Our school day starts at 9am and ends at 12pm. Our typical day looks like this:
9:00 Arrival / Sign In
9:15 Morning Meeting
9:30 Free Play / Investigations
10:40 Clean Up
10:45 Handwashing / Snack time / Book Break
11:15 Dressing / Outdoor Time
12:00 Caregiver Pick-up
UCNS is open from September through June. Our calendar follows closely, although not exactly, the Ithaca City and Lansing Central school district calendars. Children may enroll 5 days a week (Monday-Friday), 3 days a week (Monday/Wednesday/Friday), or 2 days a week (Tuesday/Thursday). *There is also an option to enroll for 5 days and choose which combination of days you would like your child to attend/to do 4 days. Some families have also chosen to start with 2 days and add days as the year progresses.
Our Facility
UCNS is currently located at 59 Dart Drive in Ithaca, NY. All of our tours for next school year will take place at the Dart Drive location. Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, UCNS will be located at 32 Brickyard Road in Lansing, NY. We are very excited to be moving to a new home!
Our school will have 3 inviting classrooms in a dedicated and private child care space with lots of windows and natural light, access to a kitchen for food preparation and baking projects, an administrative office, space for our community providers to work with our students and a fenced in outdoor play yard.
The classrooms will be thoughtfully laid out to encourage children to engage in a variety of activities during their morning playtime including art projects, sensory tables, writing, reading, building, and imaginative play. Our classroom and the activities available evolve throughout the year to meet the changing needs of the children.
“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.”
— Fred Rogers, American television personality, 1928-2003
Our outdoor space will be a large fenced-in yard. There will be play structures, swings, playhouses, cars and bikes, a sandbox, and an outdoor water table. There will also be a grassy area for running and experiencing the pleasures of the changing seasons—water play in hot weather, playing with leaves in fall, sledding and making snowmen in winter.