Our Classrooms

 

Infant & Toddler Classes

 

Caterpillars A and B

                                                       NFP enrollment can start as early as 6 weeks! Caterpillars A                                                        classroom serves our youngest subset of students, typically about 6                                                        weeks to 6 months at the beginning of a school year, while                                                                      Caterpillars B typically serves students who are between 6 months                                                          and 1 year at the beginning of the school year. Our infant and                                                                  toddler students "follow their own schedule",

                                                       per DCF regulations, which means that

                                                       each child's individual feeding and

                                                       napping schedules are honored.

                                                      Our teams work closely with families

                                                      to learn and carry out all individual

                                                      details of care to provide the most

                                                      comfortable environment for our

                                                      youngest learners.  

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         Caterpillars teachers focus on so many developmental milestones from

gross motor skills to oral language development. Our teachers are active bodies 

who know that being on the floor playing, modeling for, and speaking with children are excellent approaches to early education. Our classrooms offer sensory exploration, gross motor equipment, music, hands-on art projects and more.  
 

         Our Caterpillars students get a lot of time on the floor to explore

their classrooms, but they also start their NFP nature experience! With a fenced, 

grassy back-yard with age-appropriate play area directly off of the room, the Caterpillars kids can easily get outside multiple times a day. We also use wagons and buggies to go for walks around our great property!    

 

Butterflies

         The Butterflies class is intended for our oldest toddlers who

have not turned 2 years old before the first week of September.

Butterflies students continue to hone their gross motor skills with 

active play, dancing, and yoga! These friends have a more defined

daily schedule and typically do just one nap a day (though we will

always adjust as necessary) on cots rather than cribs.

 

         Butterflies develop terrific oral language skills and enjoy

                                                     lots of books, songs, art projects

                                                      and more. Learning goals

                                                      include repeating words and using two-word sentences as well as

                                                           beginning identifying and sorting and beginning to play dramatic-                                                            play games. 

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                                                            These students continue to build on self-care skills that are first                                                             introduced in Caterpillars. Using utensils and lid-less cups,                                                                     washing hands, putting on shoes, and zipping jackets are just                                                                   some examples.

 

                                                            The Butterflies use a combination of our back-yard and                                                                           traditional playground. They also begin age-appropriate                                                                           hikes on our wooded nature trails.  

 

 

Early Preschool Classes
 

Robins 

                                          Our students who are between 2 and 2.5 years old at the start of the 

                                                      school year enter the Robins classroom. Even more than before,                                                                these friends are ready to get active and soak up as much as they                                                               can. As fine motor skills develop, Robins students hone pencil-                                                               holding, and other more complex skills like unscrewing lids and                                                               carefully turning pages of a book. Robins friends love morning                                                                  meetings and more group lessons on creative and nature-                                                                        inspired themes.  

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                                                         Robins teachers encourage

                                                    the transition from parallel

                                               play to more engagement with

                                   peers and teachers are always close by                                                           during center-play to add more language and information to

student games and activities. Independence building continues

as students clean up their plates, put on their coats, and

typically start more actively potty-training.  

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Robins students, being over 2 years old, are permitted by DCF to go outside during colder and warmer weather than students under the age of 2. Robins love stomping in mud puddles, exploring the climbers and little nooks in the nature playground, and go on longer hikes daily.  

                                                         

                                                 -Under Construction-

Please check back shortly for information on our Badgers, Bears, and Eagles classrooms. Thank you for your patience as we work to offer you more insight into our school!

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