In 2004 Providence teacher Kate Bothe and her husband, artist and craftsman Eamon Brown, created a nurturing, thoughtful, arts-based preschool program on the West Side of Providence. Now in its fourteenth year of operation, Bainbridge School can now be found on the first floor of Kate and Eamon’s historic home on Providence's East Side.
Each day, eight children ages 2-5 join together at Bainbridge for a full day of school. Children and teachers spend the days indoors and out, working individually, in small groups, and as a community. The school’s artfully considered space offers a wide range of traditional enrichment materials and opportunities for free imaginative play. With a foundation in Montessori philosophy and years of real-time classroom observation and curriculum evolution, we integrate music, art, daily rituals, and outdoor immersion into our learning to lay the foundation for social and emotional development.
A Day At School
Our days are fluid but also provide children with a daily structure and rhythm. While activities change regularly, a typical day looks like this:
8-9:30 AM: Children arrive and explore freely in the classroom, which may include working on a puzzle; playing in the children’s kitchen; visiting Hazelnut, our classroom rabbit; hopping, digging, spinning in our outdoor classroom; or reading with a teacher.
9:30-10:30 AM: Circle and snacktime. We mark our transition from free exploration to the outdoors through circle and community time, which involves movement, singing, and listening, touching, and attention games. A healthy group snack follows our morning circle each day.
10:30-12 AM: We head outdoors. Rain or shine, we find a place for gross motor play under the sky. Usually at Brown Street Park or Prospect Terrace, children find solace in social and solo spaces, on a grassy hillside or playground equipment. Sometimes we make use of our community garden plot, or watch children peel off into the shade of a shrub and sink into a collective and evolving imaginary world. When there is enough snow, we bring sleds along to Brown Street Park and ride the slopes, or remain closer to home and build snow people in our back yard.
12-12:30 PM: Lunch
12:30-1 PM: During a space of quieter indoor work time, children transition towards rest or nap
1-2/3 PM: Older children rest and read books; younger children nap until they wake.
3 PM: Afternoon snack
Afternoon until 3:45 PM: Children play, explore, work freely with materials, with friends, and independently. We work in small groups or one on one on teacher-led activities.
3:45-4 PM: Pick-up