Program Overview

Introduction to the Preschool & Kindergarten Program

The Early Childhood program at Bennett Day School serves PreKindergarten & Kindergarten (ages 3-5). The school is built around the idea of a responsive curriculum, where careful observers of children's curiosity and interests use those observations to generate long-term projects and questions for the children based upon their individual and collective ideas and wonderings.

Program Overview

The program balances the early stages of developmental learning and growth of each child and the collective group. Teachers present materials and ideas that inspire children to explore and create, question and consider, build and deconstruct. While the program is play-based, there is structure and intentionality in the unfolding school days and weeks. Educators understand the need for time and space to explore freely, but also the benefit of focused attention.

Key Components of the Program

• Responsibility for self and others is an important part of the program.
• An emerging sense of self, partnered with a sense of community, is developed in Morning Meeting.
• For the youngest children, Morning Meeting is a time and place to learn about community life; the give and take of shared activities, such as group singing.
• As students move through the program, Morning Meeting is a time to declare one's intent, to determine, based on what is happening in the classroom, how one is going to spend a given part of the day.

School Hours

The school hours for different levels are as follows:

• PreK School Hours:
  • Half-Day: 8:00 am - 11:30 am (Monday-Friday)
  • Full Day: 8:00 am - 3:15 pm (Monday-Friday)
  • Before Care is available at 7:30 am each day
  • After Care is available until 5:45 pm each day
• JK School Hours:
  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:00 am - 3:15 pm
  • Wednesday: 8:00 am - 2:15 pm
  • Before Care is available at 7:30 am each day
  • After Care is available until 5:45 pm each day
• SK-8th Grade Hours:
  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:00 am - 3:15 pm
  • Wednesday: 8:00 am - 2:15 pm
  • Before Care is available at 7:30 am each day
  • After Care, Bennett & Beyond, and Clubs & Athletics are available until 5:45 pm each day
• 9th-12th Grade Hours:
  • Monday-Friday: 9:00 am - 3:45 pm
  • After 3:45 pm each day, various Clubs & Athletics are available

Program Leadership

The Director of Early Childhood is Molly Simmons. She oversees the Early Childhood program, ensuring it aligns with the school's mission and vision.