Programs
- The Tuesday-Thursday program is for children who will be 3 years old by December 1 of the school year. The children should be toilet-trained and able to verbalize their needs.
- The Monday-Wednesday-Friday program is for children who will be 4 years old by December 1 of the school year.
- We also offer a Kindergarden Preparedness Program. This extra program is offered to the 4’s students and runs after the regular school class on Mondays. Students provide their own lunch, and enrollment in the 4’s program is required to participate in the Extended Day program.
Classes begin the first full week after Labor Day and end in late May. Two certified and experienced teachers lead each class of 16 students maximum in the 3’s program and 18 students maximum in the 4’s program.
Class activities are designed to help children develop skills to prepare them for more formal learning. A typical day includes: circle time for group discussion and sharing; creative art projects; directed learning of new concepts; singing and moving to music; literacy activities; snack time; free play and learning games; and outdoor play.
Field trips and visits from community helpers supplement classroom activities. We are proud to offer a variety of experiences for the kids all year long. In previous years, field trips have included an apple orchard, library, dentist, farm, gymnastics center, Marquis Theater, nature center, fruit market and pizza shop. Special visitors have included a police officer, fire fighters, and a musician. These outings are reinforced with a classroom theme day in advance; for example, before our dentist field trip, we incorporate the theme into all aspects of the day by discussing how to care for teeth, counting teeth, and even doing an art project involving (paper) teeth!
Proven Results: Families whose children have attended FPNS frequently tell us how prepared—both academically and socially—their kids were for kindergarten after leaving our school. By starting out in a calm, nurturing environment such as ours, children transition to their next step with confidence and preparedness. And by learning largely through play, concepts such as the alphabet and early math become second nature.
