The Blue Playhouse at the Reggio Emilia Montessori Center

We are a private educational based daycare, now offering free services to twenty-one 3 year olds through our NYCDOE 3K program. We believe in observing and learning from the child, and in the importance of understanding each child and his or her unique strengths. We are committed to the development of the whole child, and the importance of play and exploration in that development.

The Elephant Room, as named by our first cohort of 2 and 3 year olds, is our mixed-age classroom of 12 children. This program is inspired by merging Reggio Emilia philosophy, Montessori philosophy, and traditional approaches to learn - for our older children preparing for Kindergarten.  

Our program is designed to strengthen fine and gross motor ability through movement and the investigation of new objects, and to allow for children to explore and discover through play.  Children are presented with opportunities for new experiences each day, and are encouraged to engage with new works on our Practical Life and Sensorial shelves.  4 and 5 year olds receive early literacy instruction through Wilson's Fundations and Pre-K Math using the Eureka Math curriculum, 1-3 times per week.   

Children begin their day with a morning meeting and a brief lesson centered around "something amazing about the world". Children then move about the remainder of their day choosing activities and exploring the learning environment, guided by their teachers.