Classroom Enrichments

One big component of the Discovery philosophy is the belief that parents play an integral role in assisting in learning. In the Discovery model, one way this is realized is by parents bringing “extra” learning opportunities into the classroom through enrichments.

Enrichments are education opportunities in topics which go beyond the core curriculum (e.g. gardening, cooking, music, etc.). Typically these are delivered by a class parent who is passionate about the subject, and take place during their normal classroom shift. Teachers define the structure for enrichments and approve topics, but parents bring their creativity and energy to lead the class in discovery and learning.

These enrichments embody some of the fundamental components of Discovery’s education philosophy such as:

Allowing for small group work and hands-on activities
Providing opportunities to learn about topics outside of the core curriculum
Providing children with a rounded, culturally-rich education
Teaching life skills benefiting children beyond the classroom

Enrichments provide new experiences, extend learning, and make school life more fun.

To help our enrichment leads, we have an Enrichment Guidebook & FAQs document full of lots of useful information, an Enrichment Library in the Atrium (in the hall headed out to the garden) and a digital library. For any additional questions, feel free to reach out to our enrichment committee at enrichments@mydiscoveryk8.org.

ENRICHMENT EXAMPLES

The enrichments offered in a classroom are dependent on what the parents in each class are willing to lead and what the teacher wants to have. Typically, elementary classes have around 4 weekly enrichments. Middle school enrichments are done jointly and kids select two enrichment electives per trimester. Some common enrichment examples are described below.

Cooking

Cooking teaches kids life skills while trying new foods and learning about nutrition. Kids learn about science, math, and self-reliance. Classrooms have access to the kitchen and cooking supplies.

Gardening / Nature

Each classroom has access to a garden bed. Kids can plant seeds and watch them grow. Food can eventually be harvested. Kids learn about nature, science, patience, and responsibility.

Art

Art helps kids process their experiences and express their feelings. Art promotes creativity and builds fine motor skills. Classrooms have access to Atelier space between classrooms to explore art.

Ceramics

Discovery Falcon has a ceramics studio with a kiln! Kids learn different ways to manipulate clay. Manipulating clay improves eye/hand coordination and builds both gross and fine motor skills while expressing creativity.

Languages

Understanding multiple languages is a huge asset in our global world. It develop strong cognitive skills and improves social connection. Our community is diverse allowing languages to easily be taught. There is also an extensive amount of Spanish materials parents can leverage.

Music

Music ignites many areas of child development including intellectual, social-emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. In addition to the developmental benefits, music brings us joy. Falcon campus has some musical instruments available to be used for this enrichment.

Science / STEM

Discovery is required to follow the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the classroom and this curriculum is led by teachers. Science or STEM enrichments support or augment this curriculum. Kids learn to master the scientific method, apply critical thinking, and inspire them to become lifelong science learners.

& More

The sky is the limit at Discovery! Parents bring their passions and kids love to learn! Additional enrichment topics have included: Performing Arts, Sewing, Nature Appreciation, Yarn, Photography, Basketball, Economics, Coding, Foreign Language, Origami, & Yoga.

enrichment faqs

What are enrichments?

Why does Discovery have enrichments?

Enrichments embody some of the fundamental components of Discovery’s education philosophy. They allow for small group work and hands-on activities. They provide opportunities to learn about topics outside of the core curriculum. Enrichments provide children with a rounded, culturally-rich education through activities which enhance their learning. They teach life skills benefiting children beyond the classroom, and develop an appreciation for cultural and community issues, teamwork and social responsibility. Enrichments provide new experiences, extend learning, and make school life more fun.

Why do parents deliver enrichments?

Having parents partner with teachers to deliver enrichments allows us to offer learning opportunities which would be hard for a teacher to plan and implement with all their other work. By “splitting the load” of fun, engaging activities across multiple parents, our kids are able to have a number of amazing learning experiences every week. Additionally, we are able to tap into parent’s diverse passions and bring this excitement into the classroom.

What is required to lead an enrichment?

All you need is yourself and your energy! Leading an enrichment is done during your normal classroom shift so there is no additional classroom time needed. However, some additional planning and organizing time is required to determine what activities and curriculum you want to bring to the classroom (in conjunction with what the teacher is looking for and topics they want to tie in).

Typically leading an enrichment requires signing up to lead the enrichment from October through the end of the year. However, if you can’t sign up for the whole year, feel free to talk to your teacher about potentially leading an enrichment for a shorter duration (or every other week rather than weekly). Teachers can each decide how they want to schedule enrichments to fit with their class structure and goals.

Why should I lead an enrichment?

It is the easiest way to become a superhero! Leading an enrichment lets you really connect with ALL the kids in the classroom. The kids adore and look forward to enrichments every week and their faces often light up when you walk into the room to bring them a fun, new learning activity.

Leading an enrichment is also personally fulfilling. Making a difference in kids' lives and knowing that you created life long memories for our kids is extremely rewarding.

If not you, who? Enrichments have such a big impact for our kids. They really allow us to meet the Discovery learning goals we all signed up for. However, we can only achieve our vision if we have parents who are willing to step up and bring some of the magic to the classroom. Please help us bring a plethora of enrichments into every classroom!

Who can I contact for more information?

Feel free to reach out to the Enrichment Committee members for more information at enrichments@mydiscoveryk8.org.

enrichment Supports

Books & Curriculum Ideas: In the Atrium, there are bookshelves for enrichments. (Look for the “enrichments” banner on the bookshelves in the atrium by the door leading out to the garden.) These bookshelves have many ideas to help you out including idea books and past curriculums. If you want a curriculum you can just pick up and implement from a previous year, this is where you can find it! These bookcases also have information about where central supplies can be found. This is a great place to start your enrichment journey. Come check it out anytime!

Online Resources: We also maintain a google drive with digital documents containing curriculum ideas and other helpful resources. These resources can be found here.

Central Supplies: We have central supply storage for gardening, cooking, art, ceramics & music. These supplies contain many of the basic materials you might need to lead an enrichment in your classroom. We will be adding inventory lists and information about how to borrow materials soon.

Financial Reimbursement: Did you know you can get reimbursed for supplies that are needed beyond what is already available? Each class has a $500 budget for enrichment materials. Please work with your teacher and/or class coordinator to determine how this money can be split within your classroom enrichments.

Topic Communities: For our standard enrichment topics (gardening, cooking, art, ceramics, music, and science) we have groups created in groups.io for enrichment leads to communicate. This group can be used to communicate ideas and ask for help. If there are enough parents leading enrichments in other topics, we are happy to set up additional groups for you to use to communicate.

Enrichment Structure

Enrichments in the classroom are led by parents called “Enrichment Leads”. These people work directly with teachers to determine the activities and structure of enrichments in the classroom. For common enrichment topics, we also have “Enrichment Chairs” responsible for the organization of communal supplies and communication between enrichment leads for their topic. The “Enrichment Committee” is responsible for the organization of school wide enrichment storage locations as well as communicating, promoting, and encouraging classroom enrichments at the school-wide level.

Enrichment Instructors

Enrichment instructors bring learning and joy directly to our kids! As an enrichment instructor, you are responsible for leading activities in a selected topic in the classroom. It is your energy and passion that make a direct difference in our kids' lives. You are bringing our school philosophy to life by bringing enriching activities into the classroom which expand our children’s exposure to many diverse learning opportunities. This is all done while building amazing memories for our kids (and hopefully you also have fun at the same time).

Job Duties:

Plan enrichment activities in your selected topic (in coordination with your teacher)
Plan the structure of how the activity will be structured (in coordination with your teacher – e.g. teaching in small groups vs the whole class)
Organize and obtain materials for the activity (Note: Some reimbursement funds are available in coordination with your CC and teacher.)
Set up, facilitate, and clean-up activity during classroom shift
Things to consider: Our school focuses on project-based learning. To this end, it is great when activities can be tied in with class projects/themes or can be tied in with other enrichments (e.g. cooking and gardening might want to work together to bring a full farm-to-table experience for our kids).

Enrichment Chairs

Enrichment Chairs are responsible for higher level organization for a specific enrichment topic. This includes organizing and managing our communal supplies. It also includes communication focusing on building community, ensuring leads know about community resources, and responding to questions from leads throughout the year to ensure the success of enrichments for your topic area.

Job Duties:

Organize and manage physical communal supplies for your enrichment topic (e.g. organize and label materials and keep the inventory lists up-to-date)
Organize and manage our physical & digital “library” resources for your enrichment topic
Lead “Introduction Sessions” as enrichments get started to show/discuss people the communal supplies/resources available and have enrichment leads meet each other.
Build community within the topic area so people feel they are supported and can easily ask for & get help/support throughout the year.
Encourage people to document activities they lead to help build out our inventory of ideas to help future enrichment leads.
Respond to questions enrichment leads have regarding their enrichment.
Bring up concerns to the Enrichment Committee as needed.

Enrichment Committee

The enrichment committee is responsible for supporting classroom enrichments on campus holistically. This includes management of the physical & digital library space along with identifying physical locations for storing communal supplies. One of the main goals of the enrichment committee is to remove barriers for parents to encourage as many parents as possible to sign up as enrichment leads. This includes ensuring our community is aware of what enrichments are and what supports are available to make enrichments easier.

Job Duties:

Ensure there is an Enrichment Chair for each topic area and that Enrichment Chair responsibilities are fullfilled.
Work with the school administration to determine where supplies can be stored & ensure these supplies are organized and managed.
Create and manage a physical and digital library space for enrichments.
Ensure people are added to groups.io groups once class schedules are announced.
Be a point of communication for teachers, enrichment chairs & enrichment leads
Create and maintain high level documentation around enrichments.
Inform the school community about updates and information around enrichments.
Ensure leads all know about resources and supports available to parents to encourage more parents to take on enrichments in the classroom.

Additional Enrichment Curriculum Materials

Want access to more enrichment materials and support? Check out the enrichment library in the atrium or peruse our Enrichment Google Drive full of lots of useful material.

Enrichment Curriculum Materials

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