Conesus Lake Nursery School is a non-denominational pre-school located within the building of the United Church of Christ in Lakeville, NY. The school was founded in 1968 as a parent co-op school. The school is able to enroll 21students in a three-day-a-week program and 19 students in a two-day-a-week program. Children in the three day program must be 4 years old by December 1st of the school year in which they enter the program. Children attending the two day program must be 3 years old by December 1st of the school year in which they enter the program. Children must also be potty trained.

There are currently openings in both programs.

The program begins with arrival at 9:15 am and ends with pick-up at 11:40am. Welcome Time is from 9:15-9:25. During this time the children sign in, explore various activities and say goodbye to family and care providers. Our Circle Time consists of attendance, calendar, weather, singing, share time and brief discussion of the day's topic. The children have 40 minutes of open choice free play at various learning centers in the classroom. Children receive a snack provided by the daily parent helper. After snack, the children listen to a story and engage in both small motor skills and large motor skills activities and games. We also play outside weather permitting. Dismissal is at 11:40 after a brief closing circle.

CONESUS LAKE NURSERY SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY:
* Conesus Lake Nursery School is a parent cooperative school. It is owned by the parents and is administered by them as a non-profit organization. Parents and teachers cooperate to achieve the best possible preschool experience for the children.

* As a parent cooperative nursery school, Conesus Lake Nursery School has a two-fold purpose: We strive to provide the children with a pre-school education that will meet their individual needs as it prepares them for kindergarten. We offer parents a unique opportunity to be actively involved in their child’s educational experiences. As parents participate in the classroom they are able to gain understanding and insight about the preschool educational process as a whole and about their child’s development in particular.

* Our nursery school program is designed to give the children time to learn, freedom for individual experiences and encouragement from sensitive, caring adults.

* We strive to understand and appreciate each child’s individual temperament and style of learning, and work within that awareness to guide each child toward growth in curiosity, creativity and knowledge.

* A large part of the nursery school day is designated for free play. The children can make choices as to what they want to do, how they want to do it, whom they want to do it with, and how long they want to do it. We believe that play creates opportunities for a great deal of social practice. The children are encouraged to be innovative, inventive and creative as long as they are considerate to people and things. Children learn that their feelings are respected and they are considered important. They will gradually learn to respect the feelings of others as well.

* While we emphasize the significance of play and individual choice in the preschool classroom, we also believe we can best serve the children’s needs if we prepare them to work within the relatively structured framework of a typical kindergarten classroom. We plan our days around a certain routine.

* We work to develop the children’s listening skills and to stretch attention spans. We stress the importance of being good listeners during circle time, show-and-tell, and story time. We work at developing the children’s ability to focus, listen, and follow directions during projects and activities. We strive to foster independence, self-motivation and self-control.

* We do not stress academics, although in our discussions and activities we do encourage and nurture a lively interest in numbers, letters, colors, shapes and science.

We believe these skills, along with the ability to interact effectively with other children, will provide the best possible preparation for kindergarten.