A wonderful opportunity to introduce toddlers and younger children to the joys of school and the world beyond family. Our youngest students engage in hands-on, play-based exploration and cooperative learning activities both inside and outdoors through our early childhood development education program. Our most foundational tenets: respect, sharing, building relationships and self-expression start here. To minimize anxiety and maximize success, our hands-on school program is designed to help our toddlers gain confidence and independence. Routines, consistency and our stellar, supportive teachers help students feel safe and known in their new surroundings. In our Toddler program, parents drop off their children as students when they are developmentally ready.
TCS is also proud to offer a unique parent education component to support our families during this critical period of child development. Parent education meetings happen during class time and start when students are ready for some separation. Discussions and occasional guest speakers cover wide ranging, relevant topics like growth, development, parenting strategies, potty training, positive behavior reinforcement, and much more.
The Toddler Program is open to children who have reached 26 months by Sept. 1 of the year of entry. Classes meet two, three or five days a week, from 9am to 12pm.
We know children learn best by doing, so our play-based preschool classrooms are rich environments where students explore activity centers and develop emergent interests. Our program builds on the social and learning skills introduced during the toddler years. Experienced preschool teachers pay careful attention to the skills, knowledge and questions that each student brings to the classroom and explore letters, numbers, counting, music, art and writing using a variety of materials, subjects, and approaches. Our collaborative learning strategies and personalized learning plans also focus on social growth through our Integrated Social Curriculum. Children learn how to confidently and independently solve problems, verbalize their feelings, respect themselves and others, and establish social relationships.
Preschool students at The Children’s School spend their days exploring our campus, inside and out. Group or individual centers (such as sensory exploration, science investigation, art, writing, reading, cooking, dramatic play) encourage collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. Outside play periods are generally unstructured with children free to choose from engaging, age-appropriate activities including tricycling, digging in the sand, tire swinging, sliding, climbing, and water play. Full-day preschool students have a scheduled nap time in the afternoon of approximately 1 1/2 hours. Children who do not nap may do quiet activities.
Preschool classes are open to children who have reached their third birthday by Dec. 1 of the year of entry and are toilet trained. Classes meet two, three or five days a week, from 9am to 12pm for half-day students, and from 9am to 3pm for full-day students. Preschool morning drop off begins at 8:30am for both programs.
Our Prekindergarten Program continues to foster children’s learning and readies them for the adventure of kindergarten. We focus on offering greater age-appropriate responsibilities and challenges while continuing to support student learning through a hands-on, interdisciplinary curriculum. Personalized learning takes place through group projects, activity centers and one-to-one interactions with the teacher. We believe in setting individualized goals, identified for each student by their teacher, and differentiating learning.
Students continue to explore the classroom and expansive campus and grounds. They’re now ready to attend specialty classes in Spanish, library, physical education, art and music. A 45-minute rest period, called peaceful time, offers a break from all the fun and learning.
Prekindergarten classes are open to students who have reached their fourth birthday by Sept. 1 of the year of entry.
Classes are Monday through-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
