CURRICULUM
LITTLE STARS PROGRAM
Age Minimum of 2.0 by date 12/31 in the school year of entry
9:00 am until 12:00 pm Monday through Friday.
or
9:00 am until 2:45 pm Monday through Friday (lunch is brought from home).
Option 1: Monday through Friday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm or 2:45 pm
Option 2: Monday / Wednesday / Friday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm or 2:45 pm
Option 3: Tuesday / Thursday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm or 2:45 pm
Early drop off at 8:30 am and late pick up by 12:30 pm or 3:15 pm can be arranged in advance with the head teacher. Children who stay at school for pick up bring their lunch from home.
At Woodward, the Little Stars Program is designed to provide a warm and supportive environment for two-year-olds, focusing on both their emotional and developmental needs. Running from 9 am to 12 pm, the program offers enrollment options of 2 to 5 days per week, allowing families to choose what works best for them. A gradual transition from home to school helps children feel secure, fostering trust between them and their teachers without the stress of sudden separation.
Each day follows a carefully structured routine, providing children with the consistency they need to feel comfortable and confident. The curriculum is highly responsive to both the group and individual needs, adapting to each child’s strengths and interests to ensure a meaningful learning experience.
Learning is naturally integrated into every aspect of the day. Cooking activities, for example, introduce basic math and science concepts, while imaginative play helps children practice important social skills like sharing and cooperation. The manipulatives section offers opportunities for developing fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities, while the art area encourages creativity, along with early math and science understanding.
Activities like working with Play-Doh not only strengthen hand muscles but also give children the chance to safely practice using scissors. In the block area, cooperative play fosters spatial reasoning and teamwork. Group activities—whether during indoor circle time or outdoor play—allow children to develop social awareness, practice listening, and learn to collaborate with others. Colors, numbers, shapes, and more are introduced through fun songs, stories, and games.
The ultimate goal of the Little Stars Program is to nurture every aspect of a child’s growth as they adapt to a daily schedule with their peers, away from home, while providing a supportive foundation that helps each child reach their full potential.
RAINBROW PROGRAM
Age Minimum of 2.9 in the school year of entry
9:00 am until 2:45 pm Monday through Friday.
Early drop off at 8:30 am and late pick up by 3:15 pm can be arranged in advance with the head teacher.
The Rainbow curriculum supports and values the whole child while strengthening their individual abilities through play and their investigations of the environment.
Thought-provoking, developmentally age-appropriate activities are introduced to the children in thematic units. These units focus on children's interests and include the themes of apples, pumpkins, friendship, shapes, hibernation, the solar system, dinosaurs, butterflies, gardening, transportation, seasons, holidays, etc.
Learning centers in the classroom allow for the children to move freely and choose their own activities during play time. These include the block area, dramatic play, the art table, easels, sensory table, manipulatives and the library. Each learning center is thematically focused to expand on the curriculum and enhance fine and gross motor skills, cognitive skills, language development, social skills and emotional development.
Project work is a favorite part of the day. This time is a wonderful opportunity for the Rainbow children to work one-on-one with the teacher, or in a small group with only a few other children. Project work helps the children to develop the ability to follow step-by-step directions. It is also a good time for the teacher to understand where each child is developmentally, as well as to assess their skills and strengthen their language development.
Specials in the Rainbow classroom include yoga, science, cooking, Spanish and music and movement.
Weekly music class and weekly movement class are taught by specialists who visit Woodward to help children explore these art forms.
The main goals for the year are to help the children form meaningful relationships with their teachers and peers, and to foster each child’s sense of independence, socialization and curiosity.
EXPLORERS PRE-K PROGRAM
Age Minimum of 3.9 in the school year of entry
9:00 am until 2:45 pm Monday through Friday.
Early drop off at 8:30 am and late pick up by 3:15 pm can be arranged in advance with the head teacher.
The Explorers Pre-K curriculum allows for a focus on the whole child, addressing their social / emotional, cognitive, language and physical development. Children's development at this age spans a wide range. Our goal is to create a warm and welcoming environment where each child feels comfortable, safe and cared for. The small class size allows teachers to meet each child where they are on the continuum, and scaffold them to the next level.
Our play-based curriculum serves to build self-confidence and foster independence. Explorers Pre-K children engage and explore their environment through hands-on activities and interactions with the world around them, building on the developmental skills they have acquired as Twos and Threes.
Language and literacy as well as building a rich vocabulary and a love for books are instilled through daily book reading and story time, and other activities such as singing songs and playing games.
Science and math are beloved subjects in the Explorers Pre-K classroom. Science is introduced in units that span multiple weeks. The activities encourage the children to ask questions and make predictions, as well as to introduce new vocabulary. Math relates directly to the themes being explored in the curriculum, helping to show the children how math relates to real world activities and scenarios. The classroom always makes available many manipulatives for self-exploration, aiding in the development of sorting, counting, classifying and comparing. A weekly cooking project also provides the children with the opportunity to learn about measurement, volume, fractions and proportions.
Another integral aspect of the Explorers Pre-K curriculum is creating art. Paint, glue, crayons and more are available to the children on a daily basis.
Weekly music class and weekly movement class are taught by specialists who visit Woodward to help children explore these art forms.
A main goal in the Explorers Pre-K class is for each child to acquire key skills including empathy, resilience and self-regulation. Our curriculum ensures that the children gain the specific skills that they will need in kindergarten.
The William Woodward, Jr. Nursery School
435 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021
Tel: (212) 744-6611 Fax: 212-744-0685
E-mail: info@wwjns.org
435 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021
Tel: (212) 744-6611 Fax: 212-744-0685
E-mail: info@wwjns.org