Beginners Preschool

Welcome to Bridge School Beginners!
Addison County’s only preschool program attached to
an independent elementary school!

Our Phone Number: (802) 388-3498

Bridge School Beginners is a high-quality, full-day, year-round preschool program for children ages three to five years. Our preschool program runs from 8am-3:30 pm twelve months of the year.

We have two preschool classrooms open, one classroom for 11 children aged 4-5 years old, and our second classroom for 9 children aged 3-4 years old. Each classroom has two co-teachers and a teaching assistant for support in both classrooms. We ensure low child to teacher ratios for the best individualized learning experience. 

Mission Statement

Bridge School Beginner’s mission is to provide a warm, welcoming, and safe space for children and teachers alike to be true to themselves, take risks, propose questions, and learn about the world around them side by side. Bridge School Beginners believe that young children learn best when they feel emotionally supported and have ownership of their learning. Bridge School Beginners mission is to support each child’s individuality by curating a curriculum based on emerging interests. Bridge School Beginners program embraces the beauty of having diversity that is inclusive of all human beings recognizing the importance of building a community of unique individuals. 

Our goals and values for our program are to celebrate and support unique individuality within a cohesive community built on close interpersonal relationships. The Bridge School and the Bridge School preschool are considered a “laboratory in freedom and responsibility for both children and adults.” As a result our curriculum is focused on social and emotional learning to help children feel confident to develop a love for themselves, a love for others, and a love for their surrounding natural environment. We are play-based and nature-based with an emergent curriculum. The teachers as protagonists act as companions on a learning journey alongside the children. We provide a great deal of time in nature that will propel the children’s  creativity, curiosity, questioning, and exploration within the natural world that gives light to all other aspects of learning. 

If you are interested in Bridge’s preschool, please contact our Beginners Director, Emily Lambert:  emilylambert@bridgeschoolvermont.org

Enrollment

We have open spots for Fall 2023! Set up a visit this spring! 

Please fill out the waitlist form and send in the application below to put your name on the waitlist to be considered for future enrollment. Applications will be accepted for Fall 2023 until March 31. 

If you are interested in enrolling your child as a “Beginner,” either imminently or in the future, please fill out the below Google form and fill out the Preschool Application to put your child’s name on our waiting list and fill out our application. You may also email our Beginners Director, Emily Lambert, emilylambert@bridgeschoolvermont.org to set up a tour.

We also seek to have a balanced classroom, so we may take into consideration ages and genders of children on the waiting list.  

Click here to fill out the waitlist form

Bridge Beginners Preschool Application

We are committed to providing educational opportunities that meet the needs of our local families. If you are interested in Bridge’s preschool, please contact emilylambert@bridgeschoolvermont.org.

Philosophy

Bridge School’s preschool is child-centered and play-based, and follows social constructivist educational theory. Our emphasis is on the natural world, the community around us, and respectful interactions with each other. Bridge Beginners is rated 4 out of 5 STARS, and is qualified for Universal Pre-K funding.

You may read our family handbook, access our calendar by clicking the following links:

Beginners Family Handbook 2022-2023

Bridge Preschool 2022-2023 Calendar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Schedule

8:00-9:00 am Arrival and Morning Responsibilities 
Weather permitting we have morning drop off outside. Children arrive, put their things away, and wash hands with the adult dropping them off for the day. Children can then join the teachers and classmates playing outside in our play yard to get fresh air at the start of their day.  In the winter months there will be table activities and play choices offered inside the classroom. 

9:00-9:30 am Snack
Clean up and get ready for snack. During this time, there are lots of conversations about the day, children’s favorite things to do and how to negotiate social interactions. 

9:30-10:00 am Free Play

While children finish up snack at their own pace, after they are cleaned up they can make a play choice in the classroom. 

10-10:30 Morning Meeting
Morning Meeting is a time to come together as a community, and start our day intentionally together. This is a time to check in on how children’s days are going, and to introduce any activities or ideas for the day. At morning meeting we sing silly songs, play fun games, and come together to support forming a cohesive community together. 

10:30 am-12:00 pm Explorations and Outside Time
Weather permitting we head outside to enjoy our play yard and expansive natural space in the fields behind our school. We enjoy the mowed paths through the grass, pine forest, willow forest, and the hills. Much of our emergent curriculum is nature based and provocations are offered outdoors as well. During this time of day we focus on our curriculum activities and small group explorations whether inside or outside the classroom. 

12:00-12:30 Lunch

12:30 -1:00 Story Time
Children may choose books, puzzles, or art. Books can be with a friend, on their own, or during a story time read aloud with a teacher. 

1:00-1:45 Beginners Rest Time 
All Beginners rest in the classroom. Children who do not sleep may read quietly on their mats and will be offered quiet choices after a short rest period. 

2:00-2:30 Afternoon Choice
Weather permitting the children have another chance to enjoy outside time. During the colder months we offer various activities or even participate in gross motor play in the gym. 

2:30-3:00 Afternoon Snack

Sitting down to afternoon snack for the children that are awake and as children wake up from rest they can join for afternoon snack. 

3:00-3:30 Outside Time or Indoor Activities

Weather permitting the children will play outside during pick up or play inside the classroom with limited choices as families arrive for dismissal. 

3:30 Dismissal 
Children get picked up or after care begins.

After Care Schedule (Availability to begin again at TBD date)

3:30-4:30
Children choose from small group activities and have outside playtime. Children may also choose to have their afternoon snack during this time. 

4:30-5:00
Children help with the end of the day cleaning. This practice shows children the responsibility and ownership of being part of a community and using a communal space.

Weekly Options & Tuition

Weekly Options & Tuition- Tuition costs will be updated after July 1, 2023

We offer both a three, four, and five-day program, and an aftercare option until  4:55pm starting again at a TBD date. The preschool program runs from 8:00am-3:30 pm everyday, all-year. We follow the Bridge School calendar for in-service days and holidays.  

977. 50 a month for 5 days

862.50 a month for 4 days

766.67 a month for 3 days

Aftercare: 306.67 a month for 5 days, 245.34 a month for 4 days, 184 a month for 3 days 

Pre-K Funding: Children who turn 3 by September 1, 2022 are eligible for pre-K funding if they live in a district that has agreed to partner with us. If children qualify for the Universal Pre-K funding, this is deducted from the tuition cost for 35 weeks of the year. For the 2022-2023 school year, this is $104.46 per week. VT Act 166 Information and Public PreK (vtpublicprek.info)

Bridge Beginners also accepts subsidy for those who qualify. For more information on subsidy or to apply, visit the following website:

Child Care Cost, Middlebury, Vermont VT – Mary Johnson Children’s Center (mjccvt.org)

Teachers

Emily Lambert, Beginners’ Director & Teacher

Emily originally used her creativity in the fashion industry after graduating with a B.S from University of Delaware, but quickly found her true calling to use her creativity to become an early childhood educator. Emily has been teaching in various early childhood settings for over ten years. Emily moved to Vermont from her birth state of New York and attended Saint Michael’s Graduate School program for elementary education. Emily has a teaching license in both Early Childhood and Elementary Education. In New York Emily taught in both kindergarten and preschool classrooms in a private school setting. She has been a teacher at Charlotte Children’s Center and The Children’s School in Vermont.  She began as a substitute teacher at the Bridge School Preschool while her son was a student there. Besides substitute teaching, Emily has spent the past couple of years as a stay at home parent of her three young children, where she basically has been running her own preschool with her inquisitive and active children. Emily lives in Middlebury with these three loving children, her dependable husband, and their loud dog. 

Emily believes that supporting a child’s social and emotional development is the key foundation for lifelong learning and happiness. If a child feels loved, accepted, and capable of facing all that arises in their day with calm and confidence, then they will be able to develop into kind, compassionate, intuitive, creative, and innovative community members. Emily has been exploring mindfulness and meditation as one of the primary tools that can guide children and adults alike on this journey. 

Emily is an avid reader and has always had a passion for literacy starting at a very young age. She incorporates this passion into supporting children’s exploration of literature that will fuel their own early literacy learning. Emily absolutely loves to spend time outdoors in our beloved and beautiful state of Vermont hiking with her family. She feels that being outside and allowing children to explore all the natural world has to offer is the best way to focus on helping the whole child to thrive and grow.

 

Krysta Griffith, Classroom Teacher

Krysta has lived more than half of her life here in our beautiful state of Vermont but maintains strong relationships with friends and family from her native state of New York.  While attending the University of Vermont with ambitions to become a Nautical Archeologist, Krysta had a pivotal experience watching the young children from the Campus Children’s Center explore throughout the campus and realized her true passion was to learn alongside young children.  After obtaining her bachelors degree and teaching license in Early Childhood Education, she’s been working directly in the field since 2012.  She has served in various roles during this time such as a Lead Educator of children from birth through five years of age, Mentor Teacher for new educators, Administrative Assistant, Director and Curriculum Coach.  She’s worked with a preschool program located in South Burlington for close to 10 years before joining the Bridge School Beginner’s Preschool team, and is looking forward to building close relationships with educators, children and families within our local community.
 
Krysta feels deeply about supporting children to build social and emotional regulation and communication skills.  She firmly believes that building a strong foundation of emotional intelligence in children will provide them the skills and tools needed to fully engage with their environment as they navigate all the learning milestones throughout their days.  She believes that developing this emotional awareness will help children honor their true authentic selves and respect that of others.   Leaning into the organic ideas presented by children, Krysta works to adjust her practice and environment to extend their thinking and scaffold their learning and development.  She is strongly rooted in providing children with consistency and routines so that they can feel secure with expectations as they navigate boundaries and practice self-regulation strategies.
 
Krysta has been living in New Haven for several years but still feels “new” to the area, so feel free to share any insider tips you might have!  She is often seen chasing after her two young children, two dogs, and helpful handy husband.  Together, they love cooking, camping, and being outdoors in their yard or garden!

Arianne Wilson, Classroom Teacher

My name is Arianne Wilson, I am a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with my degree in Early Childhood Education and Child Development. I have been working as a lead teacher for the last 4 years in preschool settings and am so excited to be returning to my home state! I found my passion for working with children about 6 years ago and have been doing as much as I can in the field since. In addition to being a teacher, I am also a certified labor and postpartum doula. I enjoy gardening, yoga, reading, cooking, and spending time with my cat. I am so excited to begin working with your families at the Bridge School and to build connections with all of you. My philosophy for my classroom is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for children to explore the world and learn from real experiences. 

Lynn Shute, Teaching Assistant 

Lynn was born and grew up in Vermont. She had worked in the health care for many years, along with working in the homecare settings taking care of adults and children, who were disabled and required special needs.  

Lynn is a mother of twin boys, which then led her to make a career change to be more involved with her kids as a cub scout leader. Then later was substitute teacher for Burlington School District working with kids from pre-k thru elementary school.  

Lynn later lived in Washington State, where she worked at Head Start for five years. She was always willing to complete further training to improve her knowledge and safety working with young children which is very important to her. Because of this, children feel more comfortable with her in a trusting environment setting as a teacher. She enjoys watching children trying to learn a new task and feeling proud for accomplishing it.  

Lynn acquired her Child Development Associate Certificate at Penn Foster College.