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Preschool Programs

Morning program

Our Preschool morning program runs Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Our program allows for a flexible schedule and offers 5-day, 4-day (multi-age classrooms only), 3-day, and 2-day per week options for families. As a school, we follow the Atlanta Public School schedule for holidays, breaks, snow days, and educator planning days.

The Preschool program is designed to encourage the development of the child’s self-respect and inner discipline. Primary importance is placed on creating opportunities for children to satisfy their natural curiosity and to find fulfilling outlets through music, art, literature, Spanish, language, drama, and other forms of free play.

extended day program

GPCP offers an Extended Day program Monday - Friday from 12:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. This program is open to children enrolled in the morning program, as well as to children in the community. Those who regularly attend this program may sign up and pay in advance of each month to guarantee a spot and receive a discounted rate.


FARM-TO-SCHOOL INITIATIVE

Our Farm-to-School lunch program is designed to support awareness of where our food comes from, seasonal cycles, and allergy safety. GPCP works with and supports local farmers and our chef prepares vegetarian meals fresh from scratch daily. All children enjoy a healthy, nutritious, and nut-free lunch, consisting of a protein, grain, vegetable and/or fruit, and a glass of organic milk daily.

This program began in 2011 with the creation of a Naturalist position and expanded to the addition of a tasty, hearty lunch cooked in our school each day in conjunction with the creation of our Farm-to-School Coordinator.


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Naturalist

The naturalist work is guided by the consideration of the processes children devise to interpret their connection to the natural world and how we, as adults, can encourage children to utilize these curiosities to create a deeper understanding of our ecosystem. The work reflects the continuation of the research and cataloging we have done in past years, as well as developing new strategies for giving close attention to the natural world in ways that inspire a deeper understanding of our role within our environment. This, resulting in empathy and a sense of stewardship for the earth, inevitably connects our community to a larger picture of environmentalism and activism.


Atelier

The Atelier plays an especially important role in enhancing and guiding the school community.  It is not a specialized space but a place in dialogue and connection with the classrooms, with the “mini-ateliers”and all the other spaces present in the preschool. The Atelierista, as well as the other educators, recognizes that children are born with thousands of ideas and have hundreds of languages of expression.  In the Atelier, it is an opportunity to provide as many of these languages as possible and to be open to the possibility of many, many more.