Dear Parents:

Welcome to Nature Sprites Pre School.  We are so happy to have you!

School purpose and philosophy

Children have an innate desire to learn about and experience the life around them.  Our Philosophy at Nature Sprites is to:

-honor the whole child

-make learning connections through time and experience with nature

-take time to slow down and work with children at their pace

-respect the unique differences and similarities in all children

-support families and children and build community

-create a space for child to feel safe, heard, and respected, where they can find confidence in themselves and learn tools to problem solve in their daily life, and where all needs are met to the best of our ability as educators

We enroll children ages 2.5-6. Children need to be potty trained or working on potty training as we go on walks and outings it is a needed skill in our pre K. 🙂 Thanks!

nature sprites 2013-14 calendar

Admissions and Enrollment Forms

An interview and tour of my home will be completed prior to your child being accepted into care.

If we feel like it is a good fit for everyone and wish to move forward you will need to provide the following information before your child’s first day of care and read and initial the parent handbook:

Nature sprites all about me form

Nature Sprites Medical Emergency, Enrollment, and Sunscreen Forms

-Immunization record (obtained from doctor)

-Health care information and plan (if applicable)

Rhythm of the day:

Arrival, welcoming, gathering

Free play

Circle Time (songs, stories, puppet shows, music)

Morning walk (every morning we will go on a neighborhood walk and familiarize the children with the area, the sights, trails, animals, creek life, botany)

Morning snack

Guided Activities (Arts and crafts, music, movement, science)

Lunch

Closing Circle

Pick up

Nature Sprites Pre-School endeavors to  engage the children by learning through nature, sometimes  seeing and learning through the eyes of animals.    The children will learn to walk more softly on the earth and in Boulder Open Spaces and be stewards of the natural world. Learning conservation is important to learn about at any age and the sooner we teach our children to respect the earth, the sooner we will have young adults that do too!  Our diverse curriculum includes practical life skills,  animal and plant study, hiking, arts and crafts, tracking, sit spot time, science exploration, story telling, music, movement, and games.

 A little bit more about me and my philosophy:

My philosophy in working with young children is that we as teachers act as a “coaches” or “guides” for all the children in our care and help them make democratic and meaningful choices.  I strive to guide them to care for each other care for each other, our toys, to take care of their bodies, and the world around us.  Helping children to develop the tools to problem solve with one another and to think creatively about solutions to disagreements is a large part of my teaching philosophy.  We will have sharing times and councils to help encourage expression and empathy.  One of my jobs as a children’s “guide” is  laying the groundwork for children so that when they are ready they have a head start at emotionally healthy responses.

I believe one of the most important things we can do for the children in our care is to be present.  Taking the time to listen fully to children and letting them know that they are seen and heard is crucial.  When I give children time to speak and be really truly heard they are able to feel supported enough to hear what I have to say too.  This makes teaching children problem solving skills worlds easier. I like to make sure the children are engaged and if they are not I do my best to trouble shoot the environment and the curriculum so that I can provide a supportive environment for them to thrive in. Also a little (or a lot) of humor and playfulness goes a long way.  As peace maker Marshall Rosenberg said, “Don’t do anything that isn’t play!”
Nature Sprites, Boulder, CO: Connecting Children With the Magic of Nature
through inspiring in-home childcare and nature camps.