Alaya Preschool Kindergarten

Alaya Preschool arise out of compassion and caring for others. It is an expression of our dedication to help raise our children to be genuine to their hearts, to appreciate honesty and straightforwardness, to have delight and joy in relationships, to develop and feel good about the personal effort and discipline of accomplishments, and to gain awareness of and relax with the play of the world. Aspects of Waldorf, Montessori, Shambhala and other philosophies inform our work with children. The ground of Alaya is the contemplative tradition of observation, reflection, and action. This process contains the cultivation of both intention and spontaneity. Our curriculum is experiential and play based.

At Alaya, we believe that the nature and style of the learning process is as important as what is learned. Young children learn primarily by direct experience of their world through their senses and their bodies. Our emphasis is on social competency, language skills, emotional and physical growth and well-being. The children connect to these things through a well-designed environment and planned as well as emergent experiences Within Alaya’s homelike and nurturing environment, children are able to observe and participate in simple basic living activities: relationships, helping, sharing, reading and telling stories, preparing food, cleaning up, caring for plants and animals, and learning through play.

The development of the classroom as a community is an important part of our program. A continuity of care, meaning that the children stay together throughout the year, and most times for 2 to 3 years (depending on their age when they enroll), as well as with their teachers, supports this development.