Oneonta Coop Nursery School Schedules March 2 Open House

If you are a parent interested in playing an expanded participatory role in your young child’s development, South Pasadena’s Oneonta Cooperative Nursery School may be just the right place for your pre-school age child. The school has scheduled its Annual Open House for Friday, March 2, from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m.

“Our school gives parents a wonderful and unique opportunity to see their child develop and also to see how their child interacts with others,” says Reina Rogers, Director of Oneonta Coop School. “It makes parents and students feel more secure because it is a home-like environment.”

Classes are small, limited to fifteen children with one teacher, one aide, and two participating parents per day. The school has only four classes; two for 3-year-olds and two for 4-year-olds.

“Uninterrupted play” functions as a vital element in growth and development of the young child at Oneonta School. The school’s philosophy is that it is in the context of process, rather than in the product, that the child finds out about him or herself, other people, and the world.

Oneonta Cooperative Nursery School was founded in 1947 and is a parent participation nursery school. It is the oldest parent participation school in the area and is a non-religious program, although it is located on the grounds of Oneonta Congregational Church in South Pasadena.

“The major component at our school is play,” Rogers explains. “Play is the method we use to develop the child, but the play is structured. We use themes such as insects or fairy tales for the 3-year-olds. Dinosaurs would be a typical theme for 4-year-olds.”

Within each theme, various examples are studied by the children in detail. The kids explore dinosaurs for for to five weeks, and there is one specific dinosaur explored each week.

For parents of 3-year-olds, the school offers 2-day classes (Tuesday and Thursday) or 3-day classes (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Each child can be enrolled in one class only, so it is not possible to mix and match. Classes run from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. in the first semester, and extend to 11:45 in the second semester. The emphasis in these classes is on socialization, self esteem, communication and learning school routines.

For 4-year-olds, the school offers 3-day classes (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) or 4-day classes (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday). The classes run from 9 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. in the first semester, and extend to 12 p.m. in the second semester. The emphasis in the four-year-old classes is to prepare the children for Kindergarten through a developmental approach.

Oneonta Cooperative Nursery School will hold their Annual Open House on Friday, March 2, from 9:15 to 11:30am. The school is located at 1515 Garfield Avenue, South Pasadena. The open house is an adults-only event, so parents need to make child care arrangements.

Parents interested in enrolling their child for the 2012-13 school year, should call the school at (626) 799-3105. Their website can be seen at http://www.oneontacoop.com/