Educational Excellence Since 1912
Hamden Hall Country Day School
Educating students in PreSchool through Grade 12

Out-Of-This-World Learning Taking Place in Early Childhood Classrooms

The learning unit for our Early Childhood students is out of this world, with recent lessons focused on the solar system and deep space.

“I love when our youngest classes dive deep into a unit. The kids learn so much and become experts themselves,” said Early Childhood Director Catelin Fee 2004.

Using books, songs, and real-life videos, the exploration started with the sun and extended to each planet’s characteristics. Next up was the creation of huge, wall-sized murals of the solar system.

“The PreSchool and PreKindergarten classes have enjoyed exploring our solar system in such depth the past several weeks,” she explained. “And our thematic unit didn’t stop there; the kids were so naturally interested in space that we went on to even more topics including phases of the moon and constellations.”

Students made their own constellation and named it. Following a recent weekend, students discovered one Monday morning that their classrooms had been transformed into deep space. 

“By then, our giant rockets were complete, our helmets were created, and exciting stations like ‘moon rock exploration’ were ready and waiting for us. Some of the kids wanted to take things further and create their own control panel with recyclable materials during Center Time,” said Mrs. Fee.

In fact, Mrs. Fee further maintained that students were so curious and inquisitive about the subject matter that she is “confident any one of our PreSchool and/or PreKindergarten students can spout off space facts if you ask them.”

“The teachers do a phenomenal job at creating fun, hands-on learning experiences and this unit definitely spawned some aspiring astronauts,” she said.

Also timely was last week’s successful robotic rover landing on the surface of Mars. Early Childhood teacher Heather Robinson suggested to students that they watch NASA’s Perseverance rover land on the Red Planet during their remote learning day.
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Hamden Hall Country Day School

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Hamden Hall Country Day School is a nurturing and inclusive community with a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence by understanding each child and fostering their individual growth.