Preschool Classroom

Welcome to Uni Primary Preschool!

Our Preschool Classroom is an engaging, joyful space in which to play and learn. Children's sense of belonging and well-being is nurtured throughout the day in whole class, small group, and individual experiences both indoors and outside. We play for long periods outdoors enjoying and exploring nature, moving loose parts around our playground, hiking around and through a milk weed-filled field, and getting chummy with sand, water, and mud. From the moment children enter the classroom, change into their “inside shoes” and select a first activity, they begin to make friends, have ample time to talk, listen, share, and move their active bodies. Childhood is honored and respected as a time for exploration, constructing, observing, questioning, hypothesizing, experimenting, and making meaning from self-experiences and the world around us. At Uni Primary, we protect and promote children's right to childhood, right to play, and right to be themselves.

Our preschool teachers are warm, inquisitive, and creative. They love learning alongside the children and families in our classroom!

Our Preschool class typically includes children that are 3, 4, and 5 years old (before September 1). This room has a master head teacher,  co-teachers (often enrolled as graduate students at Illinois), College of Education pre-service teachers, School of Social Work interns, as well as student and family volunteers. 

We have a 5-day a week preschool, with arrival between 8:20-8:40 AM each day (we follow a typical school year calendar). Dismissal is at NOON or children may stay for extended preschool NOON-3:00 PM, and an option for Adventure Play After School from 3:00-5:30 PM.

During extended preschool, children bring a lunch from home, have a quiet time for rest, and enjoy afternoon activities including outdoor play. Extended preschool and after school are available all school days (except early dismissal days) Monday-Friday, and families may sign up for 1-5 days per week. Sign for extended preschool and after school is handled through the school office; contact Christine Wyant for details about extended day preschool and/or after school. See the "Adventure Play" tab in the menu for more information about after school.