Sparking Curiosity

Refresh page when toggling 'compose' mode on and off to edit.

Recommended Image Size: 1440px wide by 600px tall
(this text will not display with 'compose' mode off or on live site)

4PreK teacher Ella Slaker talks with a preschool student at the Rowland Hall Beginning School located in Salt Lake City, Utah

Beginning School: 3PreK, 4PreK, and Kindergarten

Welcome to Rowland Hall's independent private preschool, an exceptional place for young children in Utah to learn. Early childhood is a time of incredible brain development, and you'll find actively engaged learners within our classrooms and outdoor spaces.

When you enter the Beginning School, it’s immediately clear: this is a place tailor-made to amplify the power and magic of young children. The intentional and joyous celebration of Rowland Hall’s youngest learners reverberates in every corner. And in every classroom and play space, you’ll find master teachers who are at the heart of what we do: provide experiences that encourage curiosity, compassion, expression, and deep thinking. In the Beginning School, students learn how to think, not merely what to think.

I am honored to be a part of this special place that fosters such exceptional learning and teaching in a warm and inclusive community. I hope you’ll come for a visit to see what I see, and—more importantly—what our students see.

Sincerely,

Emma Wellman 
Beginning School and Lower School Principal

Independent Private Beginning School Principal - Emma Wellman - Salt Lake City, Utah

Emma Wellman
Beginning School and Lower School Principalget to know Emma

Contact the Beginning School

720 Guardsman Way
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
801-355-7485

Photo Gallery

A Rowland Hall beginning school class jumps in the air in the nature yard outside of their McCarthey Campus classroom.
A Rowland Hall preschool students examines dirt with a magnifying glass in their classroom.
Rowland Hall preschoolers laugh while sitting at a fine-motor skill table in their Salt Lake City, Utah classroom.

Beginning School Stories in Fine Print Magazine

A Rowland Hall preschooler sketches a class-created model of the Utah State Capitol.

Have you ever watched a child play with blocks? 

It’s something that almost every child does. There is something innate in the human brain that makes us want to stack and position items from our earliest age. Building with blocks is such an important skill that is tracked as a child development milestone. In the Rowland Hall Beginning School, though, blocks are more than that—they are the foundation of a transformational education. 

In the work we are doing you can see all the skills we teach the students at Rowland Hall, no matter what their age. Making a plan, organizing it, sticking with it, learning to fail, learning to make mistakes, listening to others, it’s all there.—Isabelle Buhler, 4PreK lead teacher

“We have been doing block study and block building for many, many years,” said 4PreK lead teacher Isabelle Buhler. “In the work we are doing you can see all the skills we teach the students at Rowland Hall, no matter what their age. Making a plan, organizing it, sticking with it, learning to fail, learning to make mistakes, listening to others, it’s all there.” 

Block study starts out with the basics: the names and shapes of blocks, their functions, how to care for them, how to work together to build with them, and how to put them away. It doesn’t stay simple for long, though: by four years old, students in the Beginning School have transformed into miniature architects. 

“We start looking at how to make structures more stable and learn building techniques like plank and pillar, and staggering,” said 4PreK lead teacher Ella Slaker. “We start looking at buildings in books, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and talk about how we could make it better. And we look at buildings locally to see where we can identify the building techniques we are learning.” 

This year the 4PreK took advantage of the school’s central location and visited the Utah State Capitol as part of their block study. Accompanied by their fourth-grade buddies, the students walked up and down the grand stairs, counted the beehives that dot the grounds, and marveled at the high domed ceilings covered in beautiful murals. They also noticed how the marble walls are built in a staggered pattern to make them stronger, and how the soaring pillars support the planks of the ceilings and roof. They took in all these details for their next project: building models of the capitol themselves. 

“The idea was to get them thinking about it,” said 4PreK lead teacher Kirsten White. “We wanted to start with inspiring them by seeing the capitol firsthand, the inside and all around.” 

Rowland Hall preschoolers work on their Utah State Capitol project.

Left: 4PreK students work on blueprints. Right: Students draw and label their finished capitol.


Like any good architects, the students didn’t start building immediately. First, they had to draw up blueprints. Using pictures from books as well as those taken on their field trip, the students drew plans to build their capitols. Then, they decided which blocks and techniques to use to build the levels, the columns, the dome, and other aspects of the structure.

The great thing about this project is that it goes across the curriculum. When we drew the blueprints from memory and photos, it required tracing straight or curvy lines and orienting them correctly. The building process required knowing shapes and counting blocks, which falls under math skills. Building a balanced, stable, and symmetrical building engaged physics skills.—Kirsten White, 4PreK lead teacher

“The great thing about this project is that it goes across the curriculum,” said Kirsten. “When we drew the blueprints from memory and photos, it required tracing straight or curvy lines and orienting them correctly. The building process required knowing shapes and counting blocks, which falls under math skills. Building a balanced, stable, and symmetrical building engaged physics skills.”

Social-emotional learning concepts came into play during the construction of the capitol models. No child built their model alone; they all had to work either in small groups or as a class. That meant using cooperation and letting everyone have a say in how they were going to proceed. It also meant learning to deal with setbacks. 

“The collaboration is huge. It takes a lot of stamina and a lot of coaching,” said Isabelle.  “And when it falls down what do you do? You start again and you don’t give up.”

The wide range of skills being explored in this project meant that every child could have a role, no matter their learning style or talents. It’s an excellent example of how voice and choice are promoted in the classroom. Students with an eye for detail helped perfect the plans and guide the builders, while those with more adept motor skills placed blocks so they balanced perfectly in the trickier parts of the structure. 

Of course, when you ask the four-year-olds what their favorite part of the block study was, they won’t mention any of these lessons initially. The first thing they all say is that they had fun. Of course they did—they were playing with blocks. When you dig a little deeper, though, they will start telling you about the ways they built, showing you the blocks they used, and telling you how they solved problems when something went wrong. That’s when it becomes obvious that they are taking away knowledge to help them build a lifetime of learning.

Rowland Hall preschoolers collaborated to build a miniature Utah State Capitol.

A final Utah State Capitol model in Ella Slaker and Claire Shepley's classroom.

Experiential Learning

Rowland Hall elementary school students on the playground

As Rowland Hall’s princiPALS like to say: Parenting is hard. Teaching is hard. But both are a little bit easier when done in partnership.

That’s why, in the newest episode of The PrinciPALS Podcast, the pals are talking about some of the topics that are important to you, our listeners.

In this first-of-its-kind princiPALS episode, Emma Wellman and Brittney Hansen ’02 are answering some of your top questions about raising young children: how you can get habits and behaviors to stick, how to address distressing current events, how to get kids interested in activities and hobbies, and how to manage sibling rivalry during the elementary years. We hope you’ll join the pals, along with alum host Conor Bentley ’01, for this warm, supportive conversation that will leave you feeling seen and understood, and provide a deeper understanding of how to support the children in your life.

Listen to “Ask the PrinciPALS”—as well as other episodes of The PrinciPALS Podcast—on Rowland Hall's website and Apple Podcasts.

Podcast

A Rowland Hall lower schooler uses an iPad during a classroom lesson.

We live in a world filled with screens—they’re a necessary part of how we work and communicate, and even learn and play. They’re also the cause of a lot of family anxiety.

From How much screen time is too much? to Should I let my child watch this movie? the questions around children and screen time can seem endless—and it often feels like you’re doing it wrong.

As parents themselves, Rowland Hall’s princiPALS understand the struggle around screens. That’s why they’re opening the fourth season of the school’s award-winning podcast with an episode on the topic.

Join Emma Wellman and Brittney Hansen ’02, along with host Conor Bentley ’01, for a refreshing conversation on screen time, including discussion about current guidelines (and why it’s understandable if you can’t always adhere to them), what high-quality programming actually is (and how to find it), and the ever-looming question: What about social media? You’ll also learn strategies to build children’s screen literacy, and find out why it’s so important to invest in non-screen time. And, importantly, listeners will discover how they can get the whole family involved in identifying values and boundaries that will guide screen time in their homes.

Listen to “Screen Time”—as well as other episodes of The PrinciPALS Podcast—on Rowland Hall's website and Apple Podcasts.

Podcast

A Rowland Hall kindergartner studies a tree at Salt Lake City's Sunnyside Park.

On a bright fall day, under a canopy of trees at Sunnyside Park, a group of kindergartners turned into a flock of birds.

They had arrived at the park as children do, swinging their backpacks, full of wiggles, and talking to friends. But once in a circle and aware of their surroundings, with the soft grass under their feet, tall trees towering overhead, and a warm breeze fluttering the leaves, they transformed. They quieted, focused, and all took flight, spreading their wings and singing bird songs like a magnificent flock.

“It is the best part of the week for our class,” said kindergarten lead teacher Mary Grace Ellison. “All of the kids love and appreciate the time in the park, and the benefits from it are amazing.”

Each Rowland Hall kindergarten class spends one morning a week at the park as part of outdoor classroom, a project-based learning program developed by the kindergarten team. In outdoor classroom, students spend time both in structured lessons and in free play, and are encouraged at all times to take in their surroundings with all their senses.

“The students are learning from nature, not about nature,” said lead teacher Bethany Stephensen. “It’s just that idea of falling in love with the outdoors so they care about it later. If it happens young, the roots will be there.”

The teachers decided to make trees a focus when they noticed how the children were naturally drawn to them. They want to be near them and touch them, sit beneath them, and climb on them.

A central part of Rowland Hall’s kindergarten outdoor classroom curriculum is the tree study. At the beginning of the year, each student picks a tree friend they will spend time with and study each week. The teachers decided to make trees a focus when they noticed how the children were naturally drawn to them. They want to be near them and touch them, sit beneath them, and climb on them.

Each week, students read to their trees, draw pictures of them in each season, and really get to know them through their powers of observation. For instance, students Anna B. and Jaylen W. excitedly point out that their chosen tree has a butt, or small dimple, that makes it unique and special to them.

“They come to the park and they greet their trees, and when we leave they say goodbye to them. Some of them hug them,” said Bethany. “When they read to their trees they really read to them. They show them the pictures.”

Rowland Hall kindergartners enjoy weekly tree studies.

Left: Kindergartners pose with a tree friend in Sunnyside Park. Right: A class collaborates on a stick structure.


Reading to the trees, a major component of the tree study, not only deepens the students’ bond to nature, but also reinforces literacy and reading comprehension. But this isn’t the only way the trees are used in learning. Students map the park, plotting the locations of their trees and the distances between them, and use geometry to identify the shapes made by their locations and proximity to each other. They learn the scientific names of the various trees and employ scientific methods to identify the parts of their trees and label them on photos and drawings. Trees are also great subjects for math lessons.

“They take yarn and find the circumference of their trees and record it in their nature journals,” said lead teacher Melanie Robbins. “We measure things by pine cones: how many pine cones long is it? Or we use the Unifix cubes. We compare which tree is the biggest and smallest and put them in order.”

Social and emotional learning take place during tree study as well. The trees center conversations about community, belonging, and cooperation. Students talk about the fact that all trees have similarities, but no two trees are the same. They also discuss the roots that may bind the trees together, making them dependent on one another. These conversations, combined with the academic skills the tree study is building, are important for young learners, preparing them not only for higher-level learning but also helping them learn to control their bodies—in fact, studies have shown that learning outside helps students become better at self-regulation and independent learning. It’s something that the teachers often observe during their time at the park.

Beyond academic and social-emotional skills, the tree study is making students stewards of nature by teaching them to appreciate their surroundings. On an ever-changing planet, people like that are needed more than ever.

“Children learn things like the fact they can feel excited and calm at the same time,” said Melanie. “That happened just last week as we were watching a bee on a dandelion. Everyone was just ready to jump out of their skin, but they also wanted to be still because they were watching the bee and not wanting it to leave.”

It’s clear that the kindergarten tree study isn’t just a needed change of scenery for students—it is a transformational experience. Beyond the academic and social-emotional skills it’s building, it is making the students stewards of nature by teaching them to appreciate their surroundings. On an ever-changing planet, people like that are needed more than ever. And it’s a symbiotic relationship. Nature gives back by giving these children opportunities to learn in different ways and to connect to their surroundings. It gives them a sense of self and place not available in any other way.

Learning outside gives them wings and helps them soar.

Academics

You Belong at Rowland Hall