ENRICHMENT
Therapy & Enrichment Activities
Frankie Lemmon School seeks to provide a variety of activities and experiences for children that enrich their experiences as they explore and develop interests in different areas. Our enrichment activities complement the comprehensive developmental curriculum each teacher implements, providing an additional opportunity to reinforce key concepts and skills.
Music
Music therapy provides astounding implications for using music as a tool to address all developmental areas. Neuroscience research shows that music changes the way our brain’s function. Music therapy provides opportunities for children to improve self-expression and communication, engage in social interactions, practice physical control and movement, and to develop their cognitive skills such as concentration and attention. Children participate in music sessions each week with their classroom. Our music therapist visits each classroom to provide a large group session where children have the opportunity to listen to instruments & different genres of music, play their own instrument, sing, and move their bodies to the rhythm and beat of the music.
Movement
In addition to daily outdoor playground activities, children also have opportunities to engage in creative physical movement with a trained movement teacher. The movement sessions engage children in gross motor (large muscle) activities to promote overall health and development. Activities are designed to build children’s coordination, balance, and sensorimotor skills as well as strengthen their core muscles and help to build confidence in moving their bodies in space.
Language Groups
Facilitated language and literacy activities are provided by our Speech Language Pathologist in small and large groups for each classroom. Activities are tailored to the developmental level of the children to promote optimal skill acquisition.
Fine Motor Group
Our Occupational Therapist collaborates with each classroom teacher to provide structured individual, small group, and large group activities to support the development of core strength, small muscle strength, control in the arms, hands, and fingers, visual-spatial, and sensory regulation skills. As children grow and develop, these become the foundational skills for completing self-help tasks (such as zipping their jacket, or buttoning their pants), sitting at a table to eat, drawing and writing, understanding the concept of where their bodies and others are in space, and how to process input from the senses in ways that help the brain to organize information rather than become overwhelmed or underwhelmed – which impacts attention and behavior.
Social Skills Instruction & Behavior Support
At the heart of our school are relationships. Our relationships with children, families, staff, and our community – our school family. We have adopted a social-emotional curriculum, Conscious Discipline, which provides us with tools and structures to create a strong and connected school family. Conscious Discipline has been developed by Dr. Becky Bailey based on neurological research and developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education. It is a social-emotional framework designed to support individuals in developing emotional regulation and positive social interactions by meeting the needs of the brain for safety, connection, and problem solving.
Conscious Discipline helps our school family develop connections, provides each person with a sense of belonging, and fosters cooperation through contribution. It scientifically and practically links classroom management with social-emotional skill development to intrinsically motivate children to be helpful, responsible, and caring citizens. Brain function improves when we can meet each child’s basic needs for safety, connection, and problem solving, which in turn increases achievement and learning.
All Frankie Lemmon School staff participate in ongoing professional development, so they have the appropriate skills to handle a variety of behavior, including challenging behaviors. Children are guided in developing self-control and positive self-esteem. Children are encouraged to learn through natural consequences that result from their actions.
Teachers and young children deserve school environments that are safe, supportive, and conducive to teaching and learning. Frankie Lemmon School focuses on teaching social interactions and emotional regulation to support the needs of all children.
TECHNOLOGY
Frankie Lemmon School intensely focuses on the development of communication skills.
Our portfolio of techniques and technologies used include: