Our Philosophy

Our History

The Wellesley Nursery School in the Hills provides a developmentally appropriate program for 2.9-6 year old children to socialize and learn together.  Our curriculum presentation follows the Massachusetts Department of Education standards, encompassing the following areas:  Art, English Language Arts, Health Education, History and Social Science, Mathematics and Science. Through these educational standards, children have the opportunity to progress academically, emotionally, physically, and socially within a warm and nurturing environment.

A typical day allows for a balance of structured and unstructured time.  The structured times are as follows:  morning meeting where attendance is taken and the planned presentations for the day are discussed; circle time where the children listen to stories, sing and participate in creative movement activities and share important information, and during our specialists’ presentations.  The unstructured times are as follows:  daily open choice time where children are free to become involved in the various areas of the classroom and on the playground.  Open choice time continues to have children supported by the teachers, helping each child to be emotionally, socially and academically involved.

Wellesley Nursery School in the Hills (WNSH) was founded in 1968 by Mrs. Eleanor Schulz, a Wellesley Hills Congregational Church member.  She was the director of the school until 1984. At that point, Ginny Smith Alterio was appointed director where she remained for 28 years.  We have had the privilege of teaching in the community over 50 years and currently have a few students whose parents attended the preschool themselves.