Early Childhood (2-4 Year Olds)

Satisfying the Curious Mind

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Connecting Ideas Through Play

Personalized attention and engaging classroom experiences introduce young girls to foundational skills necessary for success in the classroom and in life.

Hutchison’s Early Childhood (EC) cheerful and inviting classrooms are filled with the squeals of joyful learning in progress. Independently or in groups, girls have to think creatively and collaborate to tackle a challenge, or they bask in the confidence of having mastered a new skill.

In EC, we lay the foundation to support a girl’s academic trajectory from kindergarten through 12th grade. As they progress to kindergarten and beyond, Hutchison girls revisit these traits in different settings:

Focus attention on pursuing an interest or solving a problem.
Communicate ideas and emotions effectively.
Connect patterns, details, or relationships to make observations.
Collaborate with others toward a common goal.
Think strategically, using curiosity and imagination to respond to a challenge.

Elizabeth Jordan, Early Childhood Head

“Learning how to be a resilient learner or how to work in community to solve a problem looks different for us. It may be regrouping after an early frost stuns the crops on the farm or collaborating to make the robotic worm go from point A to point B. We look at it as the Early Childhood version of what we want every Hutchison girl to strive to become. It’s never too early to lay that groundwork."

A secluded oasis of learning

Tucked away in the northwest corner of Hutchison’s lush campus, the Abston Early Childhood Center houses Little Hive (2-year-olds), Pre-Kindergarten (3-year-olds), and Junior Kindergarten (4-year-olds). The playground is nearby, while frequent jaunts to other corners of Hutchison’s 52 acres offer a chance to explore and feel independent in a secure setting.

- Our teachers follow a Reggio Emilia-inspired curriculum that allows the girls' inquisitive nature to drive the learning process.

Early Childhood

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Elizabeth Jordan

Early Childhood Head
Janie Baker

Early Childhood and Lower School Coordinator

In the News

Lower School Science Lab Inspires Curiosity and Resilience

Through hands-on experiments and collaborations with the Design Lab and Dobbs Farm, teacher Christine Groves is helping our girls in junior kindergarten through fourth grade grow their curiosity, critical thinking, and resiliency.
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Forecast: Curiosity! Little Hive Girls Explore the Weather

Little Hive teachers Ms. Hollingsworth and Ms. Aguilar followed our youngest girls’ interest in the weather to expand their scientific knowledge and various skills, from creativity to storytelling to fine motor skills.
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Little Hive Girls Build Their Own Winter Wonderland

While the weather outside is frightful, Ms. Hollingsworth and Ms. Aguilar’s Little Hive girls are staying warm and cozy in their own igloo built entirely from milk jugs.
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Neuroscientist, Hutchison Parent Talks Impact of Technology on Students

Parents heard from Eraina Schauss, Ph.D., one of the nation’s leading experts in the field of pediatric mental health, about the evidence that supports Hutchison’s new cell phone policy.
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Heart Surgeon Visits JK to Answer Questions About the Heart

Junior kindergarten girls are learning all about the heart, and they got to hear from a special visiting expert: cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon Dr. Ed Garrett, grandfather to June ’37.
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Early Childhood Teacher Explains the Benefits of Reggio Emilia Approach

Our girls arrive in early childhood equipped with tremendous potential for learning, and we believe that learning is more meaningful when their interests are explored.
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Experience

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Life at Hutchison

Learn more about the Hutchison experience and why a girl's school is your daughter's best opportunity to excel.

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Serious Play

Self-awareness, taking turns, and being kind… EC teachers weave these lessons into the curriculum to instill, at an early age, the confidence, selflessness, and leadership skills that are hallmarks of a Hutchison education.

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An Important Investment for an Important Foundation

The pillars of our EC education are creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. Yes, critical thinking happens in preschool.

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Life on the Big Girl Campus

EC girls enjoy exploring the campus. This year, girls are learning some engineering basics on their weekly visits to the Crain Center construction site.

Real Hands-On Learning
Hands-on learning translates to memorable learning. Each year, JK girls dissect a sheep’s heart as part of a unit on hearts.

Pedaling for a Cause
The St. Jude Trike-a-Thon is an EC tradition. Hutchison is among the top fundraisers in the country, and girls learn an invaluable lesson in community service.