New Preschool Opens in San Anselmo

Four Marin preschool teachers are reopening Sleepy Hollow Nursery School next year, and while it will use the same name as a school that was in the same location earlier this year, not much else will be the same.

The four women, who worked together at Kentfield’s Ross Valley Nursery School, have been looking for a site to start their “dream” preschool since March.

“We knew we had the team,” San Anselmo resident Margot Enbom, the Sleepy Hollow Nursery School director, told Patch. “But what we really needed was the space.” 

The “team” has the common values of children, families and community, the teachers said.

“We want to pursue our dream with the dream team,” said the school’s assistant director, Kentfield resident Denise Waite. “We are all on the same page. We all want the same vision.”

In October they discovered the Sleepy Hollow Nursery School space, which operates out of the Sleepy Hollow Homes Association Clubhouse, and had to work quickly so they could open next year. The last school at the site, a co-op nursery school, closed earlier this year.

The Sleepy Hollow Nursery School will formally open on Jan. 7, but it has already had lots of positive reaction from at least 100 community members who attended an open house at the end of November. The teachers have scheduled another open house for Wednesday, Dec. 5, “due to overwhelming demand,” according to Enbom.

The school is licensed for up to 24 children and has a multi-age program, where all the children will be in the same room but will break out into age groups for certain activities, such as kindergarten readiness work for five-year-olds.

Also, the school is play based. Activities will include outdoor exploration, cooking, science, yoga, water play, digging and music, the teachers said.

“We don’t teach academics. Everything we learn is all through play and all the play has a purpose,” Enbom said. “It looks like you’re just playing Legos but you’re actually helping fine motor skills. And playing with blocks is helping your math skills.”

The other teachers at the school include Kentfield resident Lise Barr, who is also an assistant director, and Novato resident Caroline Smith. Information about all the teachers’ academic credentials can be found on the school’s website. 

Applications and more information can be found on the school’s website, preschoolmarin.org.

OPEN HOUSE

The Sleepy Hollow Nursery School, located at 1317 Butterfield Road in San Anselmo, will host an open house on Wednesday, Dec. 5, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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