Tag: IPS

IPS Specialty Classes and After School Programs

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.

For more information about our after school and specialty classes, visit our website.

Interested in applying to our school? Learn more about the admissions process here.

What’s Happening At IPS: Chicks, Literacy, and More!

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!

Like what you see? Learn more about The International Preschools by visiting our website.

Interested in applying to our school? You can do that online! Visit our website to fill out an application and learn more about the admissions process.

Lunar New Year at IPS: The Year of the Tiger

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.)

Enjoy the following photos of the IPS Lunar New Year celebrations. May this year give you good fortune and great wealth!

  • 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.

The International Preschools is offering extended day options for the 2022-2023 school year, to better suit the needs of NYC families. Learn more about our scheduling choices on our website.

The Holiday Season and the Winter Solstice at The International Preschools

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.

Celebrating the Fall Season at The International Preschools

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.

October Events at The International Preschools

The first month of school has been a huge success! Over the last several weeks, the children have acclimated nicely to the daily routines at IPS. The children and teachers are building strong relationships and creating a sense of community within their classrooms. The 2021-2022 school year is definitely off to a great start!

What If We Were All The Same! by C.M. Harris is a wonderful book appreciating similarities and differences between people…and is simply worded for young children.

During the month of October, a variety of topics are covered within our classrooms. The overall theme is “We Are Different, Yet We Are The Same,” a nod to the celebration of multiculturalism at our school. IPS was founded more than 50 years ago as a place for those families affiliated with the United Nations to come together as a community. (For more on why United Nations Day is so important to The International Preschools, click here.)

Take a look inside of our classrooms and learn about what’s going on at IPS…

  • The Pre-K 2 children at 76th Street have been working on their cutting skills! The children cut out shapes and tried to follow along the lines while doing so.
  • 86th Street students create their own “world” by painting circle-shaped paper in green, blue, and brown. This activity reflects our overall October theme of “We are different, yet we are the same.”
  • During snack time, children learn to socialize with each other, take turns, taste different foods, and strengthen their self-help skills by cleaning up after themselves. It’s a fun (and educational) time for all!
  • A Red Room student at 86th Street creates a pumpkin using textured paint.
  • An apple-themed project is a big hit in the Red Room at 86th Street!
  • Throughout the entire school year, the children learn about the cultures represented by the students at our school. Here a child at 86th Street plays a matching game with boys and girls of different skin tones, hair color, and eye color. Even though we may look different, we are still children that need food, water, and a home. We are different, yet we are the same!
  • The Pre-K Room at 86th Street spent some time at nearby Carl Schurz Park.
  • The Red Room at 86th Street explored the inside and the outside of a pumpkin.
  • The 76th Street Red Room welcomed the return of the sandbox to the school playground!
  • Green Room children at 86th Street strengthened their fine motor skills by threading beads onto “hair.”
  • The Pre-K 2 children at 76th Street practiced lacing by threading yarn into and out of small holes.
  • In honor of United Nations Day, the Pre-K 2 children created paintings of flags that represent their families.
  • Gross motor skills are exercised on the monkey bars at Carl Schurz Playground!
  • Pre-K classes at both locations began the Handwriting Without Tears program, a weekly foray into the proper formation of uppercase letters.
  • Lacing activities with a multicultural theme! 86th Street students work on their fine motor skills using cards with people dressed in traditional, multicultural clothing.
  • The Green Room children welcomed their first culture share/family tradition of the year. The theme was decorating for the fall/Halloween season.
  • Technology class with Ms. Chelsea started in September for the Pre-K classes at 76th Street. The Green Room children will begin technology classes in January.
  • The 76th Street Red Room prepares for cooking class by wearing IPS aprons!

Be sure to return to the IPS blog next month for more photos, curriuculum, and events taking place at our wonderful school!

Are you interested in joining the IPS community? Learn about the application process by visiting our website.

Welcome Back! IPS Reopens for the 2021-2022 School Year

Families at the IPS West 76th Street location prepare for arrival on the first day of school. The (very) rainy weather didn’t stop anyone from having a great time!

And…we’re back! The teachers and staff at our West 76th Street and East 86th Street locations celebrated the start of a new school year on September 9th and September 13th, respectively. With one completed, successful school year of COVID-19-related restrictions under our belt, the IPS community was more than ready to dive into the 2021-2022 school year.

The Red Room teachers at 76th Street welcome parents, caregivers, and students in the lobby of our building. On the first day, adults accompanied our youngest preschoolers to their classrooms. On the second day, the children were dropped off at the door and escorted to the classroom by their teachers.

As we do every year, our classes begin with a phase-in approach. Each class determines a time frame for the children to become acclimated to school in a gentle manner; for our Red (2s) Rooms, the phase-in period will be longer than that of a Pre-K (4s) Room. For example, the teachers might welcome half of the class for an hour, and then the other half of the class for an hour, on the first day. The next day, the class in its entirety might come for an hour; on the third day, the class would stay for an hour and fifteen minutes, and so forth. The older the class, the shorter the phase-in; our Pre-K classes typically reach their full-day schedule in a matter of a few days.

A family celebrating 86th Street’s opening day, and proudly following school protocol! As we did last year, adults and children will wear masks inside the school and its classrooms throughout the school year.

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year!

Be sure to visit the blog throughout the coming weeks for a look at our school. New entries are posted every 4-6 weeks.

Separation from parents and caregivers occur at the door. Our students know that a grown-up will always come back to pick them up!

Like what you see, and want to join the IPS community? Learn more about our admissions process by visiting our website.

Interested in learning more about our curriculum? Our play-based learning philosophy is further explained on the IPS website.

Snack Time and Lunch Time in Preschool: An Important Part of Your Child’s Day

At The International Preschools, all children have a morning snack time built into their daily schedule. Full day children have about 45 minutes for lunch, in addition to their morning snack.

Socializing at snack time with the Little Dolphins at 76th Street!

This is an important time of day for the children. First and foremost, snack time (and lunch time) keep the children nourished and their energy levels regulated for the activities that they will participate in. Many social, emotional, and cognitive skills are also honed and strengthened while enjoying a well-balanced meal or snack.

Here are some of the important skills that your child is acquiring during snack and lunch at The International Preschools:

  • Self-Help Skills: During snack time, children clean up their place setting on their own, which might require putting a placemat in its proper place; disposing of plates, cups, and utensils; and washing hands. At lunch time, children (where applicable) help to take out their lunches (containers, drinks, etc.) and put everything back inside their lunch box when finished. The children also put their lunch boxes back into their cubbies.
  • Expressive Language Skills: Teachers model responses and questions for the children. For example, if a child would like more of a certain snack (Chex, Cheerios, etc.), the teacher would model, “More Chex, please,” so that he/she can copy the verbal request. The goal is for the child to use the words on his/her own, in any situation, to ask for what he/she needs.
  • Number Sense: During conversation at snack or lunch time, a child might notice things such as how many Cheerios he/she has on his plate, or how many chicken nuggets he/she has in his/her lunch. This is play-based learning at its most casual! Becoming aware of what makes a number (i.e. that five objects make the number 5) is a math skills required for counting with correspondence, addition, subtraction…you name it!
  • Social Skills: Snack time and lunch time provide a perfect opportunity for children to socialize with their peers and teachers. Often, teachers will place children strategically next to different classmates at each snack time, so that they get an opportunity to chat with (and get to know) all of the children in the room. Teachers will model expressive language when needed, so that children can practice asking for what they want, interacting with peers, and reading social cues, to name a few skills.
  • Life Skills: In the Green (3s) and Pre-K (4s) Rooms, children have “jobs” that they are in charge of throughout the day. These jobs might change daily or weekly. Jobs instill confidence and responsibility in young children; achieving the goal of a job (such as watering a plant) boosts their self-esteem and motivation. A few of these jobs are completed during snack or lunch time: one child passes out the napkins, another might count the lunch boxes (to be sure everyone’s lunch is present), another child might pass out cups. At home, parents can allow children to carry out these jobs as well, in the form of setting the table (in part or in its entirety). Children love to help out, and giving them a job (or jobs) at home will help develop your child’s confidence as well.

Any time of the day can be a time for learning (the play-based kind is our favorite)!

End-of-year pizza lunch with the 86th Street full-day Green Room students (and teachers)!

Interested in learning more about The International Preschools’ play-based learning philosophy, and how it is implemented? Take a look at our curriculum pages on our website.

Ready for your child (and family) to join the IPS community? Apply online today!

Lunch Prep for Preschool

Lunchtime at school is a big step in a preschooler’s life!

For many parents, this September will mark the first time that their child will attend a full day of preschool. With that comes the nightly (or for some, morning) routine of preparing your child’s lunch.

It’s not an easy thing. After all, toddlers and preschoolers are notoriously picky and fickle about what they eat. Some days, a cheese sandwich is perfect. Other days, a cheese sandwich will be greeted with a resounding NO from your child.

I’m currently going through the lunchtime process with my second child and, having been an early childhood educator for more than 20 years now, have also witnessed firsthand what works and what doesn’t. Here are some tips and ideas to help make your child (and your!) first experience with lunch-at-school a happy one:

  • Stick with what he/she knows. Be sure that your child’s lunch contains mostly items that he/she has eaten before and enjoys. Let dinnertime be the place where new foods can be tasted and evaluated. Then, new foods that are given the thumbs-up can be included in future lunches.
  • Give variety. Including a variety of foods from many food groups (protein, grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, healthy fats) ensures that your child will eat something (even if he/she doesn’t eat everything). And on that note…
  • Pay attention to portion sizes. I’ve seen many well-meaning parents (myself included!) pack lunches with large portion sizes that don’t get eaten. It’s not that your child can’t/won’t eat that much…it’s more that having lots of baggies and containers with large amounts of food in them can be visually overwhelming. As a result, some children will just avoid the food altogether. Case in point: I have given my five-year-old the same types of food for lunch packed in a bento box (if you haven’t gotten one for your child already, look into it – they are awesome!) with small portions, and the same food in a variety of containers. She almost always eats all of the food in the bento box, but when the food is in larger containers, she leaves a lot of it behind.
  • Make it visually appealing! Visual aspects are sometimes as vital to kids eating their lunch as the actual food. If you’re crafty, and up for the challenge, click here for some cute lunchtime (or dinnertime) ideas.

Next week’s blog will touch on the skills that kids learn from having snack and lunch together at school…and they aren’t just food-related!

Interested in joining the IPS community? Visit our website by clicking here.

Food: A Toddler’s Journey (And How Preschool Snack Time Changed Its Path!)

My daughter (age 5) is, and always has been, a fantastic eater. She loves all kinds of food (steak at age 1.5!) and will try most things, even if she ultimately decides she doesn’t like it.

My son (age 2.5), not so much. He is (and always has been) a picky eater, eating mostly berries, cheese, crackers, yogurt, bread, and the like. Then, a few months ago, he suddenly started eating what I consider basically nothing, other than milk, yogurt, and the occasional slice of bologna.

Green Room kids enjoying ice cream sundaes at snack time on the last day of school!

Our beloved pediatrician did not have any problems with what was going on…he said kids go through phases and to keep on offering all types of foods to the little man. Which we did, to no avail.

Then, one day, we turned a corner. That corner, my friends, was preschool snack time. The little man joined summer camp in June, and after a day or so of politely refusing snack options, he was suddenly eating multiple helping of foods. Grapes? Yes please! Pretzels? Wow, never seen these before! String cheese? Absolutely!

I write this post, on this topic, in hopes of sharing my toddler’s food journey with you, as I’m sure there are many families out there who have struggled, worried, and battled this topic in their homes. Simply put, my little man wanted to do what his friends were doing, and as a result, he began eating more and trying new foods. It will happen for your family, too! (Even if it doesn’t seem like it.)

86th Street Summer Camp: Three cheers for ice pops!

In next week’s blog post, I will cover the topic of snack and lunch at school and some helpful hints when packing your child’s lunch for preschool. Many families will have children making the switch to eating lunch at school in September, and I hope these posts will help your child make this transition smooth and easy!

Ready to sign your child up for a full day of preschool at one of New York City’s best? Apply online on our website today!