The Early Childhood division serves children from age 2½ through Kindergarten. Our program emphasizes social development, early literacy and math skills, music, and fine and gross motor growth, all taught through play and integrated, thematic learning. Class trips are closely connected to classroom themes, and service learning is thoughtfully introduced during the Pre-K year.

Early Ages 2’s:

Children must be 2 ½ years old by October 1st.
Full day (9:00 a.m. – 3:15pm p.m.)
Teachers work to support your toilet training strategies.
Specials: Spanish, Music & Movement, Gym and Dance

Early Ages Program
At Montclair Cooperative School, our Early Ages program provides a safe, engaging environment where children explore, play, and grow socially, emotionally, and academically. Through hands-on play with open-ended materials, children develop problem-solving skills, creativity, and independence.

Our curriculum fosters emergent literacy, math, science, and social-emotional learning through rich, interactive experiences. Children engage with books, rhymes, manipulatives, art, music, movement, and outdoor play. Themes explore self-awareness, cultural diversity, and environmental stewardship, while field trips extend learning into the community.

Early Ages 3’s

Children must be 3 years old by October 1st of the year they begin in Early Ages.
Full day (9:00 a.m. – 3:15pm p.m.)
Teachers work to support your toilet training strategies.
Specials: Spanish, Music & Movement, Gym and Dance
Early Ages Program

At Montclair Cooperative School, our Early Ages program provides a safe, engaging environment where children explore, play, and grow socially, emotionally, and academically. Through hands-on play with open-ended materials, children develop problem-solving skills, creativity, and independence.

Our curriculum fosters emergent literacy, math, science, and social-emotional learning through rich, interactive experiences. Children engage with books, rhymes, manipulatives, art, music, movement, and outdoor play. Themes explore self-awareness, cultural diversity, and environmental stewardship, while field trips extend learning into the community.

Pre-Kindergarten

In the Pre-Kindergarten program at the Co-op, children engage in a richly experiential curriculum that attends intentionally to all domains of development—physical, cognitive, social, and emotional—on a continual basis. Children are encouraged to explore a wide range of materials and
experiences through all of their senses, fostering curiosity, engagement, and meaning-making. Counting, drawing, and early writing are embedded in activities that reflect children’s individual interests and lived experiences. While thematic explorations are pursued in depth across content areas, play remains a central and essential vehicle for emotional, social, and cognitive growth.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students are developing greater independence, curiosity, and awareness of the world around them. At ages five and six, children are eager to learn through hands-on exploration and play, while also beginning to recognize perspectives beyond their own. They are strengthening their ability to focus, think more abstractly, and distinguish fantasy from reality, all while continuing to grow socially and emotionally through relationships, empathy, and collaboration.

Our Kindergarten program offers an experiential curriculum that supports the whole child—physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Children are encouraged to explore materials and experiences using all their senses, building confidence, creativity, and foundational academic skills in a nurturing and active learning environment.