Fun, Learning & Family

We believe it is important for children to begin their educational lives by developing their social skills through a mixture of group activities and free play in a multiage, supportive, and fun environment. Our children enjoy a varied and stimulating classroom under the direction of our teacher, Mrs. Suzanne Foote, who has more than 20 years of teaching experience.  Mrs. Foote is assisted each day by a teacher’s aide and one parent helper.

Parent Helpers

By assisting our teacher in class on a regular basis, EIP members form relationships with their children’s classmates and each other, and learn firsthand what goes on at school. Parent work in the classroom, along with our cleaning and maintenance responsibilities, allows us to maintain a high classroom adult-to-child ratio, keep tuition costs low, and give our preschoolers a personal example of community involvement. Younger siblings are welcome to attend with parent helpers, when necessary.

Our Classroom

As the children arrive in the morning, they find a choice of table activities that may include construction toys, playdough, and puzzles. We then gather for circle time. Children participate in a variety of songs, dances, stories, and other fun learning activities. Themes for the day or week are woven through the group activities, and each child has a daily ‘job’ such as picking a poem or story, watering the plants, or filling the bird feeder.

During free play time, children can explore our large and rotating collection of books, toys, art and science materials and manipulatives. They can watch our pet turtle, Lenny, or explore a changing play area which might be a post office, pet shop, doctor’s office or ice cream parlor. We may do a craft, bake pumpkin bread, make pizza, or playdough. We clean up together, sit down to eat a snack together, and then head outside to our fenced and well-equipped grassy playground. If the weather is too cold or wet, we go upstairs to the gym where we ride trikes and cars for active play until pickup time.

Each month we go on a field trip to a place like an orchard, the library, a museum, or a farm. In addition, we might have guests from the fire department, a volunteer story-reader, or a visit from a special animal friend— such as when Hubert the Horse came to school!  Parents can share a new story, instrument, song, or special project. Every day is unique yet carefully structured by our teacher’s academic plan.

One thing is certain – you know your children will have fun while learning!