About the Classroom:

The Squirrel room is a bright, happy space with lots of big windows and a welcoming vibe. We have several child height shelves with a wide variety of toys and materials for the children to learn and play. The central feature of the room is the climbing fort with a ladder and slide. The squirrels love climbing on the fort! There is a reading area with two shelves full of books and a bright fun group space rug. We have a calm down corner/safe space, a STEM area, blocks and building zone and an art area stocked with plenty of materials for creating. Each child has their own cubby where we store extra clothing and weather gear, bedding for their nap cots, and anything extra they might bring to school each day.

Our Squirrel rooms is usually loud, messy, high energy fun most days. With the children free to play and explore with whatever they like, in whatever way they’d like, there is never a dull moment in the Squirrel room. We give them the freedom to create and learn while setting clear boundaries for their health and safety. Our room is a loving, nurturing environment free of judgement and a place all children can feel safe and free to express their feelings. The art area is always stocked with plenty of paper, crayons, markers and even paint. We like to use stickers, tape, brushes, rollers, and lots of fun unconventional items to create art and decorate our room. We provide sensory experiences like water play, play dough, and sand.

"We do our best to care for, nurture and teach each child while meeting them at their level and encouraging them to be the best they can be. We play lots, we learn lots and we love lots!"

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The Squirrel teachers focus on exploring gross and fine motor skills. For example, activities are planned to encourage fine-motor skill practice, such as painting with brushes, puzzles with large and small pieces, kicking and throwing balls, climbing stairs safely, and building with blocks. The Squirrels are also rapidly expanding their vocabularies daily and we try to encourage discussion and broadcast what is going on throughout the day to help develop their language skills. We also reinforce the sign language signs that go with words for everyday things like milk, eat, book, play, mom and dad, and continue to introduce more advanced signs as well as some words in other languages.