The East Side Nursery School

At East Side Nursery School, children learn through play.

Throughout the year you will hear us singing, talking, and playing to explore many different concepts in many different areas. We may be cooking for our annual Harvest Feast—where the children prepare delicious food and invite their families to come share it with us—or we may be observing our rotting pumpkin. We may be exploring different artist’s techniques, or we may be doing woodworking and exploring simple tools. You will also find us experiencing the seasons through visiting trees on our neighborhood walks.

 

Your Child’s Day at ESNS

8:45-9:00 Greetings
The children arrive at school. Each child washes his or her hands as they enter the classroom. The children may start their day in the art area, at the play-dough table, or in the dress-up area; by exploring small manipulatives or investigating materials at the sand or science tables; by playing with legos and trains; or by reading books in the quiet area. Parents will often play with play-dough, draw a picture or read a book to help their child transition into the day.

9:10 Group Time
At this time we gather with the children to start the day. We remind the children that “the teachers are here to take care of you!” We sing songs and talk about what is going on in the classroom that day: we share plans for the day’s cooking or art projects, we explore the science area, we introduce the helping parent, and we may even brainstorm how to deal with any issues in the classroom, because we can solve many problems as a group. Group time begins as a very short gathering time for the three-year olds, but the length of group time grows as the children grow developmentally.

9:30 Activity Time
With the words, “Think about where you want to play and have a great day”, the children move on to activity time. This is the time of day when the children choose among the many activity centers at ESNS. The teachers and helping parents encourage and support the children in this process. The children are playing, but through the careful design of our curriculum, they are also learning.

10:30 Clean-up
As a group we come together to clean up the classroom. We all work together to clean it. Then we wash our hands for snack.

10:40 Snack
The helping parent brings in a fresh fruit snack for the class. The school supplies milk, water, pretzels and Cheerios as well.

10:55 Quiet Time
The children clear their snack place and then they go to look at books for a few minutes until the other children are done.

11:00 Group Activity Time
At this time we may sing a song or play a cd so we can wiggle, or we may use the parachute or investigate musical instruments.

11:00 Book Time
Each day we read a book to the children.

11:15 Outside or Inside Playtime
At ESNS we try to go outside as often as we can. Unless it is bitterly cold, rainy, or icy in our playground, we go out. It may be for a just a few minutes at the end of the day. When we are inside, we can transform our classroom into a great play space. We have basketball, a slide, sit and spins, a rocking boat, hopscotch, a balance beam, and other equipment that we use to allow the children some gross motor play time.

 

Weather permitting, each school day ends with time on our outdoor playground.

We strive to help each individual child to feel comfortable not only with themselves, but with others.

The classroom always provides ample room for creative play. Imaginative minds find space to grow!

Early childhood education extends beyond the indoor classroom. Field trips take us to various local attractions.