Many factors go into developing a preschool environment which nurtures growth in children. The goals of our school are to enable the children to act with confidence in themselves, have a sense of their own competence, explore the world with curiosity and enthusiasm, receive and incorporate information from others, delight in each other and adults around them, and have an increasing sense of control over what happens to them so they can develop a sense of self-reliance and social adjustment. Our program is designed to provide many opportunities and experiences which will encourage each child to grow towards these goals. It is important that in a parent participation nursery school everyone have an understanding of what we do to meet these goals.

The child’s experiences fall into two major categories. First, those in which the child explores, creates, discovers, practices and in general, teaches him/herself. We often label these experiences as "just playing," but in truth, play is a child’s work. Through art, free play, and free choice among activities, we allow the child to be involved with the process rather than emphasizing an end product. Before an individual can be concerned with the product, he/she needs to play around with the materials. A great deal of our curriculum is aimed at providing experiences and materials to allow a child to play around. Until the play is complete, the child will not be ready to go on to something more concrete.

The second category is of experiences in which the child learns how to acquire and utilize information from others. There is a specific task to do or a goal to reach in accordance with preset instructions. Focus time, circle time, learning crafts and small group time provide the children with opportunities to learn from others. They learn the words to songs, how to cook, make letters and cut shapes. These times also provide them with opportunities in which to learn how to delay and/or suppress their impulses to be the center of attention or to gain immediate gratification. Our group times, both large and small, have much to offer a child in the way of developing social and learning skills for the future.

The school’s philosophical orientation is to achieve a balance of experiences from both categories to maximize the children’s growth. It is fun to do some things together (a goal from the second category). It is also fun to do things for oneself (a goal from the first category). A child who can acquire the ability to play both ways will, in all likelihood, achieve the goal of developing a positive self-image. Such a child is flexible and is not threatened by having to accommodate to either situation. He or she is secure.

This approach needs to be carried into our dealings with interpersonal relationships between adults, adults and children, and between the children.  Fighting, biting, hitting and name calling are all devices used by the children to reach a goal that they are unable to reach by any other means that they are aware of. So, too, children sometimes have a different idea of what works. An example would be the child who continues to misbehave because he finds that the intense reaction of his parents is attention, and therefore, love. Our job here at the school will be both to allow the children to discover and to tell them when their behavior is unacceptable in terms of reaching their goals. It will be up to us to help the children discover what their goals are. It will be both the child’s and our responsibility to help him/her find better ways to achieve the goals set out. Sometimes our job will be to help a child accept the fact that he/she can’t have that particular goal now. We hope you will join with the staff in the delight that comes when the children are happy with themselves because they have learned how to handle various situations such as riding a bike, crossing the bars, creating a picture, waiting for a turn, buttoning their coat, sharing with a friend, figuring out how not to fight, inventing a story, pouring their own milk without spilling, remembering to go to the bathroom or to put away their own toys, sitting in a circle without much trouble, sharing ideas, giving hugs, allowing themselves to be hugged, and saying "thank you."