Pine Hill Child Care Center
Surround your child with goodness, beauty, and joyous fun
The Pine Hill Child Care Center is housed in the Applied Technology Center at ConVal High School in Peterborough. The facility has been designed with the needs of the young child in mind. The rooms have heated floors and large windows ensure plenty of natural light. One-way windows in each classroom permit adults to observe activities discreetly. The fully-equipped kitchen provides a place where older children can receive supervision in their cooking curriculum.
Because young children are influenced by the beauty of their environment, the classrooms at the Pine Hill Child Care Center are arranged in a beautiful and calm manner.
The classrooms provide limitless opportunities for the young child to imagine, explore and invent through play and work. Through the mastery of age-appropriate tasks which have been carefully woven into the curriculum to build skill and competence, the child grows from infancy to school age with all of the necessary faculties for success in school life. A strong focus on community-building ensures that each child feels his or her worthiness in the classroom and the world.
Philosophy
Guided by the principles of Waldorf education, Pine Hill Child Care Center strives to educate the whole child: hands, heart, mind and spirit. The children find in themselves competent, capable individuals who can step into the wider world with confidence.
In partnership with the Applied Technology Center at ConVal High School, the Center serves as a learning laboratory for high school students in the Early Childhood certificate program.
Activities: Infants
Each day, a regular rhythm to each day soothes and nurtures the tiniest ones. They spend time in the arms of the teacher, who delights in smiling and cooing with them. There's plenty of "floor time" on our cozy rugs for gross motor development. Simple toys offer a chance for tiny hands to learn to grasp and throw. The infants go for walks in the stroller and nap in our lovely, quiet napping room. Simple stories, finger plays and games form the daily circle work. Each day the teacher observes the child and to record brief observations of the child's development for parents.
Activities: Toddlers
With plenty of room to move, adventurous toddlers find an environment that invites them to crawl, climb and jump under safe and supervised conditions. Their hands are busy setting tables, baking bread, slicing cheese and washing vegetables with child-safe tools. Each morning they're treated to a seasonal circle of song and movement specially designed for them. Artistic activities may include coloring with beeswax crayons and watercolor painting, depending on the teacher's assessment of group ability. The toddlers have plenty of free play time, indoors and out.
Activities: Pre-school and Kindergarten
Now ready for the full complement of activities, this age group cooks, bakes, draws, watercolor paints, finger knits, sews, models with beeswax, sands and oils wood projects, and participates in a daily seasonal circle. Each day features plenty of free play indoors and out to enjoy friends and savor the pleasure of togetherness.
The children are treated to daily stories told by the teacher, as well as occasional puppet plays.
Director
Center Director Peggy Waterhouse, M.Ed., has been teaching young children with joy for many years and is joined by a dedicated and loving staff of teachers and assistants who have experience working with young children and who participate in ongoing training and support at the Center.