Serving children ages 3 1/2 through 6 years of age
5-day & 3-day options available
8:15 am to 12:15 pm
Extended Care available until 2:45 pm

Our Pre-K/Kindergarten classes prepare children for our elementary school—and for lifelong learning—by developing their capacity for creative thinking and problem-solving through imaginative play. Play is the real work of young children. Through it, many opportunities for natural learning occur. To this end, our Early Childhood teachers create a warm homelike environment in which healthy imaginative play can flourish.  Simple, open-ended toys are utilized, including shells, stones, logs, branches, moveable play frames, wooden toys, colored fabrics, sheep's wool, and cloth dolls. The classroom is transformed daily into busy shops, construction sites, a spaceship, a recycling center, a hospital...anything the children can imagine!

Teachers also bring to the children a variety of structured experiences in movement, the arts, and practical "work" that lay the foundation for later academic learning. Snacks of whole grains and organic fruits and vegetables are enjoyed daily, with the children helping in both the preparation and clean up. Outdoor play, nature walks, and field trips cultivate a sense of one's place in the natural world and nourish the children's sense of awe and wonder, important prerequisites for the exploration of the sciences in elementary school.

Learning Objectives

Language Arts are established with broad and fundamental work in listening and speaking, including singing, proper pronunciation, and rhymes that form the basis of word families.  Poems and stories told from memory by the teacher expand vocabulary, improve attention span, and support future reading success.

Mathematics is supported through gross and fine motor activity that refines balance, coordination, spatial orientation, and dexterity in fingers and limbs. Imaginative play with simple objects provides a concrete basis for the abstract manipulation of symbols in elementary school. Such play enjoyed in a non-competitive, collaborative way promotes the problem-solving skills required for mental math and algebraic thinking in the elementary years.

Artistic experience is gained through beeswax modeling, painting, coloring, working with wool, sewing, finger-knitting, woodworking, music, singing, puppetry and simple dramatizations.

Social skills are fostered by providing protected space for children who are learning to live, work and play in a group, practicing common courtesy and politeness.  The healthy blend of child-directed play and teacher-directed activities provides the necessary opportunities for children to develop emotional-regulation, self-discipline, and social strategies for making friends and resolving conflicts.

First Grade Readiness

Children who turn 5 years of age by June 1st of a given year are considered "true Kindergarteners" in September and must enroll for 5 mornings per week. True Kindergarteners enjoy being the oldest children in the Kindergarten class and often take up their role as mentors with great care and enthusiasm. In January and February, all "true Kindergarteners" participate in a screening to help determine first grade readiness for the coming fall.  The screening process is presented to the children as a "Journey Through an Enchanted Land" and includes specific activities for observing hand, foot, ear and eye dominance, balance, coordination, concentration, listening, following directions, memory, and gross and fine motor skills. These screenings help us understand the unique strengths and needs of each child and assist us in determining best placement for each student.  In addition, Kindergarteners complete their "First Grade Ready" project, a handcrafted jump-rope made by finger-knitting and braiding.  The children take their completed jump ropes to First Grade where jump-rope games support coordination and math learning.

To learn more about our admissions process, please visit the Admissions Process page.