Barbareux School

I thought Cole would like it there but I wasn’t certain that it would push him mentally….. he would certainly have a creative outlet and learn new things though. It wasn’t glorified playtime. It was learning through play...

Director

Patrice; nice person and probably really knows her stuff. She definitely knows each student by name and seems incredibly genuine and interested. She knew that a friend of ours had a new sister.

Location

It is a 10 minute drive… not within walking distance.

Timing

You can go whenever you want; ½ days, full days, etc. They are very accommodating.

Ages

They take children ages 2½ through first grade. There are about 12-16 kids in each class with one teacher and two assistants. The kids were fairly racially homogenous.

Structure

My impression is that there is a lot of unstructured time and that the kids really need to take their own initiative and say what they want to do.

Activities

There appears to be a decent amount of artistic activity (actually some really creative projects!) and music time. They also have a pet bunny in the kids class that they appear to get really into. e.g. One project was taking cars, dipping them in paint and then making designs by rolling the cars on a canvass with the map of the United States as its background.

Teachers

The teachers all have college degrees but don’t necessarily have childhood education as their focus. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the teachers…. They didn’t really do anything to strike me as impressive….. but they certainly weren’t bad either!

Type of education

Emergent. They have a set curriculum of skills and then they adapt it to what the kids express interest in.

Food

They have healthy foods and try and get organic veggies/fruits. They also allow the children to help with the food prep.

Outing

They go outside 2x per day. The toys looked a little random in the front yard. They go on two filed trips per year.

Overall Feel

Very homey and small. Older children are downstairs and the younger children are upstairs.

Fundraising

Small commitment to help with a silent auction.