Three’s Class

Exploring Relationships with Peers, Adults and the Environment

Preschool (Threes):

Children who are 3 years old by October 1 and fully potty trained by the first day of school

The preschool environment is intentionally designed to provoke exploration and investigation through a wide variety of materials, equipment, and open-ended toys that engage all the senses. As language skills expand, children are encouraged to use more complex language to support interactive play, problem-solving, and creative thinking.

Social-emotional development is woven throughout the day. Teachers model and label emotions, offering guidance and support as children practice navigating conflicts and social interactions. Both individual and small-group experiences promote growing attention spans and sustained focus. Inviting and engaging provocations encourage children to learn through movement, play, and hands-on exploration as they actively engage with their environment.

Class hours: 9 AM–1 PM
For class offerings and tuition, please click here. 

About Three-year-old Preschool Children

Three-year-old children are becoming increasingly confident communicators. They are better able to express their needs and ideas, and their language is more easily understood. Independence continues to grow, and social skills are emerging as children engage more frequently with peers. Physically, three-year-olds are more coordinated and agile, with a strong drive to explore and investigate the world around them. Curiosity fuels their learning as they ask questions and seek new experiences.

Our curriculum is grounded in an understanding of three-year-olds’ developmental growth in the following areas:

Social-Emotional Development

Three-year-olds are developing greater awareness of their emotions and are beginning to regulate feelings with adult support. They show early signs of empathy and care for others and demonstrate growing confidence in completing tasks and classroom responsibilities. Children at this age begin practicing conflict resolution and problem-solving with guidance. Attention spans are increasing, allowing for more sustained engagement in activities.

Play

Play becomes more social and cooperative. Three-year-olds begin engaging in shared play experiences, participating in the same game or activity with peers. They practice the give-and-take of play, including sharing materials and ideas. Sustained building, imaginative play, and active outdoor games are central to their development.

Motor Development

Gross motor skills continue to strengthen as children throw, catch, kick, bounce balls, and ride tricycles. Physical play becomes more complex and includes improved balance and body awareness. Fine motor skills advance as children cut with scissors, pour, manipulate clay and play dough, and build with smaller materials.

Language & Literacy

Language development accelerates as three-year-olds use longer sentences, varied vocabulary, and begin to experiment with rhyming. They tell simple stories with a beginning, middle, and end and engage in conversations with both adults and peers. A strong interest in books and storytelling emerges as children ask questions, make predictions, and retell stories or parts of them. Early pre-reading skills develop, and early writing begins to represent thoughts and ideas.

Cognitive Development

Three-year-olds demonstrate growing logical thinking and problem-solving skills. They explore cause and effect and express their ideas creatively through drawing, movement, building, and pretend play. Early mathematical thinking emerges as children begin to understand spatial relationships, sorting, comparing, patterns, and classification. Persistence and sustained attention continue to develop.