Overview

Our Approach

Lincoln Nursery School is inspired by the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. Our curriculum is rooted in our respect for children’s interests, ideas, and abilities. The curriculum emerges and evolves through a dynamic process of observation and documentation of children’s play. Open-ended materials are offered within intentionally designed environments, inspiring children to make meaning and connections. Children are agents of their play, sharing ideas, developing theories, experimenting, and recognizing their similarities and differences as citizens of the world.

The Importance of Play

Children learn best through play: making choices, solving problems, planning what they are going to do and gaining a sense of control. Play, the foundation of every child’s social, emotional, physical, creative and cognitive development, is a natural medium for children to work through experiences, ideas and feelings. It is the foundation of curriculum at LNS. 

Documentation

Observing children’s play and documenting their dialogue and interactions, provides an understanding of each child and the group dynamic.

Children’s learning processes become shared knowledge through documentation. By taking time to listen to the child, we understand how they give meaning to their world. Documentation can be seen throughout the classroom in written pieces, displays of works, and photographs. Teachers post weekly blogs sharing the curriculum as it develops.

Materials

Children use a rich variety of materials to tell their stories, solve problems, and develop relationships.

Their thinking processes are represented through drawing, block building, dramatic play, sensory play, writing, painting, sculpting, and more. Teachers and children collaborate and reflect, continuing a process of inquiry until the process or project meets the child’s expressed intent.

Music & Movement

Rubi Lichauco engages children with a seemingly endless supply of songs, movement, finger play, games, and song tales. She is certified in Feierabend’s First Steps in Music and Lynn Kleiner’s Music Rhapsody Music Program. Years of curating songs, dances, stories, and games have given Rubi the ability to spontaneously vary the material that consistently engages her young audiences. Most important of all, Rubi’s enthusiasm and expertise provide her students with a magical springboard for diving into the world of music.

Nature

At LNS, much of our curriculum grows, quite literally, from the extraordinary richness of our outdoor environment. We find ourselves constantly returning to the important presence of nature: nature’s slower pace mirrors the children’s inclination to observe, to make connections and form new thoughts to understand their world. We spend a lot of time in the woods, ponds, and fields of the neighboring conservation land, and our experiences with nature inform our curriculum and classroom spaces in a myriad of ways.

2023-24 Studio Schedule Information

Studio Blue

TU/TH/F 8:30AM-12:30PM

W 8:30-12

(CORE PROGRAM)

Studio Blue enrolls the youngest children in the school, offering a half day program for 12 children. The class is taught by a co-teaching team, with a family partner each day.

Studio Yellow

M/TU/TH 8:30AM-12:30PM

W 8:30-12

(CORE PROGRAM)

Studio Yellow enrolls 15 children of the next age cohort from Studio Blue, offering a half day program. The class is taught by a co-teaching team, with a family partner most days.

Studio Purple

M/TU/TH/F 8:30AM-12:30PM

W 8:30-12

(CORE PROGRAM)

Studio Purple enrolls 16 children of the next age cohort from Studio Yellow, offering a half day program. The class is taught by a co-teaching team, with a family partner most days.

Studio Red

M/TU/TH 8:30-3

W 8:30-12; F 8:30-12:30

Studio Red enrolls 16-18 children and is designed to give children a Pre-K, transitional kindergarten, or kindergarten experience. The class is taught by a co-teaching team, with a family partner most days.

This renowned program has drawn from Lincoln, Arlington, Concord, Weston, Wayland, Acton, Waltham, and Sudbury.

Extended Day

M,T,Th,F 12:30-4; W 12-4 *

Mixed age group. Parents may contract a space in this program for the days of the week they need.

In this program, children have a short rest period, with the remaining time spent playing in a relaxed environment with materials and activities provided in response to children’s interests in the studio and outdoors.

* This program does not take place on the first Wednesday of the month

Studio Red: A Pre-K and Kindergarten program

Our program reflects the most updated research and best practices on child development pedagogy and school outcomes. Studio Red provides a bridge to elementary school that respects the integrity of our child-centered values while offering the best possible preparation for academic and social-emotional success in school. We recognize the value of engaged, caring adults in relationship with children as they develop empathy, social skills, and flexible thinking.

Our curriculum develops alongside the children, evolving through their play. Children observe, question, form scientific theories, and experiment as teachers and classmates reflect together and construct shared understandings of our environment, materials, and community. 

Children use mathematics and literacy to express their thinking, problem-solve, and celebrate their imaginations. Teachers provide innovative tools, offering strategies tailored to accommodate children’s learning styles. Play provides a natural context in which the why, how, and what of learning coincide.

We honor the pace of childhood. We understand that while all children grow and develop in similar patterns, each child develops at their own pace. We respect each child’s interests, approaches to learning, and ways of being.