Ice Cream Class
age 3 - 3.5
Program Options Available for Monday – Friday (inquire for more details)
Morning ExtraCare (optional): 8:30am – 9am
Program Hours: 9am – 1pm
Nap/Rest Time (optional): 1:15pm – 3pm
Afternoon ExtraCare (optional): 3pm – 4:30pm
The Ice Creams Class is another of our beginning classes. Very young children may be having their first experience with separation. Our teachers have years of experience helping parents to coax their little ones into a room filled with loads of fun activities. It doesn't take long! The room has all their favorites, trucks, cars, trains, and planes on the one hand, and kitchen, pretend food, babies, dress-ups and props for dramatic play. A large portion of the room is filled with choices for individual play, a fairy house with furniture, a castle, a dollhouse and a fire station with all the characters. There is a two-person loft with cozy chairs for reading books. The shelves around the room have many different learning materials, puzzles, manipulatives, letter and number explorations, fun sorting, and a science table! All of these can be enjoyed individually or have a friend(s) join in too. Our emphasis on art continues. Not only is the painting easel always a choice but there are art shelves with pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, and a variety of papers for do-it-yourself exploration. And the teachers help children to create delightful projects to take home.
This class cohort is slightly older and is now capable of enjoying a circle time filled with songs, games, yoga, exercise, felt board stories and talks about seasonal monthly themes. They play outside in our very large backyard which includes several different areas. Each day our four older classes are in a different setting, exclusively playing within their own class during the morning. They may be downstairs in the "pretend" grassy hill area with slides, a large sandbox with many shovels, trucks, etc., a mud kitchen for messy play on warm days, or in the upstairs garden area with tree swings, a huge two-story wooden structure, a large sandbox, or next door in an area with many climbers, a swing set slide structure, and a huge sandbox. One day a week there is bike day on the blacktop area when you can bring your own bike from home or run around in a huge area including a small redwood stand with our resident barn owl, Julio.
Most importantly children continue our school practice of learning to take a big deep breath. They are being encouraged to develop a sensitivity to their own bodies, to others, and to their environment. They begin to deepen their love and affectionate respect for Mother Earth and all living things.