East Side Nursery School

Here’s a glance at your child’s typical day at ESNS.. 

8:45-9:00 Greetings

The children arrive at school. Each child washes his or her hands as they enter the classroom. The children choose how they want to start their day: in the art area, at the play-dough table, or in the dramatic play area; by exploring small manipulatives or investigating materials at the sand or science tables; by playing with Legos and trains; or by reading books in the quiet area. Parents are welcome to stay to help their child transition into the day.

9:10 Group Time

We gather together to start our day. During group time, we sing songs and talk about what is going on in the classroom that day. We share plans for the day’s special projects, we explore the science area, we introduce the helping parent, and we may even brainstorm how to deal with any issues in the classroom, because we can solve many problems as a group. Group time begins as a very short gathering time for the 3 year-olds, but then lengthens as the children grow developmentally. We remind the children that first and foremost, “the teachers are here to take very good care of you!”

9:30 Activity Time

With the words, “Think about where you want to play and have a great day,” the children move on to activity time. This is the time of day when the children choose among the many activity centers at ESNS. The teachers and helping parent encourage and support the children in this process. The children are playing, but through the careful design of our curriculum, they are also learning.

10:30 Clean-up Time

As a group, we all work together to put away our activities and clean up the classroom. Then we wash our hands for a snack.

10:40 Snack

The helping parent brings in a fresh fruit or vegetable snack to share with the group. The school supplies whole milk, water, pretzels, and O’s cereal as well.

10:55 Quiet Time

The children clear their snack place and then they go to look at books for a few minutes until the other children are done.

11:00 Book Time

Each day we read a book to the children.

11:15 Outside or Inside Play Time

At ESNS we embrace outdoor play in many types of weather! We go outside to play every day unless it is bitter cold, pouring rain, or icy in our playground. Parents send labeled outdoor clothing appropriate for that season, including rain gear, snow clothes, or boots. On days we can’t go out, we transform our classroom into a great play space with a basketball hoop, a tunnel, hopscotch, a balance beam, and other equipment that allows the children some gross motor playtime. This active playtime lasts until pick-up, starting at 11:45 until noon.

11:45-Noon Pick-Up

Pick-up starts at 11:45 and goes until noon.