Our school environment is designed to make children feel safe and to give them a sense of ownership over their classroom. Furniture is child-sized; books and materials are made easily accessible; and the school is filled with children’s artwork and family photos. WNNS actively opposes the targeted marketing of products aimed at children. The classrooms are free of branded materials, images of television or movie characters, or advertisements of any kind.
The Classrooms
WNNS contains five classrooms for students ranging from 2 - 4 years old, each of which is designed to specifically meet the needs of each age group. The materials provided are open-ended and are meant to encourage imaginative thought, creative play, and to grow with the child as their skills and interests further develop.
Our Backyard
WNNS is lucky enough to have our own outdoor play space. Our backyard provides our students with a safe and protected environment in which to appreciate nature and to utilize our many open-ended outside play materials. Children may spend time digging in the sandbox, manipulating hula hoops and tree stumps, stacking or lining up milk crates while engaging in various imaginative play scenarios, scooping soil in the sensory table, drawing with chalk, collecting sticks, stones and leaves and toting them around in buckets or wheelbarrows, playing a game of chase, or enjoying some down time while simply lying down in the grass with the sun on their faces. In addition, our recently acquired climbing dome provides our students with the ability to further exercise their gross-motor skills.
Our Neighborhood
At WNNS, we believe in the importance of helping children feel connected to not only the community within our walls, but to the community beyond our school, as well. For younger students in our 2s and 3s programs, a sense of connectedness to our community is brought about through walks around the neighborhood to view exciting sights such as the Williamsburg Bridge, the Manhattan skyline, local gardens, and through play with other city kids at area playgrounds.
For older students in our 4s program, a sense of place within the larger community of Williamsburg is explored through occasional field trips. In keeping with our child-led emergent curriculum, field trips in the Williamsburg community are meant to extend and enrich knowledge of topics that are of interest to each particular class. Past field trips have included visiting a local optometrist's office, a fire house, the flower shop, Sprout, the restaurant Walter Foods, and even taking a short trip on the B32 bus!