Main Hall

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The Main Hall is the center of activity at Children's University and includes our director's office, co-director's office, the kitchen, and six of our classrooms. This building is organized so that each class has access to its own playground and bathroom. The Main Hall has the atmosphere of a school, but the close proximity of our children's previous classrooms, teachers, and friends helps ease the transition as they graduate to their next class. All of the classrooms in Main Hall are spacious and feature large windows, providing lots of natural light.

This part of the virtual tour also provides a look at the entrance to Children's University and our brilliant mural that extends throughout the length of the hallway. Hand-painted by a local artist, it provides a connection between all the spaces, giving the children a common theme that links their different classrooms.

The children get a kick out of the artwork which draws on motifs from famous paintings and we expect you will as well.

Classrooms

Please click on the classroom name for a 360°view:

Clownfish

This classroom is the first introduction of infants to the Main Building. These children range from 12-18 months of age. There are ten toddlers in this class and are given a ton of activities on their level, including a huge indoor climbing structure. With this age group, we start to introduce a more structured curriculum and daily schedule, gradually weaning them off having meals and naps “on demand” and acclimating them to designated eating schedules and afternoon naptimes. This class has its own playground, right outside the door.

Sharks

The name of our second classroom for toddlers comes from the pre-verbal development of this age-group and their tendency to act out in lieu of speech. Our teachers are very skilled at redirecting this high-energy class toward positive behavior through more structure and circle-time. We have twelve children in this classroom who range in age from 16-26 months. We provide them with a wide range of activities, a spacious room to roam in, and seven separate centers for each child to explore during child-directed time (as you'll find in all the rooms in our Main Building and Preschool House). The designated playground for this group is located just behind the Clownfish playground.

Seahorses

This class is designed strictly for two-year olds. Most are still in diapers, but this is our first classroom to offer child-sized potties. Though we encourage toilet training for the Seahorses, we don’t push them beyond their individual development. Daily schedules begin to include more teacher directed activities and longer circle-time. Since it can be challenging for many two-year olds to sit still for long, we offer these activities as an option for those children who are interested, rather than forcing every child to participate. The Seahorses have an enormous room with generous space to build and create. They have direct access to their own playground and their very own classroom pet -- a cockatiel named Zowie.

Jellyfish

This is a transitional classroom which includes children ranging in age from 2-½ to 3-½, depending on their developmental needs. We still offer toilet training in this classroom, but at this stage most of these children have made the transition. Teachers utilize CreativeCurriculum's program for three to five-year olds, which provides enough stimulation for the entire group, without overwhelming the 2-½ year olds who may be in this class. The Jellyfish will engage in dramatic play and learning through play in this classroom. They will also begin to rotate playgrounds and share the remaining play spaces with the older classes, to get the experience of different play surfaces.

Pufferfish

This classroom is designed primarily for three-year olds, but also includes young four-year olds emerging into the Pre-K groupings. These children are firmly engaged with the three to five-year year old grouping in CreativeCurriculum and will also begin to be exposed to Pre-K content. Although more structure is introduced, free time is also provided to explore the large classroom and a variety of play spaces outside.

Swordfish

This is the first pure Pre-K classroom, designated strictly for four year olds. It provides a very structured environment, preparing them for the Preschool House. Depending on their birthdays, some children move to Kindergarten from this group, but most will move to the Preschool House in the fall. This group features a defined classroom with its own computer and an interactive curriculum. At this stage, family style dining is introduced.

Entrance and Hallway

Please click on one of the Main Hall views for a 360° view of the space:

Main Hall Entrance Lobby

In the lobby entrance, you can see our director's office on the left and the kitchen on the right. Our mural begins down the main hall. See if you can spot our tip-toeing duck asking you to be quiet in case children are napping!

Main Hall View 1

In this view of our hallway mural, you can see our local artist's interpretation of Grant Wood's "American Gothic," some happy chickens on a farm, and a peek into our Clownfish room.

Main Hall View 2

From this angle, you can see our happy snowman and his little blue bird friend. (We have a live cockatiel named "Zowie" in one of our classrooms). Also visible is our ice-skating cow.

Main Hall View 3

Our final view of the hallway shows a barn scene (the dog is modeled after our Director's own sheltie) and a rainbow.