do best: pursue their natural curiosity. And, as they do, they build skills and aptitudes they’ll keep for life.
At Brightworks, learning is driven by children’s interests and cultivated by educators. Informed by neuroscience, we’ve reinvented education to put creative play at the heart of the school curriculum. When they play, children test, learn, explore, and ask questions, all the while building creative skills.
The really cool thing is that when your child experiences pleasure they become driven to repeat the activity.
This makes a lot of sense really if something feels good and rewards us, then we do it over and over again to try to get more good feelings and rewards. With more repetition, the child will achieve mastery of the skills used during play, a sense of accomplishment and boosted self-confidence.
The key attributes of a successful adult in the global world are built when children are young. At Brightworks, children are building their toolkit of skills through play that includes:
collaboration (teamwork, social competence),
content (e.g., reading, math, science, history),
communication (oral and written),
creative innovation,
and confidence (taking risks and learning from failure).
Students solve problems, think strategically, relate to others, and manage life’s ups and downs. Ultimately they learn how to learn, how to collaborate, and how to innovate…even when they have limited resources.