Spring has finally arrived in New York City! At The International Preschools, the teachers and students welcome the season with a variety of activities and school-wide events.
In the classrooms, we are learning about all aspects of the spring: gardening, flowers, and planting as well as Earth Day and related actions such as the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle). Families have also visited IPS to celebrate holidays such as Easter, Passover, Greek Orthodox Easter, and Holi, to name a few. This is part of our yearlong Culture Share, where parents and children share their traditions with the teachers and students.
A family celebrates Greek Orthodox Easter in our Jr. K classroom.
The International Preschools welcomed its newest (and youngest!) students this January via our IPS Playgroup. The class was created for children ages 16-24 months and meets on Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30am-11:00am.
The IPS Playgroup acts as a first introduction to school for toddlers. The children attend each class with a parent or caregiver, who partake in the activities as well. The sessions are facilitated by Ms. Colleen, who has extensive experience with babies and toddlers and has been with IPS since 2010. Each session, the children take part in a short “circle time” which includes songs, movement, and finger plays. The Playgroup students also take part in art and sensory activities (i.e. play dough, sand, water) and free play (blocks, age-appropriate manipulative toys, etc.).
Take a look at our newest students in action during the IPS Playgroup sessions!
We are looking forward to more fun weeks in the IPS Playgroup throughout 2023!
Our Location/Education Director, Monique Tabbs, meets with the Pre-K children about the IPS food drive with City Harvest NYC.
The holidays are the perfect time to teach young children about giving back to those in need, and IPS students are no exception.
Each year, the school community participates in food and toy collections to give to outreach organizations in New York City. Our Location/Education Director, Monique Tabbs, spearheads the November food collection in which the contributions are distributed in time for Thanksgiving. This year, IPS is working with City Harvest NYC, which is the city’s largest food rescue organization.
The Green Room children place their food donations into our City Harvest NYC basket.
To introduce the concept to the children, Monique visited our Green (3s), Pre-K (4s), and Junior K (4s/5s) classrooms to read them a story about giving. She tells the children about the goal, which is to collect food for people who do not have enough to eat. She encourages the children to bring in canned goods and other food items for donation. Each day during the food drive, Monique wheels her basket into each classroom and, if the children have brought in an item to donate, they place the can or box into her basket. The children are so excited to take part in this activity, and by actually “donating” the items themselves, a home/school connection is created.
Monique visits the Junior Kindergarten classroom to collect donations for City Harvest NYC.
In December, we are looking forward to partaking in a toy drive for those less fortunate in time for the holidays.
Thank you to all those who donated to this cause, which will help fellow New Yorkers!
Interested in learning more about our school? Visit our website to read more about our facilities, teachers, and specialty classes.
It’s hard to believe that we’re already in the month of November at The International Preschools! September and October were very busy months at IPS, with lots of fun activities and (hurray!) several in-person family events. Here’s a look at what’s been happening at IPS over the last few weeks:
We welcomed parents back into the school building for our annual Curriculum Night. Here, parents were able to take part in a sample of activities that their children participate in every day. They also learned about what’s to come in the year ahead. Here, the Green Room (3s) parents take part in “Table Time,” where the children work individually or in small groups every day. Table Time allows the children to strengthen many skills, including fine motor, visual discrimination, and pre-math. The Pre-K class poses for a group photo before our United Nations (UN) Day sing-along celebration in the gym…the first in-person UN Day since 2019! The children (and grown-ups!) were invited to wear clothing that represented their culture or heritage. This could be in the form of traditional dress, a sports jersey, or even a tee shirt.Parents, children, and teachers came together in the gym on October 25th to participate in our UN Day celebration. There was a multilingual sing-along, as well as dancing and movement with our students and families. The sing-along was lead by Mr. Doug, our music teacher.We’re seeing double! Two of our Junior Kindergarten friends dressed as Elsa for the PA’s Halloween party in Central Park. Many children, parents, and siblings attended this event, which included a bubble show!The Halloween festivities continued on the 31st of October! The children (and teachers!) came to school dressed in their Halloween best. The Red 2 class posed with their teachers to display their costumes!Members of the Ajna Dance Company visited IPS in November to celebrate Diwali. We read a story about Diwali, watched a dance performance, and then joined in to dance as well! Here, the Red and Green Room teachers and students pose with the Ajna dancers.
We are looking forward to many more exciting in-person events over the next several weeks, including our annual Winter Solstice Sing-Along in December!
Take another look inside our wonderful school! Or, if you are ready to join the IPS community, apply online on our website.
Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! The International Preschool(s) is entering its 60th year of establishment, and with it came several changes to the IPS community.
At the end of June 2022, the West 76th Street location of The International Preschools closed its doors for good. Although IPS no longer has an Upper West Side presence, nearly 25% of its current students joined us on the Upper East Side, as we merged with the East 86th Street location. Our longtime director of school, Donna Cohen, retired in June 2022 as well. Former 76th Street location director Alyssa Wisoff is now the new director of school at IPS.
The final 76th Street Red Room says goodbye to IPS’ west side location in June 2022.
Although closing the 76th Street location was quite upsetting to the IPS community as a whole, we are happy to report that the 2022-2023 year as one strong, unified location has been off to a great start! Many faculty members from the 76th Street location joined the 86th Street location, and together have forged a wonderful team. The children are happy and excited to come to school every day, and sounds of laughter and chatter can be heard at all times of the day within the building.
Pre-K students enjoying their time on the front yard during the first days of school.
Additionally, our staff and families are very excited to welcome back many in-person events that we have not participated in since March 2020. Recently, IPS held a “welcome picnic” at the East Pinetum in Central Park, where the students and families enjoyed pizza, live entertainment, and art activities. A great time was had by all!
Lou Gallo and the Very Hungry Band performed at the IPS Welcome Picnic on September 15th in Central Park.
We are looking forward to an exciting school year at IPS!
Interested in joining the IPS community? Learn more about the admissions process on our website.
The Green Room children strengthen their math skills during technology class.
The International Preschools welcomed back in-person specialty classes and after school programs during the 2021-2022 school year.
Once a week, all of the children at both locations attend music, library, and movement classes, facilitated by Mr. Doug, Miss Talcott, and Ms. Peggy, respectively.. The Green and Pre-K classes attend technology class as well, taught by Ms. Chelsea at 76th Street and Ms. Karen at 86th Street. The Green Rooms primarily work on skills such as patterning, sequencing, counting with correspondence, and more using education iPad apps. The Pre-K Rooms use both the iPad and a mini-robot called Cubetto to learn about coding. Green and Pre-K classes at 86th Street also participate in art class with Ms. Deb, using clay and other mediums.
The Red Rooms at both locations enjoy Art Farm classes once a month during the spring semester. Art Farm NYC’s resident animal expert, Ms. Gabby, visits the Red Room with animals for the children to observe, touch, and interact with.
Ms. Gabby from the Art Farm NYC handles a turtle for a Red Room child.
Our after school programs returned for Green and Pre-K Rooms this year, to our students’ delight. Programs such as soccer (via Super Soccer Stars), chess (through Chess at Three), TADA! Theater, and art (provided by IPS teachers Ms. Dalia and Ms. Deb) are available for families to choose from. After school programs add a new layer of learning onto a child’s day, where they can socialize with friends, hone a new skill, or build upon an established interest.
Here are some photos from our specialty classes and after school programs at both IPS locations:
Clay with Ms. Deb.
Music with Mr. Doug
Movement with Ms. Peggy
Miss Talcott helps each child select a book to bring home every week.
Mr. Doug invites a student to help lead the music class.
Stretching with Ms. Peggy during movement class.
Music with Mr. Doug
Clay with Ms. Deb
Art Farm NYC with Ms. Gabby
Art Farm NYC with Ms. Gabby
After school chess class (via Chess at Three) with Pre-K 2 students
Large and small movements abound with Ms. Peggy’s class at 86th Street.
Before: Children observe the fertilized eggs in the incubator at our 86th Street location.
Throughout the months of February and March, there have been a variety of themes displayed within our classrooms. Interdisciplinary themes, combined with our play-based learning philosophy, were evident everywhere you went at The International Preschools!
In February, both locations welcomed twelve fertilized eggs in incubators, which produced many fluffy chicks that were born on Valentine’s Day! At 76th Street and 86th Street, the classes visited the chicks throughout the hatching process and celebrated with a “birthday party” to commemorate our feathered friends’ entry into the world.
After: A successful “chick hatch” at 86th Street!
In addition to Valentine’s Day, the Winter Olympics, and Pediatric Dental Health Month (February), our annual literacy units began in the Green and Pre-K Rooms. Our Green Rooms studied a particular author in the weeks leading up to our two-week Spring Break, while the Pre-K Rooms concentrated on a chapter book study of their choosing. The Red Rooms worked on a color unit, focusing on a different color each week.
Blue Week “Show and Share” in the 76th Street Red Room. Children were asked to bring in an object of their choosing in the color of the week to “show” and “share” with the class.
Take a look into our classrooms at the wide range of themes and learning that’s happening at The International Preschools!
Winning an Olympic medal at 76th Street!
The 76th Street children participated in an Olympic ice skating event using paper plates for skates!
The 76th Street children created the Olympic rings using paint and paper towel tubes to create “rings.”
Sitting with our feathered friends!
Green Room students at 86th Street observe a tiny chick.
A “chick exploration center” at 86th Street.
We pet the chicks gently, using only one (or two) fingers.
The Red Room observes the chicks playing and frolicking during our Chick Birthday Party.
Chick Birthday Party at 86th Street
We pet the chicks gently, using only one (or two) fingers.
Ms. Tabbs speaks to a class about the chicks at 86th Street.
Doing the “Chicken Dance” for our chick friends at 76th Street!
We pet the chicks gently, using only one (or two) fingers.
Chick-themed games at 86th Street’s birthday celebration.
Ms. Tabbs and Ms. Jaya face off in an egg-on-a-spoon race during the 86th Street birthday party!
76th Street had a successful chick hatch!
Petting a baby chick at 86th Street.
A “chick exploration center” at 86th Street.
Egg-on-a-spoon race at the 86th Street chick birthday party.
Chick-themed games at 86th Street’s birthday celebration.
Petting a baby chick at 76th Street.
We love the baby chicks!
Dancing and festive fun at the 86th Street chick birthday party!
Welcoming the baby chicks was so exciting!
Decorating chick cut-out cookies at the 76th Street birthday celebration.
Red, pink, white, and purple necklaces were made at the 76th Street Valentine’s Day celebration.
Valentine’s Day-themed play dough center at 86th Street
Making valentines at 86th Street
The Pre-K 2 class at 76th Street explores using a toothbrush in a different way during Pediatric Dental Health Month.
Pre-K 2 students made a mouth using marshmallows for teeth during their Dental Health unit.
It’s Yellow Week in the Red Room at 86th Street!
A blue-themed project during Blue Week at 76th Street!
Color-mixing science unit + color unit = fun!
Red Week coincided with Valentine’s Day in the Red Room at 86th Street!
Working on a blue puzzle during Blue Week at 86th Street!
When we return in April, we will turn our studies to Earth Day, life cycles, and of course, the spring season!
The International Preschools welcomed the Year of the Tiger with our annual celebrations of Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year, according to Britannica.com, is “typically celebrated in China and other Asian countries that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, fifteen days later.” Because the moon cycles, which the lunar calendar follows, change slightly from year to year, the starting date of the Lunar New Year also differs. This year, Lunar New Year commenced on Tuesday, February 1st.
Parents and families of our students shared traditions from their families for Lunar New Year via Zoom. At our 76th Street location, Ms. Emi (Pre-K 2 head teacher) taught the children about the festival of Setsubun, a spring festival celebrated in her native country of Japan. Both locations enjoyed watching a video from the New York Chinese Cultural Center, which gave the children a view of a traditional lion dance as well as a red ribbon dance. (Prior to the onset of COVID-19, the New York Chinese Cultural Center visited IPS in-person.)
Year of the Tiger puppets in our Pre-K 3 class at 76th Street.
86th Street students observe a dragon puppet and pellet drum display.
Happy Lunar New Year from a resident tiger!
Tigers at 86th Street wish you a Happy Lunar New Year!
A Red Room student’s family conducts a culture share via Zoom to teach the class about Lunar New Year traditions.
A Green Room student hands out lucky red envelopes to her classmates, a tradition on Lunar New Year.
Green 3 students at 86th Street display their pellet drum crafts.
The Green Room at 76th Street participates in the red ribbon dance, led (virtually) by the New York Chinese Cultural Center.
An instructor from the Chinese Cultural Center teaches 76th Street students various moves from the red ribbon dance. Movements included the “rainbow” and the “waterfall.” At the end of the instruction, the children viewed (and simultaneously danced) to the Chinese red ribbon dance!
Creating our “Oni” during the Japanese Setsubun spring festival celebration. “Oni” is an evil spirit that is driven away at the Lunar New Year in order to promise good luck and good fortune.
At 76th Street, children threw “roasted soybeans” (balled-up paper) at an Oni puppet during the celebration of Setsubun. “Oni” is afraid of soybeans because in Japan, they symbolize vitality and drive away evil spirits.
Winter Solstice sing-along with Mr. Doug in the Red Room at 76th Street.
At The International Preschools, the children and teachers spent time learning about the Winter Solstice throughout the month of December, concentrating on the concepts of light and dark. The majority of the holidays occurring during the months of November, December, and January honor the idea of light via candles, the sun, the stars, fire, etc. after the longest night of the year, which is the Winter Solstice.
In the classrooms, one of the ways that the children acquired information about the Winter Solstice was by examining the holidays that are celebrated at that time of year. This is done within the classroom curriculum and through culture shares, where parents visit the school virtually via Zoom (due to COVID restrictions) and teach the children about the holidays that they celebrate. Some of the “festivals of light” presented at this time of year include Christmas, Hanukkah, the Feast of St. Lucia, Diwali, Yule, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and the Three Kings.
See below for photos from the classrooms celebrating the Winter Solstice and exploring the concepts of light and dark, as well as our annual Winter Solstice celebration.
Winter Solstice and Holiday Season Gallery:
Ready for the (Zoom) Winter Solstice!
“Dumplings From Around The World” in the Red Room at 76th Street to celebrate the Winter Solstice (a nod to our pre-COVID international potlucks!).
Celebrating Winter Solstice with a “solstice spiral” walk, where we placed nature items around a source of light.
Christmas (evergreen) tree decorating as a Culture Share in the Green Room!
Creating stars out of homemade clay at 86th Street!
Creating stars out of homemade clay at 86th Street!
Light table exploration during the holiday season.
Shadow explorations, to coincide with our studies of light and dark.
Light table exploration during the holiday season.
We made night sky murals as a whole group as part of our Winter Solstice celebrations at 76th Street.
Shadow explorations, to coincide with our studies of light and dark.
Light table exploration during the holiday season.
Demonstration of how the Winter Solstice (the day of the year with the least amount of sunlight) works, using a globe and a flashlight.
The Pre-K 3 class made lanterns, a source of light, in honor of the Winter Solstice.
We made night sky murals as a whole group as part of our Winter Solstice celebrations at 76th Street.
Shadow explorations, to coincide with our studies of light and dark.
Fall is a busy season here at The International Preschools. We celebrate the seasonal changes that occur in the fall (i.e. apples, pumpkins, leaves, acorns) as well as the holidays that occur: United Nations Day, Halloween, Diwali, and Thanksgiving.
United Nations Day (October 24th) is a special day for the IPS community. Much of the month of October is spent highlighting and appreciating the multiculturalism that sets IPS apart from other schools. The children and teachers spend time observing what is the same and different about each other.
Preparing for our United Nations Day celebration with families via Zoom in the Pre-K 2 class at 76th Street.
After United Nations Day, our school quickly jumps into Halloween mode, with festivities at both locations. On November 2nd, IPS then celebrated the Hindu holiday of Diwali with Zoom presentations from the Ajna Dance Company, as well as “culture shares” initiated by families who observe the holiday. Rounding out the month of November is the American holiday of Thanksgiving, which is commemorated at IPS with classroom “feasts” as a way of coming together to share a meal with friends.
Please enjoy some highlights from the last month, which includes photos from our classroom learning about United Nations Day, Halloween, Diwali, and the fall season!
Happy Halloween from Pre-K 2!
Picking pumpkins in the Red Room!
We are different, yet we are the same! Multicultural floor puzzle completion.Represen
Representing our families’ heritages and traditions on United Nations Day.
Happy Halloween from Pre-K 3!
Red Room United Nations Day Sing-Along
Bringing nature into the classroom via acorns and leaves.
Halloween in the Pre-K Room at 86th Street.
Creating a whole-group “world collage.”
Sampling the “Pancakes From Around The World” snack in the Red Room at 76th Street!
Happy Halloween from the 76th Street Green Room!
Painting a self-portrait in the Green Room at 86th Street.
Happy Halloween from Green 1 at 86th Street!
Group painting using corn as a roller.
Red Room celebrates United Nations Day!
Painting with pinecones at 86th Street.
Halloween parade at 86th Street.
Exploring with mini-pumpkins.
Happy Halloween from Green 3!
“Around the World” floor puzzle in the Pre-K 3 classroom.
Exploring pumpkin seeds at 86th Street
Multicultural floor puzzle with Pre-K 2.
Examining the insides of a pumpkin.
Shaving cream + mini pumpkin = fun in the Red Room!
Representational drawings, using our flags as inspiration.
Happy Halloween from 86 Pre-K!
Halloween 2021 at 76th Street with the Red Room
All About Me bulletin board at 76th Street
Halloween Bingo at 86th Street.
Painting mini pumpkins at 86th Street!
Using a magnifying glass to discover what’s inside of a pumpkin at 86th Street.
Discovery Center filled with pumpkins and gourds at 86th Street
Learning about pumpkins (and what’s inside) at 86th Street
Ready to join the IPS community for the 2022-2023 school year? Learn more about our admissions process on our website.
The International Preschools Blog is an opportunity to journey into the school's classrooms. Here you will find information about play-based education, diversity, classroom themes; all the things that make learning joyful and fun at one of the best preschools in New York City.
