Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center

Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center

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Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center provides an inclusive and developmentally appropriate environment for young children ages 24 months to 5 years.

We are now on Instagram at @rnsfc3816! Please follow us and share with your friends and family.

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 03/23/2026

We’ve been exploring light in our classrooms—playing with it, testing it, and noticing how it changes!

What happens when light shines through something? What creates a shadow? How can we change it?

Children used their bodies and different materials to experiment—making shadows stretch and disappear, watching light pass through objects, and noticing how it reflects and shifts.

As the study went on, these discoveries started to show up in their work and play—through drawings, buildings, and art—capturing what they were seeing in their own way.

✨ This is how learning becomes visible—when children have space to wonder, test, and create. ✨

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 01/15/2026

❄️ Winter Curriculum Moments ❄️ Exploring texture, color, movement, and the magic of the season.

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 11/26/2025

Proud of our students, teachers, and families for creating this collaborative Dot mural. Inspired by The Dot, our community showed how one small mark can grow into something beautiful 💛✨

01/16/2025

Message or call (718-884-3950) to book a tour for ours private 2s program! We can't wait to hear from you!

03/25/2024

RNSFC Families- set up an E-wallet today for a cashless, stress free Book Fair experience! Visit bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/RNSFCBookFair for more information.

We welcome anyone in the community to join us in the main lobby of our building to spread the joy of reading and support our school!

Fair Dates: April 1-5th

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 01/22/2024

Outdoor play is essential for young children's development, not just when it's warm and sunny. Here at RNSFC, we bundle up and enjoy our large, enclosed playground - rain, shine, or SNOW!

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 11/02/2023

As 3KA students explored the pumpkins, our 3KB students decided to focus on apples. They read books about apples and organized an apple-tasting session to bring this study to life.
Each child brought an apple from home for the taste test. Our students observed the variations in color, size, texture, and taste, and graphed their preferences.
The leftover apples were used to make apple prints. While cutting the apples, students also studied the different parts of the fruit and noticed the star shape and seeds in the core.
To complete their study, 3KB students baked apples to make apple sauce and muffins. These delicious treats were devoured during snack time.

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 11/01/2023

At RNSFC, our teachers seamlessly incorporate music, art, and performance into every unit to value the arts as an integral component of learning experience.

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 10/31/2023

The Morning Meeting is a crucial part of the preschool day. Every morning, students greet each other and work together to establish the date, weather, and planned activities for the day. This daily routine helps students understand what to expect from their day and where they are in space and time. It is also an effective way to foster a sense of community and establish a routine for young learners.

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 10/24/2023

Happy Fall! As the autumn season unfolds, our classrooms start to notice the changes it brings. After reading a book about pumpkins, Classroom 3KA had the opportunity to study them. The class observed a big pumpkin and discussed what they noticed about it. “It’s big, bumpy and very heavy,” they said. The young learners then used their observational skills to draw still-life pictures of the pumpkin.

Next, the students cut open the big pumpkin and explored its insides with all their senses. They scooped out the seeds and talked about how touching and feeling them felt. They even used the insides to create sensory bags.

The students were curious about the seeds and decided to grow their pumpkins. With the help of their teachers, they placed some seeds in bags and waited for them to sprout. Once the seeds germinate, our students will plant them in pots. Stay tuned to learn more about our pumpkin-growing project.

Finally, 3KA students baked pumpkin muffins and enjoyed them during snack time. Yum!

Photos from Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center's post 10/12/2023

The first month at Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center has been a fantastic experience. We reunited with old friends and welcomed new ones to our community. We are excited to see what the rest of the year holds!

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Our Story

The Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center (RNSFC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was formed in 2004 with the goal of providing the highest quality early childhood education in a nurturing environment to children in the northwest Bronx, Westchester and upper Manhattan. The outstanding reputation of the staff and their many years of service in the area of early childhood education have provided RNSFC with a loyal community following right from its inception.

The Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center provides a developmentally appropriate, interactive educational environment for young children. Through its play-based program children construct cognitive, social, emotional and physical knowledge and skill, as well as develop a love of learning and positive attitude toward school.

RNSFC is a mainstream preschool committed to serving a diverse population, including children with unique challenges. The school creates inclusive classrooms in which typically developing children and children with developmental delays can interact. RNSFC believes that all children should have the opportunity to be educated in the least restrictive environment that values and promotes the special attributes of each child.

RNSFC’s mission includes exposing children to the larger world, instilling a sense of social responsibility at a young age. Through hands on, experiential learning that encompasses the tenets and practices of an environmental curriculum, children develop an awareness of the natural world.

Location

Telephone

Address


3816 Waldo Avenue
New York, NY
10463

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 2:30pm