Play and thoughtful teacher support to help children solve problems together creates a good feeling school for everyone.
Welcome to Tigerlily!
Children arrive, put away their belongings, and dress for comfort in wet, muddy play. In cooler weather our school outdoor gear is used.
“I will help you.”
Children say goodbye and we begin our day in our play yard. Pictured above, L and her dad say goodbye with Lara using song in their routine of singing Bye Bye candle together.
Morning meeting is a group time to be in conversation about happenings of the day and questions that are on the children’s minds.
Children have time here to explore at their own pace. We teachers observe and celebrate the discoveries they make, the play they invent, fostering care and connection.
Trusting children to listen to their own bodies’ cues, morning snack begins when kids are hungry and is available to everyone in conjunction with continued outdoor play and exploration.
R adds a tomato plant to the garden
Messy play is welcome here. “We are the mud team!”
We are an inclusive play environment. Everyone is welcome to join in group play and teachers actively help children find solutions to their social learning experiences.
We step into our indoor classroom around lunchtime. Eating is a social time, enjoying our food together.
Rainbow rug is a time to sing, dance, share a story, or simply be in conversation about important topics in the group.
Small groups leave the meeting to think about things that need taking care of. Pictured above, the group prepares to welcome a new child into our group, peering closely at a family photograph of the child they are going to meet.
The classroom is open for children’s use and exploration. Often their thinking includes working in clay, paint, collage and drawing.
We are inspired by the work with children in Reggio Emilia, Italy and strive as Reggio-inspired educators to honor creative mediums as sources of expression and joy.
In our fluid day children have open-ended access to these materials and much “messing about” over time, enjoying their own process and building skills over repeat experience. A favorite activity might be returned to multiple times in the course of the same day, repeated over multiple days, or spark continued long term work. Children choose how they spend their time here with thoughtful teacher support about how we can explore group and individual interests.
Sometimes our making turns into a bigger project. Familiar materials can connect our children to a larger, ever more interesting world!
Building blocks are a wonderfully agentive material for children, supporting endless problem solving and play.
Children document work they’re proud of, thinking more about their ideas, making learning visible.
We share beautiful books with the children, reading stories that delight and inspire.
We believe children are natural storytellers, exploring who they are and their growing sense of the world through pretend play.
Kids are encouraged to put their stories in their own book.
Kids making books meets children right where they are, encouraging mark making of all kinds to share the stories they want to tell with others. The focus is on each child’s unfolding drawing abilities, and might also include interest in some printed text depending on individual interest and readiness. A finish book is then read to others- using the children’s spoken words about what’s happening on each page to tell their story. We do not push or rush, taking this time to truly enjoy this expressive and joyful part of childhood. As the children’s “first school,” it is our honor to open the door to a lifetime of inspired, wondrous learning. School is a place of joy and belonging.
At the end of the day, cleaning up is an everybody-helps-tidy-all-the-things time.
Grownups return and the children depart by 2:30.
Around 5 pm we send out a letter sharing about our day to families so we can all be in conversation about the many interesting happenings here.
Interested in future enrollment? Reach out to us at info@tigerlilypreschool.com. We’d be glad to share more.
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