Parents Nursery School

"PNS has been a wonderful community for our family to be part of. Our son loves the huge yard and range of activities he can choose to do. Occasionally he goes inside! Interacting with other children in a child led environment has been great for his social development and being a co-op I am able to see this first hand. The co-op experience has allowed me to learn first hand from trained practitioners in dealing with the inevitable challenges our small people throw our way every now and again."

"Parents Nursery School will forever hold a special place in my heart. Participating in the early education of my children is something that I am so privileged to get to experience. The teachers and other parents are welcoming and become family. I know my kids will always have the most wonderful memories of nursery school and all of the fun they had and I will remember the friendships we all made and know we will have lifelong friends from our time at Parents Nursery School."

"The headline is that my husband and I had some core problems with the philosophy here. We stuck it out, thinking that the cost was great and maybe it would get better but ultimately decided it was not a good fit. We did 1 semester at PNS in the 2-3 class. For context: my daughter was 2 and 1 month when we started, making her one of the smallest. She also has a pretty timid personality. We did not like PNS for a few reasons: 1. Expected behaviors for kids and off-limits behaviors were not clearly communicated/taught. Even when taught, they were not enforced. We’re talking extremely basic rules like no hitting/pushing. my child was hit and pushed to the ground by kids 1-3 years older than her and twice as big and there was never a clear “stop” “no hitting” or any consequences whatsoever. PNS instead has a philosophy of facilitating kids talk to each other- a fine approach to teach kids for minor disagreements- but taken to such an extreme level that a 5 year old yanking a toy from the hand of a 2 year old would prompt an adult to “neutralize” the object (take from both the victim and the taker) and hold it hostage until the children generate a “solution.” There’s nothing wrong with kids talking but I didn’t like that even in situations where one kid was clearly the aggressor, both kids were treated as equal participants in the act and this would disadvantage more timid, less verbal kids and teach them it’s ok for others to treat them poorly. If a child gets HIT or PUSHED, it is not their responsibility to negotiate with their attacker. It is the responsibility of the adults to keep them safe. 2. The philosophy of some staff was very unsettling at times. A teacher explained to a parent her attitude towards risk at the beginning of the semester by saying she wouldn’t let children in a poor community do dangerous things because a broken arm is such a financial burden, but since these children are wealthy, it’s okay if they break their arm. I found this idea troubling, and the assumption that all families here are wealthy to be problematic too. 3. There was an overwhelming emphasis in mandatory parent ed meetings on talking to kids the “correct” way, which felt like a misinterpretation of research and frankly, a waste of effort. 4. Activities? Very few with seemingly very little planning or developmentally appropriate engagement. Almost the entire time is child-led free play (which I know some people prefer). The only programming here is a (usually) minimally or unsupervised craft station and 2 short story times/day. There were no discernible themes like you will see at most schools (gratitude, civic responsibility, learning about the seasons). The story times were unconnected, teacher-led read-alouds that were seemingly picked last-minute, unplanned, and unprepared. There was rarely any discussion or teaching of concepts or vocabulary. Due to the lack of engagement, children were extremely squirrelly, playing with toys, yelling out throughout the book, and often not hearing or understanding the story, which was usually not made digestible for 2-3 year olds. The way the disruptions were addressed multiple times was to simply end story time in the middle for everyone, even the ones who were listening, instead of addressing the problems. 5. Adults were told repeatedly to enforce rules which were then walked back with no explanation, leading to extremely unclear expectations. Example: parents were supposed make sure kids didn’t go into each others classrooms, except suddenly that stopped being a thing with zero explanation, leading to parents still trying to enforce a rule that had been silently abandoned by the teachers. Things we liked about the school were: 1. The facility is great, lots of toys and child friendly structures to climb and explore. There are 3 chickens which the kids love 2. Opportunities to meet and socialize with other parents 3. The cost is the best you can find in this area, and they offer financial aid 4. lots of time outdoors which we liked as an anti sickness measure"

"My son started the PNS last August, and he loves the school so much. The campus is huge, plenty of outdoor for kids to play. Can’t believe it is a preschool campus. :)) Everyday activities designed by Teacher Amy are so great, including math activities, art activities and cooking every month. Everyday snack is very health. We are so happy to join the school."

"This is our youngest son's first year at Parents Nursery School (PNS) and our family's third year as part of the community and we couldn't be happier! This school is a co-op, which means that that you, as a parent, have a work day each week as well as night meetings to attend (approx 2x/month), but the payoff to both you and your child is worth the time commitment. This school provides an invaluable education to both the child and the family as well fostering an amazing community - not only will your child make friends at PNS, but you will too! My son is excited to go to school each day. He loves seeing his friends and finding out what activities are in store for him that day. The gorgeous play yard must be seen to be believed (play structures, sand, trike paths, swings, and chickens!) and art projects, cooking projects, and more keep him thoroughly engaged for the entire morning. While the school is definitely play-based, our oldest son was well prepared for Kindergarten both socially and academically. I have truly enjoyed being part of my children's early education experiences."