The Whole Child Curriculum

Read more about the K-8 core subjects: English and Language Arts Math Science/ Ecology Social Science / Geography / History World Language Handwork / Practical Art / Visual Arts / Performance General

The Whole Child Curriculum recognizes how much children grow from year to year. Our lesson plans place pivotal importance on the mental, emotional and physical changes at each grade level. This model provides for greater interaction between child and teacher.

The Whole Child Curriculum teaches children in a safe, protective and naturally beautiful environment using methods that fill each child with delight, wonder and enthusiasm. To facilitate this ease of learning, classroom teachers stay with the children for three-year cycles, incorporating all aspects of the arts into daily lessons. The curriculum ensures that the material and its presentation are developmentally attuned to the appropriate age at every grade level. Our curriculum is aligned to the State of California educational standards.

Ocean Charter School's Whole Child Curriculum fosters:

• A passion and enthusiasm for learning
• A rigorous academic foundation
• Confidence through hands-on expression
• Creative, flexible thinking
• Affirmation that all children are unique
• Responsibility for self and others
• A balance between technology, developmental readiness and ecological sensitivity
• Empowerment through self-knowledge
• Social intelligence and environmental awareness

An Alternative Educational Approach
Ocean Charter School is dedicated to creating a genuine inner enthusiasm for learning that is essential for educational success. The Whole Child Curriculum is informed by the Waldorf educational approach insofar as:

• Students actively learn academics by hands-on experience.
• The arts are evident in every aspect of the curriculum.
• Children learn according to a developmental model which includes a play-based kindergarten and the belief that childhood should be experienced with wonder and not rushed.
• All children create "main lesson books", where they recount their experiences and detail what they have learned. The main subjects, such as history, language arts, science and mathematics are taught in main lesson blocks of two to three hours per day. Each block lasts three to five weeks. There are no "textbooks" in the first through fifth grades.
• Throughout the school day, respect for the rhythms of the days and the seasons as well as the aesthetically appealing and nurturing surroundings create a safe and stimulating environment.
• Instead of report cards with letter or number grades, students receive detailed evaluations of their work.
• The use of electronic media, particularly television, by young children is strongly discouraged. The child cannot rationalize these images or control their impact as adults can easily do; in this way, electronic media may hamper the development of a child's imagination.
• Class teachers may stay with students for a three-year "loop." (1st, 2nd & 3rd is one loop; 4th, 5th & 6th is another.)

Technology and OCS
The effects of television on children are well documented. For example, hyperactivity, lack of attention-span or the inability to complete tasks are direct results of children watching television without appropriate care and supervision. Further, watching television before bedtime can be very disturbing to a child's sleep. Our major concern at OCS is the tremendous dimming affect it has on developing the child's imagination. It is the imagination which provides the foundation for learning and growth. At OCS, we base our curriculum on this concept.

We fully recognize that television is within the domain of the family and that it is up to you to make an informed decision for your child. To this end, we ask that no television be watched on school days.

We encourage you to explore alternatives to television. Try engaging in meaningful play, like creating a puppet show, or domestic work, such as cooking, washing dishes and gardening. Family activities, such as reading, artistic endeavors and games provide an excellent alternative to the isolating effects that can result from television viewing.

What is true of television also holds for videos, computer games and other such media as well. Often these media place a lifeless physical image into the mind of the child and prevent the imagination from remaining full of life. The Whole Child Curriculum at OCS teaches children subjects when their minds and their bodies are the most ready to process the information. In order to be consistent, we must resist many contemporary elements of the outside world and wait until the children are truly ready to absorb what they have to offer. Therefore, computer technologies will not be offered nor implemented in the classrooms until students are in 7th grade. We recommend that parents limit the use of computers (including gaming computers) at home until they are brought into the classroom by the teacher as the curriculum calls for it. If you have any further questions on this, please contact your class teacher.

Social Responsibility, The Environment and Community Service
OCS' curriculum includes an emphasis on environmental and social responsibility. Frequent hands-on experience with the ecology surrounding us and the acknowledgement of the rich cultural history of our community reflects our curriculum and our educational approach.

Bringing children into contact with those different than themselves and caring for the environment helps broaden their understanding of the realities of our society. It helps them develop compassion and sympathy for others as well as a desire and will to help. Service projects help build a spirit of community within each class. Working together towards a common goal helps develop skills in cooperation and trust. Taking care and beautifying a corner of the school property or making a contribution to a school festival celebration are appropriate tasks for the early grades. Children in the middle grades might develop and implement a recycling program throughout the school. These activities introduce the children to the satisfaction of doing something practical that benefits others. Through our varied service programs, OCS enthusiastically embraces the diversity of our community.