Huguenot Nursery School was established to provide an enriching experience for young children. Our developmentally appropriate program aims to encourage the growth of the unique person within each child and to develop constructive attitudes for happy and responsible relationships with peers, parents, and teachers. Everyone is treated with dignity and respect. The staff is sensitive and responsive to the needs and interests of each child.
To accomplish this, Huguenot Nursery School provides an environment of:
– love, in which children have no cause for timidity and in which they are treated with courtesy and tenderness;
– patience, allowing unhurried responses to children’s natural inquisitiveness;
– learning opportunities designed to promote physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual growth;
– no racial or sex-role bias, stereotype, or prejudice; and
– warm and active cooperation between parents, caregivers, and teachers.
Teachers at Huguenot Nursery School design a developmentally appropriate program for each child at the start of each school year. Staff share this information with parents, who are involved in setting appropriate goals for their children. At the end of the year, teachers provide parents with evaluations of each child’s developmental progress.
Each day, there are both individual and small group activities. The children, using a variety of materials, are encouraged to explore and experiment in accordance with their unique learning styles and interests. The purpose of these exercises is to create an atmosphere of self-respect and self-discipline.
Play, the universal language of childhood, is used at the school to foster understanding of elementary concepts of time, space, number and color. Games, painting, constructions, modeling, dance, outdoor play, and music are used to sharpen cognitive processes, as well as to allow children to interact constructively with others.
Research shows that pre-schoolers are usually most responsive to activities in which they are involved in a “hands on” manner. Our teachers accept that and design their classroom spaces with learning centers at which children can freely choose whether to participate or not and for how long.
The pre-school curriculum includes activities centering on communication, science, math, social studies, music, art, and large and small muscle development. Dramatic play opportunities reinforce learning of practical life experiences. Children attend a music class with a trained music specialist once a week as well as with a professional storyteller once a month.