A day at Heather Shore

From the coat room to pickup

Play fills the morning, with a snack, a long time outside and a story to finish.

8:45 a.m.
Step 1: Arrival
A teacher meets each child at the door. Boots and coats go on the low hooks in the coat room, and a first game is already waiting at the blocks or the art table.
9:00 a.m.
Step 2: Play inside
A long stretch of free play with blocks, dress-up, paint and the book nook. Teachers join in, ask questions and let the children lead.
10:15 a.m.
Step 3: Snack
Children sit down together at low tables, pour their own water and talk over what they have been building.
10:45 a.m.
Step 4: Outside
On to the yard or the trail in the layers for the season. Leaf piles, snow forts, the mud kitchen or the garden beds, depending on the month.
11:30 a.m.
Step 5: Story and song
Back in, hands washed, and the whole room gathers on the rug for a book, a song and a game.
12:00 p.m.
Step 6: Pickup, or lunch
Morning children go home. School-day children eat lunch from home, rest on cushions or play quietly, then go out again until 3:00 p.m.

The rhythm

What stays the same, and what changes

The order stays
Play, snack, outside, story: children know what comes next, and that lets them settle into a game.
The weather changes
Outside time is boots and puddles one day, snow forts the next, and a long shady morning under the oak in June.
The children decide
What gets built, painted or pretended is up to the group, and a game can run for days.

A tour runs through the morning, so you see each part of the day.