Rancho Co-Op Nursery School, Los Angeles

Here at Rancho Co-operative Nursery School, we believe that children learn through play. To a passerby, it may look like the children are simply having fun. Well, they are; but at the same time they are learning many important concepts. They are experiencing gravity when they shovel sand into a bucket. They are learning about motion while riding a tricycle. They are practicing their communication skills when they are working together during dramatic play. If the children are safely engaged in an activity, I encourage adults to refrain from interrupting or directing their play. We let the children create their own dialogue (even if it seems disjointed or fragmented to adult eyes and ears.) We also direct and encourage them in their social skills ? how to communicate with their peers and with adults. We believe that when a child is accomplished in their social skills, they are better prepared to enter Kindergarten. Our daily activities include a full hour of outside play. The children are free to play in the sandbox, ride tricycles, swing and climb on the play structure. We offer painting each and every day and encourage the children to use unlimited supplies to enhance their creativity. Many times we see children seemingly paint the same image over and over again. We believe that they should have the freedom to continue until they have successfully worked through their individual creative process. The remainder of our morning is spent indoors enjoying a snack, engaging in circle time and exploring free play. We offer the children a myriad of choices including dramatic play, blocks, kitchen, writing desk, and our library, just to name a few. Each day a different artistic activity is set up for the children. We present the materials and just let the children explore. I discourage parents from making suggestions or showing the children ?how to do it? because we want the children to use their own imaginations and to learn how to execute their own ideas. Rancho Co-op Nursery helps young children to move through life at their own pace and truly enjoy the magic of childhood.