Each class begins with a phase-in schedule that suits its particular age group.  Teachers visit each child’s home before school starts, and every class begins in half-groups and works up to a full day schedule.  Clearly, the experience of separation is most sensitive for the Toddlers and Two’s.  It is a slow gentle process, with the pace of separation determined on an individual basis.  This phase-in period usually lasts between six to eight weeks, and parents and caregivers remain in the room to support children until they are ready to separate.  Teachers assess when they think a child is ready for separation, discuss it with parents and together work out a plan that is gradual and nurturing.

Toddlers and Twos:
There is a sense of fluidity and constant motion, as small groups of children cluster around teachers in different areas of the room.  A small group is at the play dough table, pounding, poking, and changing the shape in various ways.  Two children are at the water table, scooping up the bubbly water and pouring it out again.  In the center of the room, three children are using plastic tools as they pretend to fix the climber. “Shhhh – baby sleeping,” one child says to his friend in another part of the room, as they carefully wrap the baby dolls in blankets.  In a cozy corner, a child who has just separated is sitting on a teacher’s lap, comforted by looking at his All About Me Book, filled with photographs of his family.  Nearby two children are painting at the easels, happily dabbing paint on each other’s paper. 

Threes:
Small groups of children gather in different areas of the room, working independently or with a teacher nearby.  In the dramatic play area, three children are acting out one of their favorite stories – Jack and the Beanstalk – and discussing who will be Jack and who will be the giant.  With a teacher’s help they decide on two giants and one Jack.  At a small table, four children are making cookies with a teacher, taking turns mixing the wet and dry ingredients together.  Two children are playing at the sand table, which is filled with woodchips, trucks and shovels.  They are creating pathways and deciding which way the trucks should go to reach their destination.  Two other children are building a tower on the light table with transparent Legos, standing on their toes and reaching high to make it as tall as they can.  A few children are doing puzzles together on the rug, while another small group of children are nearby looking at books with a teacher. 

Fours and Fives:
The room seems to buzz with voices, movement and focused activity.  In the block area, two children are building an elaborate structure, discussing how many triangular blocks they need to go all around the edge of their building.  “It’s bursting with color!” another child says to a teacher as she finishes her painting in a different part of the room.  A few children in the communications area are making cards for their friends, carefully writing their friends’ names and referring to the attendance board to check how each name is spelled. In the Art Studio two four year olds are helping a group of three’s paint their cardboard constructions.  In a quiet corner, one child is sitting with a teacher and observing his facial features in a mirror, preparing to draw his self-portrait.

In 2003 we transformed a multi-purpose space into an arts studio that offers children many possibilities for creative expression.   Children meet in small groups to have weekly yoga and music classes.  The studio’s primary use is for the visual arts.   As an extension of classroom investigations, children work with a studio teacher using new and familiar materials.  They have the opportunity to work on large-scale projects, transforming ordinary objects into visually exciting works of art.  The work in the studio expands children’s creativity and develops complex thought processes.

Depending on the age and interests of each particular group of children, in-depth investigations may take various forms.  For example:

•    One of our toddler groups worked with clay for over a month, discovering the many ways they could transform it with their hands and simple tools.  Teachers observed how the children’s relationship and facility with this material evolved as they became more familiar with it, and how these experiences encouraged their language development and symbolic thinking. 

•    Children in a 3’s classroom showed a strong interest in building New York City landmarks that were meaningful to them, such as the Museum of Natural History.  Teachers decided to bring small groups of children to Union Square Park, allowing them to explore another NYC site that is an integral part of their daily lives.   After a few months, teachers suggested that the children use their newly developed expertise to make a “guide” to Union Square Park, in which each child presented an aspect of the park that was compelling to them. 

•    Children in our 4/5’s group pursued two long-term interests throughout the year.  One was constructing an elaborate house for “Furry,” a caterpillar that the children found in our backyard.  The other was creating stories in small groups and acting them out in front of an audience.  These two investigations came together toward the end of the year, when the children performed a show made up of stories illustrating their theories about why they hadn’t seen Furry since the fall.  Blurring the lines between imagination and science, this project allowed children to blend their sense of fantasy with their concrete knowledge about the world.

The Materials Center is located on the top floor of our school. After the school's recent expansion, we transformed the attic into a space for the school's vast array of learning materials. In addition to our dramatic play objects, construction and block-building materials, and classroom manipulatives, this space also houses a large collection of natural objects and "found" materials. These materials are objects from our everyday lives that are often discarded but which can be reused or transformed into something new, and often encourage creativity, problem solving, and action. Gathered from families, staff, and other sources, the materials are sorted by parent volunteers and a team of teachers and then displayed to suggest their rich potential as vehicles for exploration and inspiration. From the perspective of young children, with their strong inclination towards symbolic play and their tendency to transform objects based on their own interests and imagination, these materials are ripe with possibility.

2009-10 Materials List
Click here to download Material list 

These are the materials that we would like you to collect and bring to Beginnings.  Please drop off your items on the 4th floor, in the hampers.  Please make sure your items are clean and safe for children.

Thank you for your efforts!

Questions can be directed to robin@beginningsnursery.net