Early Childhood
Every part of a child's day at Pembroke Hill early childhood school is a learning opportunity.
The mission of the Pembroke Hill early childhood school is to provide developmentally appropriate opportunities for children to grow cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically to their maximum potential, in an intentionally planned environment that fosters a sense of community and a life-long love of learning.
The Pembroke Hill school day is filled with opportunities for our young students to construct knowledge through exploring, investigating, questioning, experimenting, reflecting, representing and interacting. Learning happens while children are
- Playing in our developmentally appropriate classrooms,
- Exploring nature outside,
- Engaged in the carefully planned routines,
- Interacting in small group experiences,
- Taking part in large group experiences,
- Participating in rich child-centered activities, and
- Interacting with their families, teachers, friends and environment.
The Pembroke Hill early childhood school is influenced by the world-renowned Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. At the heart of this philosophy is the image of each child as a competent, capable and curious individual full of potential. Our teachers honor this curiosity and natural desire to learn by encouraging their students to wonder, ask questions, create hypotheses and search for answers.
Educational research backs the Reggio Emilia approach belief that strong relationships are critical to a child’s brain development and learning. At Pembroke Hill we know the safety and comfort of warm and receptive student-teacher and student-student relationships are important for learning. In every classroom teachers create a strong sense of community that includes children, families, teachers and campus staff.
Inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, we value the environment as the third teacher. The Pembroke Hill early childhood school has embraced this belief by planning our environment with intent. All materials, routines and activities in each classroom have been purposefully selected to provide opportunities for children to grow, learn and develop.
Pembroke Hill School, including the early childhood division, is accredited by the Independent Schools of the Central States (ISACS). The early childhood curriculum, environment and interactions are aligned with the Developmentally Appropriate Practices outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Pembroke Hill's early childhood program, as part of a K-12 school, is Missouri state license exempt.