Preschool / PlayGroup Classes & Daily Schedule

Rainbow School offers engaging developmentally appropriate classes and a daily schedule that’s centers on children’s innate curiosity and their need to explore, create, and learn through play. Research shows that young children learn best through play, “hands-on” activities, and interactions with materials, adults, and other children.

Teachers provide engaging activities in creative arts, science, math concepts, letter and sound recognition, and large and small motor skills, with a balance of child-directed and teacher-directed activities. Basic skills and concepts are taught with games, projects, materials, songs, rhyming, direct instruction, and open-ended questions. Teachers make learning fun and engaging!

The children’s social emotional growth, problem solving, learning social skills and using words to resolve conflicts is of utmost importance. The teachers support and encourage their social emotional growth, which is foundational for children’s learning, school success and life. Teachers will assist the children with conflict resolution by coaching with providing appropriate words to use, ideas and encouragement….i.e. “We are all school friends that help and care for each other”.

We seek to know each child’s strengths, learning style, and interests, and support each child’s developmental process with love and understanding. We foster communication skills, problem-solving, cooperation, positive self-esteem, empathy, and respect for others.

Preschool class

Our Preschool class (age 3-4) generally meets 3 morning a week 9-1:00 or more depending on enrollment with optional afternoon hours. The Preschool class will have a maximum of 12 children enrolled per day with two fully qualified teachers. Earlier arrival may be arranged.

Note: Children in the Preschool program should be toilet trained. This includes mastering their own clothing, toileting, and hand washing. However, teachers are patient, and will assist children in mastering these skills. Please no diapers. Sometimes pull ups can be worn while transitioning to underpants

Our Play Group class (age 2-3) generally meets 2 or 3 days a week depending on enrollment
with an option for Stay & Play afternoon care if needed & when the child is ready. The Playgroup may be small with 3-4 children or up to 6 – 7children with 2 teachers.

Each school year we determine the days and closing time for each preschool class depending on families needs and enrollment. So please check in with the director and teachers early in the year if you are interested or plan on enrolling your child, so we can schedule the days and hours for each class.

Afternoon “stay-and-play” care can be arranged either by contract after 12:30 or 1:00 or “drop-in” time or day.

Transitional Kindergarten children may attend in afternoons. The Mendocino TK-8 School bus will drop off transitional kindergarten students (who get out of school at noon) in front of Rainbow School @ 12:30p.m. A teacher meetsthe bus, and the children will join in with the preschoolers for relaxation, fun, and “children’s choice” activities indoors or outside.

Snack at 10:30 AM: In Playgroup classes snack is also “part of the curriculum,” and children may generally eat as needed. Preschool classes usually eat together at the same time.

Lunch at 12 noon

Snacks and lunch: We ask families to bring nutritious snack (s) and lunch each day for your child(ren). Parents know their children’s food preferences and any food allergies. Children are told we don’t share snack or lunch food unless it’s a special celebration with potluck food sharing. We post a list of children’s food an other allergies in classrooms.

Please bring your child’s snack and/or lunch in a bag or box marked with his or her name, insuring that the proper food goes to your child and that no snack or lunch gets lost. In the morning, we ask that you and your child select their morning snack and put it on the shelf in the classroom by their name tag. Please don’t send candy, gum, or money to school. Water will always be available for your child at school. Each child will have a cup with his/her name on it.

Preschool Daily Schedule

Note: The schedule is flexible to accommodate the weather as well as children’s needs and interests.

9:00-9:50 AM – Children’s choice; also, work time with teachers. Children wash their hands upon entering the school and before snack & lunch. We have an portable sinks by the entry door to preschool classroom and playgroup room.

9:50-10:00 AM – Clean-up time

10:00-10:30 AM – Circle; songs, rhymes/alphabet sounds, movement/music

10:35 AM – Hand-washing and toileting

10:35- 11:00 AM – Snack; good conversations with manners. Good handwashing is instructed to wash away those “bad germs”.

11:00-11:40 AM – Outside time

11:40 AM – 12:00 PM – Small groups; stories, games, music/movement, etc.

12:00-12:30 PM – Lunch

12:30 PM to 1:00 and on to pick-up time– Children’s choice and Teacher offered  inside and/or outside activities

“Emergent curriculum” often happens. The teachers seek to support and expand on the children’s ideas, interests, and play themes.

Playgroup Daily Schedule

Note: The schedule is flexible to accommodate the weather as well as children’s needs and interests.