Nursery School – Threes and Young Fours

Our nursery school programs encourage child-led investigation, exploration, and discovery as children engage in play-based learning opportunities in a safe, nurturing environment. Facilitating social development among peers is an integral component of our nursery school in addition to fostering emotional intelligence, gross and fine motor skills, logical thinking, problem-solving, and character development. Our Christian values curriculum that is unique to St. David’s Episcopal Day school is grounded in our Episcopalian tradition and inspires children to learn about such virtues as sharing, kindness, empathy, diversity, respect, and honesty.

Children enrolled in our nursery school will be introduced to the alphabet, numbers, and pre-literacy skills through playful, process-oriented activities that are intertwined with thematic units. Our small class size allows for individualized attention to support children’s needs and motivates children to become lifelong learners.

A typical day in nursery school involves circle activities that encourage literacy and language development through songs and rhymes; early math skills such as sequencing and counting through calendar activities; and introduction to thematic topics involving science and social studies that help children learn about and make sense of the world around them. Children also explore cause and effect relationships throughout the day during self-directed play in our sensory and art, math and science, and multicultural learning centers that are updated with materials that relate to the current theme in the curriculum. Children strengthen physical development during recess and P.E., and students receive a healthy snack as part of their morning. Our nursery school program is further enhanced with additional extracurricular activities such as Spanish, music, library, and lessons in nature that support our whole-child approach to learning. Students attend chapel which celebrates all faiths and includes prayer, songs, and a bible story.

Parents are encouraged to become involved in our St. David’s Episcopal Day School community by volunteering in our classrooms. We also celebrate our families through several in-class events and special musical presentations. Our annual curriculum night allows for families to view their child’s work samples and get a taste what it is like to be a nursery school students at SDEDS.

**Students in our Nursery School programs are required to be potty trained in both the Threes and Young Fours classrooms.**

Inside Our Day

A typical day for a three-year old at St. David’s Episcopal Day School includes:

Whole-group Circle Activities

Thematic Learning Centers and “Work Time” (Play-based Literacy)

Investigation Time (Math and Science Exploration)

Snack Time and Stories

Recess

Extracurricular activities.with specialized teachers (Spanish/Music/P.E.)

Program Extensions

Lunch Bunch: Students can stay for lunch (brought from home), play time, and stories until 1:00.

Lunch Bunch + Enrichment Club: 12:00 through 3:00, daily

(provides a full-day option from 9:00 to 3:00, discounted tuition for all 5-days)

Early Care: Our early care program runs from 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

After-School Activities: Our after-school program runs from 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.