As children turn four, they are ready to take on new challenges. The PM program builds off the foundations laid in the AM program, while meeting the children at their new developmental levels, by offering fun ways to deepen their learning, friendships, and abilities.

Socially, during the PM year, children begin to broaden their circle of friends. Teachers are skilled at helping children navigate larger group play, maintaining a classroom culture of inclusiveness, empathy, respect and kindness for others.

The PM program provides children with the ability to recognize, talk about, and share their feelings and emotions, building their self-regulation in age-appropriate ways. Children continue to play freely in all classroom areas for long, uninterrupted stretches during the day, but more structure is added through a second Circle Time/Goodbye Gathering, in which children explore the calendar or discuss their own curriculum. Depending on developmental ability, fine motor development, including holding and using writing utensils, is also highlighted.

Through an emergent model, teachers thoughtfully observe and build curricular projects around the children’s interests. Children can choose to be a part of these projects and revisit them over the course of many days or weeks. Through this type of emergent, project-based learning, they hone their skills of teamwork, collaboration, problem-solving, knowledge of the physical and natural world, and self-expression as they articulate their ideas through language, art, movement, storytelling, or building.

The Basics:

Children move into our one PM Nursery class in their second year at Parker School: All 18 children in this class begin in September and turn 4 during that calendar year. Three teachers make up the PM Nursery teaching team. All children in this class attend 5 days a week from 1PM to 4PM.

In addition to the PM Nursery program, childcare options are available on a limited basis each day of the week, including the possibility of using our Little Red School Bus.