PHILOSOPHY
We feel that nursery school children, especially those living in Manhattan, need space, light and a warm feeling in their environment. The Children's International Workshop is situated in a 2000 square foot loft with an emphasis on light and space. We purposely keep a home-like atmosphere and stay away from the classroom-like environment which your child will have from kindergarten through college

The major emphasis of the school includes the fine arts of dance, drama, music, painting and drawing. Our teachers are working artists in the fine arts and/or early childhood field and also have college degrees in their respective areas. Teachers are selected not only for their background but for their distinctive personalities. We feel it is better for your child to deal with three distinctive personalities in his day rather than just one. Working with children this young takes a lot of patience and energy, and we feel that no one person can do it alone for eight hours each day.

In addition to art, dance and music classes, each child partipates in a group play experience. Children ages two through five years need this type of experience to help them learn about the world around them and how to deal with it. They work out their fears and anxieties by role playing and putting themselves in a position to control what happens to them (examples of role playing: superheroes, police, parents). We use people with drama background, as well as our main teachers, to lead this activity.

Children who start in the "readiness program" at age two use manipulated materials such as puzzles, attribute blocks and cuisenaire rods. This program is fun, game-oriented and offered during free play time. No child's participation is mandatory in this open classroom situation.

When you child reaches age three, he or she will be introduced to the alphabet phonetically. He or she will also learn the values of number one through 20. We introduce this through a variety of games and stories and a 30-40 minute formal sitdown period for those who are ready.

Throughout your child's fourth year, he will continue to print letters and numbers, learn to write his name, use flash cards, dance, listen to music and create "works of art" using crayons, paints, glue, fabric and imagination! Before you realize it, your child will be ready for (and prepared) for kindergarten.

We invite you to bring your child and come to visit the Children's International Workshop. We are open weekdays from 8:00am - 5:30pm for children two through 5 years old. You can choose from mornings, afternoon or full-day care; from two to five days per week. Our teacher to student ratio is approximately one to six, so you can rest assured that your child will receive the personal attention he needs and deserves while you are away from him.

WHAT IS AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL?
Parents ask us what makes us an international preschool. The answer is simple; eighty percent of the families enrolled in the program are international families. Our mission is to provide a community for families from all over the world who end up in this wonderful city of New York. We celebrate the diversity of the different nations and cultures every day in every way we can. Last year we celebrated Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, St. Lucia, Chinese New Year, Diwali and many other international holidays.

We introduce our students to books and stories from all over the world. We also introduce them to music, songs and dances from a wide variety of countries. In this way the children become familiar to an array of languages and other cultures. Children are encouraged to bring books, CD’s and/ or other objects of interest to school to share with everyone. Every month the children are introduced to the “word of the month” which includes simple words such as for example  “Hello”, “Thank You”. “Please” and “Goodbye”. We write down these words on small poster boards and hang them up for everyone to see.

We include all the languages we have in school. We go through these words together with the children and they enjoy learning new words. We want each child and family to feel that his or her special language and culture brings a wonderful addition to our program. Parents are also welcome to bring special food or ideas for art etc. to school to share with teachers and children.

GRADUATION PHOTOS