Woodland Parent Nursery School (WPNS) was founded in 1956 and is part of a large network of parent cooperative nursery schools. We are also a part of Woodland Joint Unified’s Adult Education Program.
WPNS offers a preschool program (2-6 years) and a Caregivers and Tots class (8-24 months). The weekly Parents and Tots class provides families with an opportunity to determine if WPNS is right for them and can help ease a child’s transition into the preschool later on. In both programs, parents actively participate in their children’s early education by engaging in art, cooking, and a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, including sensory and imaginative play. Parents also facilitate snack and story-time tables and are encouraged to participate in the preparations for each school day. For additional details about the structure of each program, please go to our Programs page.
WPNS gives parents the opportunity to participate in their children’s education and enhance their own parenting skills by attending parent education classes. Parent participation is also key to enabling WPNS to offer its current tuition levels.
Our classes are small and we maintain a 5-to-1 ratio of children to adults. We emphasize a whole child, play-based approach to pre-school education. We encourage the learning of social skills — cooperating, sharing, taking turns, and problem solving. We promote self-confidence, awareness of others, and the positive expression of emotions and needs. We introduce children to colors, shapes, letters, sounds, measuring, counting, patterns, and rhythm.
A co-op gives parents an opportunity to participate in their child’s learning experiences, brainstorm solutions for current parenting issues, and learn about children’s developmental stages. For children, it is an opportunity to choose daily activities such as art, cooking projects, music, science, and story times. Children may also go on field trips, experiment with and explore materials and equipment, share responsibilities and experiences as a group, and work with adults other than their own family members.
For more information, or to schedule a visit, contact membership@woodlandparentnurseryschool.org