The Nursery Day
The nursery opens at 08.00 am and closes at 06:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
Our school has 3 different environments, each with a unique timetable according to the children’s current level of development. The children transition from one class to the next when we observe an increase in their language, movement and independence abilities.
Nido
Nido means nest in Italian - our aim is to make this a gentle and nurturing space for every child. We have a relaxed timetable of activities that includes everything your baby needs for optimal development. There are dedicated indoor and outdoor spaces for the Nido so your child can experience as much time in nature as possible.
During the day, we carefully make observations of each child to determine when to offer free play, small song groups, language games, large and fine motor movement activities.
We communicate with parents routinely to ensure each child’s sleep pattern and feeding requirements stay consistent with their home routine. We consider this especially important because of our Montessori focus on order in the early years. As they grow and develop their needs change and children naturally adopt a routine consistent with their time spent at nursery.
Infant Community (IC)
The I.C. day progresses in a different way to the Nido as the children are walking confidently and able to explore in more advanced ways.
We have a large indoor environment with activities to encourage development of language, fine and gross motor skills, creativity, music, art, self-care and care of the classroom.
There is also a smaller, covered outdoor space for sensory play, construction, reading, car track and parachute play.
The I.C. Timetable
08:00 - 08:45 Breakfast
08:45 - 09:00 Cleaning and preparation for work cycle
09:00 - 09:45 Outdoor play in main garden
09:45 - 11:30 Work cycle: free play and planned activities (including song groups and stories, art, morning fruit snack, covered outdoor play an individual lessons)
11:30 Cleaning, toileting and preparation for lunch
11:45 Lunch
12:00 Naps or outdoor play in the main garden
14:30 Milk for afternoon snack
15:45 Tea
16:15 Outdoor play or physical indoor activities (with other classes)
18:00 Close
Children's House
Our pre-school classroom is called the Children's House. It is specially designed and prepared to allow the children to be involved with every aspect of daily life.
Our highly-trained staff facilitate this independence by giving individual lessons tailored to each child's current developmental needs. The educational curriculum includes traditional subjects as well as more holistic ones:
Practical life skills
Sensorial refinement (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile and stereognostic)
Languages
Mathematics
Science
Geography
Sports
Drama
Music
Art
World cultures and religions
Grace and courtesy (manners and social skills)
Everything is child-sized, aesthetically beautiful and fully accessible. All of our activities involve physical, intellectual and emotional aspects to ensure we are providing the richest, most positive life experiences for the children to reach their full potential.
The Children's House Timetable:
08:00 am - 08.45 am Breakfast
08:45 am - 09.00 am Cleaning and Preparation for work cycle
09:00 am - 12:00 pm Morning work cycle: free play and planned activities (including songs, stories, group activities and snacks, art and individual lessons)
11:45 pm - 12:30 pm Lunch
12:30 pm - 01:00 pm Preparing for naps; outdoor play and half day pickup
01:00 pm - 02:00 pm Afternoon children arrive; outdoor play; naps for full-day children
02:00 pm - 04:00 pm Afternoon work cycle
03:45 pm - 04:30 pm Tea
04:30 pm - 06:00 pm Extra-curricular activities (e.g. yoga, dance, art, music); outdoor play
06:00 pm Full day departure