Classes 2024-2025

Rainbow School offers a developmentally appropriate classes and a daily schedule that’s centered 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. We make learning fun and engaging!

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. Children’s social and emotional growth is foundational for learning, school success, and life.

Preschool class Mon-Friday 9:00- 1:00 & pm hours to 4:00

The Preschool class is a combination of Preschoolers (Age 3-4) & possibly Pre K or TK (Transitional Kindergarteners) children Monday-Friday 9:00-1:00. The Preschool class will have a maximum of 12 children enrolled per day with two fully qualified teachers. Earlier arrival may be arranged with the director and the opening teacher.

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.

This year our Play Group class meets on Thursdays & Fridays 9:00-1:00 or 9-12:30.
With an option for Stay & Play afternoon care if needed & when child is ready.
There may be a possible addition of a another 2 day Play Group class.

Afternoon “stay-and-play” care can be arranged either by contract after 12:30 or 1:00 or “drop-in” by hour or half hour. Afternoon rates are $9.50 per contracted days and hours . Afternoon closing time will be 2:00 to 4 pm depending on the number of children (minimum 3 children). We try to be flexible to meet parents’ scheduling needs.

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 Monday-Friday afternoons. A teacher will meet the bus, and the children will join in with the preschoolers for relaxation, fun, and “children’s choice” activities.

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.