We have three sessions, meeting at different times. Time and days are set to best meet the needs of children. Placement assessments are made more on present maturity, quality of experience and/or specific needs than only chronology. The following comments for the sessions are of generic nature about children, not a reflection of each individual.

8:30-11:30a.m. Tues and Thurs.

This is for 2 1/2 -3+ year old children. For most children, this is a transition from home to an environment of new adults and peers to whom they learn to differentiate from parents and siblings relationships. They gradually learn to interact with peers as an "extended family" in which one's rights and those of others are positively and justly balanced without power struggles, competition, conformity or rebellion. They learn, as needed, to address and eventually move away from immediate self-gratification and egocentric needs. They learn to explore material in their own creative and constructive ways to challenge their minds' flexibility to a range of possibilities. Most of all, they gradually learn to separate from their parents psychologically and emotionally so as to evolve their bonds in more differentiated and therefore, mature ways, just as their human growth requires. To meet the needs of such young children, the session can only accommodate a maximum of 10-11 children. As they are still adult-oriented and need adult mediation in their relationships with the environment, we have two teachers and a co-oping parent in this session (ratio of 3.3 adults/child).

8:30-11:30a.m. Mon, Wed, Fri.

This is for the 3+ to 4+ year old children. For children who had attended the 2-morning session the year before, separation is no longer the main issue, though it may be one for the new children. Their overall development is at its peak for further exploration, investigations and testing, whether it is social, emotional, physical or cognitive. It's a phase of enormous evolution of differentiation in movement, speech, language expression and feelings. They learn to increase their foci of interests and discuss them with others. They eagerly initiate their own choices of activities and relationships with others. They learn that egocentricity is not the same as autonomy, as autonomy is preserving and expressing one's identity within social responsibility. Therefore, they eventually learn when one needs to be alone, and can then compliment one another. As a result of this process of self-identity, they can develop a sense of psychological separateness from family while gaining a more mature closeness with parents. These children are becoming very peer-oriented. Therefore they need a variety of peers to explore relationships and personalities so "friendships" are not based on submissive/powerful/competitive interactions which, at that young age, is a deterrent for positive self-esteem and a distortion of leadership. Instead, for now, the emphasis is on complementary relationships based on the value of each one's possible contribution. Therefore we have a maximum of 17 children with two teachers and a co-oping parent. (ratio of 5.6 adults/child).

1:00-4:00p.m. Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs.

This is for 4 to 5+ year old children. For returning children it's continuity for deepening interests and relationships. For the new children, it's a discovery and developing a commitment toward that goal. Soon, these children come up with their own ideas so they can plan and expand interests in a self-directed manner. They now recognize the difference of single versus cooperative undertakings, as they learn the complementary aspect of social relationships. They may pursue painting, building, book making, dancing, woodwork, etc. for days, weeks and sometimes, months. The role of teachers at Our School, more often than not, is that of a resource person for material, skills, research and encouragement. As it is warranted, the child evaluates with the assistance of the teacher the process, progress, and obstacles to be resolved, the quality standard of competence, and the need to stop or continue an undertaking. During this process of more sophisticated differentiation in all domains of their development, they can become aware that their thoughts, ideas, and understanding are the creation of their own brains. This is a powerful autonomous intellectual mastery. It is a milestone in cognitive development, as it leads toward abstract thinking rather than just concrete doing. For essentially the same professional considerations as in the three-day a.m. session, adding to it considerations of self-direction and cooperation, the number of children and the ratio is the same.

The three sessions are structured to help children demonstrate a growing devlopmental maturity. Attending children receive the continuity and extension of interactive experiences needed to build the skills for an overall competence. At Our School, nature and professional nurture are intertwined. It is a path toward lifelong, self-learning. It's a process open to possibilities of being and understanding within responsibility and genuine cooperation. It is a foundation for the children's future personal, academic and work place environments whereby they can examine issues and events with creative and open minds. We strive to provide unprejudiced knowledge that behooves good citizenship in a democratic society.