Columbia Greenhouse encompasses five classrooms. The class size ranges from ten students in the Two’s class to twenty-one students in the Four-Five’s class. Two experienced and qualified teachers along with one or two assistants teach each class. A music specialist visits each class once a week.
In each classroom, areas are designated and appropriately equipped for pretend play, block building, cooking, reading, using manipulatives, sand and water play and explorations with art materials. The children are encouraged to make independent choices and develop good problem-solving skills while exploring the materials. Allowing for both unstructured and structured experiences, each day the schedule includes a choice time, snack, outdoor time, discussion, singing and story time. Special care is given to helping children become part of a community. Respect for others is emphasized, and they are encouraged to listen and respond to each other while taking part in small and full group discussions.
The curriculum emerges out of the children’s interests and play. Teachers carefully observe the children and skillfully extend activities into deeper and more meaningful learning experiences. The Language Arts program is rich with reading, conversation, story-telling and dictation. Mathematics is introduced in similar age-appropriate ways with shapes, patterning, blocks and counting games whereby children learn to match, sort and classify attributes and, as they get older, to estimate, calculate and measure. The Science related activities encourage children to predict, observe, test and record.
Outdoor play is a very important part of the day. There are two outdoor play yards with a slide, climbing apparatus, sand boxes, large building blocks, balls and tricycles. In keeping with the Columbia Greenhouse educational philosophy, the outdoor equipment is nonrepresentational so that imagination may be given free reign. Each class plays in one of the yards every day, and the older classes also use the Columbia campus for nature walks and games involving large motor skills.
The school year follows an academic calendar from mid-September until mid-June. An optional six-week summer camp takes place in June and July.