What We Teach
The mission of St. Philip’s Nursery School is to provide a preschool experience for the three and four year old children of our community that will encourage them to be active, confident, creative, curious learners, well-prepared for further education and lifelong learning. In our preschool, children gain responsibility and respect for themselves and others, build friendships, and play and explore cooperatively. We affirm, respect, and nurture the uniqueness of each child as we help our students develop intellectually, socially, physically, and emotionally. We carry out our mission in harmony with our community of parents and with the fellowship of St. Philip’s Church. We acknowledge and respect all religious traditions.
At St. Philip’s, we believe strongly in the importance of play and in the importance of children of different ages playing together and teaching and learning from each other. These beliefs are reflected in our daily routines. Our morning begins with an hour of free choice, or free play time, from 9:05 to 10 a.m. Children may choose any of the downstairs activity areas: the art room, the tables that hold puzzles, games, and writing materials, the block area, housekeeping, dress-ups, and the library area, as well as other special activities on a rotating basis. Children play together. Teachers facilitate play while encouraging independent choices and cooperation among the children.
At 10 a.m., children and teachers clean-up and wash hands. We then all gather together for meeting time. At meeting time, we say a simple prayer together, sing, and review the calendar and weather. Meeting time is followed by snack, around 10:30 a.m. Snack is served family-style, with children and teachers sharing small tables. After snack, the children are divided by age into smaller groups for art, music, and science, math, or literacy, usually based on a curriculum theme.
At around 11:30-11:45, children go outside to play. In case of bad weather, our large upstairs indoors space is used for large motor activities. Children are picked up by their parents, and are welcome to stay and play on the playground.
At St. Philip’s, we believe strongly in the importance of play and in the importance of children of different ages playing together and teaching and learning from each other. These beliefs are reflected in our daily routines. Our morning begins with an hour of free choice, or free play time, from 9:05 to 10 a.m. Children may choose any of the downstairs activity areas: the art room, the tables that hold puzzles, games, and writing materials, the block area, housekeeping, dress-ups, and the library area, as well as other special activities on a rotating basis. Children play together. Teachers facilitate play while encouraging independent choices and cooperation among the children.
At 10 a.m., children and teachers clean-up and wash hands. We then all gather together for meeting time. At meeting time, we say a simple prayer together, sing, and review the calendar and weather. Meeting time is followed by snack, around 10:30 a.m. Snack is served family-style, with children and teachers sharing small tables. After snack, the children are divided by age into smaller groups for art, music, and science, math, or literacy, usually based on a curriculum theme.
At around 11:30-11:45, children go outside to play. In case of bad weather, our large upstairs indoors space is used for large motor activities. Children are picked up by their parents, and are welcome to stay and play on the playground.