Peter's Place Nursery School

Please help us spread the word about our playdate for prospective children and families on Saturday, February 7th from 10:00 - 11:00 AM. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents who are searching for an early childhood program to see how their child responds to our site, teachers and curriculum!

Join us for our winter Open House - learn about our new, five-morning-per-week morning program. PPNS now offers five days of class per week for all ages!

Peter's Place is now offering classes five days per week for all ages! Come learn about our unique program - now in its 51st year - at our fall Open House later this month.

Thanks to everyone in the Peter's Place Nursery School community for all your nominations and votes in SFGATE 's Best of the Bay promotion. Congratulations to Meaningful Beginnings Day Care and Preschool for taking top honors! We are honored to have made the final five - thanks to our amazing families and supporters!

Peter's Place has made it into the top five finalists for SFGATE's Best of the Bay! Please vote for us daily at the link below until May 5th! Let's share the unique strengths of our program with the entire Bay Area. Thanks for you support in the nomination process.

Best of Bay Area 2025 - SFGATE Best

Friends of Peter's Place Nursery School! Join us in our campaign to win the Early Childhood Education category of SFGATE's Best of the Bay 2025 contest! You can nominate us once a day through March 18th. If we are among the five top vote-getters, we will be entered into the finals. Please vote once a day, and share this with anyone else who may want to join the cause. Thank you!
https://www.sfgate.com/best/vote/ #/gallery?group=506916
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50 Things we love about Peter's Place: Exploring cultural traditions! Our MWF class has been very motivated to investigate Lunar New Year. Although it is customary for children to receive and not give lucky Hóng Bāo envelopes, our group really wanted to fill them - with hand cut sequins or even fallen flower petals - and help the teaches present some to our neighbors. We have also been exploring good luck banners and lion dancing. The children have decided that a blanket is not an acceptable costume, and that we need to figure out how to make our own lion head!

50 Things we love about Peter's Place: A co-constructed community! We take pride at PPNS in offering children chances to make contributions of real consequence, and to have a stake in helping to care for the program and each other. We also love finding relevant and exciting ways for children to discover literacy and language - the who and why of learning that supports the how and what of learning.

I am particularly fond of rule #3. I feel like grown-up society would do well to follow these rules.

Are you or is someone you know looking for an exemplary part-time preschool experience at a legacy program in San Francisco? If so, please join us at our winter open house on Thursday, January 16th. Tour our unique site and learn about our program history, philosophy, and teaching approach from the teachers and Program Director. Find out how we support the development of the whole child through relationships and responsive curriculum and why PPNS graduates are known for their curiosity, compassion, and problem-solving skills.

50 Things we love about Peter's Place! The following contains about 10 things - it's very long for social media. But, if you ever wondered why early childhood educators put in all the work for little pay and recognition, this is a good time of year to find out. Happy Thanksgiving to all the children and families and especially teachers!

At drop off this morning, one of the TTH children strolled up to the cluster of peers and parents waiting to sign their children in. Suddenly he exclaimed, "Look everyone! It's a Honey Bird! Look up in the tree! See the Honey Bird?"
We all looked up and, sure enough, there was a green hummingbird hovering around the leaves. It landed on a branch, and then took off and hovered for a few minutes in front of our lending library.
"Its wings move so fast," the child observed. "How can they do that?"
We all noted how impressive it was that he had noticed a tiny, fast-moving creature several feet above his head, and how none of us would have noticed in the busy-ness of the morning routine. We sincerely thanked him for pointing it out.
Later, I had the treat of slipping out to have coffee with a TTH parent, to talk about her observations and questions about her child's growth. I was very thankful to have the opportunity to learn more about one of our children and families, and to help a first-time parent feel a bit reassured about the changes and challenges that children go through so rapidly.
When I returned, a parent who had come in to read books had stayed in the classroom for some extra time, and had been adopted by another child. This new friend was adamant about sticking with her classmate's mom. It seemed to make her feel comfortable and playful. I felt such gratitude that our community feels welcome in our classroom, and makes these extra strides to enrich the children's experience.
I had the privilege of leading circle time with the TTH class. I wish I had time to do this more often and I was so grateful to be able to get down the guitar and give each child a chance to try it. I taught them a song that we will all sing at the Cider Social. They didn't really get what that means yet, but it was a joy to learn a new song together and see how much this group loves coming together to make music.
At lunchtime, one of the children really wanted to stay inside while her friends went out to "play with the big kids." Eileen volunteered to stay in with her while Michelle welcomed the rest outside. I felt very proud that our teachers love to be flexible and give children choices that make them feel heard and comfortable. (The little girl decided she also wanted to go outside a few minutes later).
Many of the Pre-K children (who were in my class for their first two years), have a tradition of calling out, "YOU STAY!" when I come out of the office for a moment's task. I feel so thankful that these children want me to spend time in the classroom with them, and this week, I was able to take a little time to indulge them. I practiced the same song with the Pre-K as I taught to the TTH class. It struck me how much this group does get what the Cider Social is about, how it works, the special role they will play, and how excited they are. And, they helped me remember the song when I mixed up the verses and made flubs with the words. What a huge change two years make. I can remember when they were the rangy TTH group!
Just before the end of the day, one of the Pre-K teacher's brother came by. He is a beat boxing master and a teacher as well - he led an amazing group time where he showed off his beat boxing skills and taught some of them to the children. I don't need to tell you how thankful we all were to have this unique treat!
Throughout the day, I had little conversations here and there with teachers about individual children and their progress. We appreciated how much they are thriving and growing, our chance to think of creative ways to support them and meet them where they are learning, and what devoted parents they have. I wish I had more time to talk with the teachers - they have such insight and compassion for the children and families in their care.
So, after all that, I don't need to put too fine a point on it. I would rather show you than tell you how grateful I am to be part of the PPNS community, and for my opportunity to support the children, you, the teachers and the community. I hope you all have a safe, healthy, relaxing, joyous holiday. I will be thankful to see you back here next week.
Oh - this is out of chronological order, but I had to end with this: As lunchtime was winding down, the child who noticed the "Honey Bird," stood on the rug a few minutes before any parents had arrived. He had his raincoat zipped up, his hood over his head, and his lunch bag in his hand.
"Todd," he said, "I'm going to Thanksgiving now."

Continuing our 50th Anniversary Project: 50 Things We Love About Peter's Place.

Number Three: The Teachers! (Part Two) Thanks to our families for these tributes!

"They care about us and do projects and artwork with us. My favorite project is jet making and trying pumpkin seeds and pumpkin jam." - Jackson (Pre-K Student!)

"The teachers are so supportive of our children and their interests. You can feel how much they care about our family when we are greeted at the door." - Jeff and Robin Ridgeway

"The teachers are attentive, kind, warm, and ever-present. They demonstrate love and kindness with and during every interaction" - Sonya Maeck

"The teachers are so incredibly experienced. A lot of places have really high turnover, so it's incredible that Peter's Place has teachers of such long tenure who return year after year. " - PPNS parent

It's time again for 50 things we love about Peter's Place.

Number Two: The Teachers (part one)! Here are some testimonials from families about what they value about our faculty:

"The teachers at Peter's Place are so incredibly warm, nurturing, and attentive to the children's needs and interests. I often feel that the teachers treat the students with a degree of caring similar to that of a family member. The teachers make the students feel so welcome, secure, seen, and accepted. I was shocked at how calm and engaged a group of three years old was the first time I volunteered in the classroom! The Peter's Place teachers create a wonderful association with the school that stays with their students well past their time there. The long tenure of so many teachers is also a testament to the teacher's level of investment in the school and its students."
Kristy Thornton, current and alumni parent

"Our boys LOVE school and constantly talk about their wonderful teachers. They light up when they see them! The teachers take time with each student and make them feel seen. It's what my husband and I wished for when we looked for a preschool to kick off our boy's school years."
Liz Sander, current parent