A Sweet New Friday Tradition: Introducing The Little Birds Class

We have a very special announcement to share as we head into the new year. This January, we are excited to welcome The Little Birds, a new caregiver child class designed for our youngest learners and their grown ups.

The Little Birds is a teacher led caregiver child program where children and their adults explore music, movement, and play together while building meaningful connections in a warm and welcoming environment. It is a wonderful way to spend a Friday morning bonding, learning, and having fun together.

Meet Your Teacher

This class is led by our beloved Mrs. Kiser, our music teacher and three year old teacher. Her joyful approach and deep love for early childhood education make The Little Birds a truly special experience for families.

Class Details

Classes begin Friday, January 9th and run for a six week session.

Friday Schedule

• 9:00–9:45 AM: Siblings class (6 months and up with a sibling) — $225

• 10:00–10:45 AM: 6 to 18 months — $150

• 11:00–11:45 AM: 18 months to 2½ years — $150

Each class invites children and caregivers to sing, move, play, and connect while laying the foundation for joyful early learning.

Registration Information

Registration is now open. A registration link has been sent via email, or you may copy and paste the link below to register:

https://forms.gle/LN6fRjDECSNeyawE8

We look forward to welcoming you and your little one to The Little Birds and sharing the joy of music and movement with Mrs. Kiser this January.

Jingle & Jammies, Class Parties and Holiday Cheer

What a magical way to kick off the holiday season! Our Jingle & Jammies event was a huge success, and we are so grateful to everyone who helped make it such a special night.

A heartfelt thank you to our Parent Council for planning and organizing this wonderful fundraiser, to the many parent volunteers who generously gave their time, and to our teachers who gave up a weekend night during an already busy holiday season. And of course, thank you to all the parents who trusted us with their children. We hope you enjoyed a well-deserved night out.

We are thrilled to share that $1,500 was raised for our scholarship fund, helping support families in our school community.

We also received an incredible number of pajama and sock donations in support of Give Like a Mother, the local charity we are proudly supporting this holiday season. Your generosity will help bring comfort and warmth to families in our community, and we are so thankful for your kindness.

The evening was filled with Christmas music, reindeer games, festive crafts, a cozy pizza picnic dinner, Mrs. Claus storytime complete with a cookie, a Christmas Bluey episode, and so much more. It was truly a night full of joy, laughter, and holiday magic.

Our Christmas class parties were just as fun and full of celebration. The games, crafts, treats, and dance parties were a blast, and we are so thankful to our fantastic class party planners for making the day so special for our students.

A special thank you as well to our room parents for organizing such thoughtful class gifts for our staff. They were incredibly thankful and truly blown away by the kindness and generosity shown.

We are especially grateful for our larger space this year, which allowed parents, grandparents, and caregivers to join in the fun right in the classrooms. Sharing these moments together made the day even more meaningful.

Thank you to our entire school community for your continued support, generosity, and holiday spirit. Next up, Christmas Camp.

Did You Know Our Preschool Is a Nonprofit?

Did you know our preschool operates as a nonprofit organization? This means that any funds we earn are reinvested directly back into our program and our mission. This year, we completely renovated our new space to create a beautiful, enriching environment for our children, and we provided over $30,000 in scholarships to support families in need.

As a nonprofit, we also ensure our dedicated teachers and staff are fairly compensated, because investing in talented educators is essential to providing high-quality early childhood education.

When you choose our preschool, you’re supporting a mission-driven community focused on children, families, and long-term impact.

This Giving Tuesday, we’re inviting our community to help us keep our classrooms stocked, safe, and full of learning opportunities. If you’d like to support our staff and students, we’ve created an Amazon Wishlist with items we currently need.

Every contribution, big or small, makes a meaningful impact. Thank you for supporting our mission and helping our preschool thrive!

Outdoor Play at The Learning Nest: Where Nature Meets Learning

At The Learning Nest, we believe childhood is meant to be experienced through meaningful interactions with the natural world. Our outdoor environment is intentionally designed to feel like a true extension of nature, supporting curiosity, movement, and exploration.

Nature based play is essential for healthy development. When children spend time outdoors, they build creativity, independence, problem solving skills, and a genuine connection to the world around them. Natural spaces invite open ended play and allow children to imagine and experiment in ways indoor settings cannot.

Our outdoor space was thoughtfully built by Sacred Oak Construction and designed by our own teachers, who understand what inspires children most. It includes a mud kitchen, hillside tunnel and slide, flower gardens, and an area for digging and truck play. We also refresh materials and features seasonally to keep the environment new, engaging, and full of exciting discoveries. Every part of the space encourages movement, sensory exploration, and hands on learning.

One of the most meaningful features is our mud kitchen, a favorite among the children. It was donated and built by Jeff Curran in honor of a devoted teacher who passed away this summer after her battle with Parkinsons disease. Barb Brerton, mother of our teacher Mrs. Huseman, always delighted in seeing children explore, create, and get messy. That same joy is reflected in the way children use the mud kitchen today.

We use pine straw instead of rubber mulch to create a soft, natural groundcover that feels like a forest floor. It offers a calm, sensory rich environment and supports our commitment to keeping play connected to nature.

At The Learning Nest, outdoor play is more than a daily routine. It is an essential part of how children grow, explore, and learn.

Learning Through Song at The Learning Nest

Music brings learning to life at The Learning Nest! Meet our music teachers, Tera and Jeff, who share their love of singing and playing guitar to help preschoolers grow through song, movement, and play.

At The Learning Nest, music is one of our favorite ways to help children learn through play. Every class is filled with singing, movement, and discovery…and plenty of smiles.

I’ve loved singing since I was young, performing in school choirs throughout the years. Jeff has been playing guitar since age twelve, with both classical and modern training. Together, we love showing children how music can make learning fun and meaningful.

Singing helps little ones build language, memory, and coordination skills while encouraging creativity and self-expression. It’s a wonderful way for children to explore, connect, and grow.

We’re honored to share our love of music with our Learning Nest family and watch our students learn and thrive through song.

— Tera & Jeff Kiser

Music Teachers, The Learning Nest

Join Us at The Learning Nest for Our Open Houses!

We’re excited to invite you to The Learning Nest for our upcoming Open Houses! This is the perfect opportunity to tour our facility, meet some of our wonderful staff, and see much more our preschool has to offer including classrooms, our outdoor playground, and hands-on learning spaces.

Here are the dates and times for our Open Houses:

• Thursday, 11/13/2025 | 5:30–7:00 PM – Our very first Open House!

• Friday, 12/4/2025 | 5:30–7:00 PM

• Sunday, 12/13/2025 | 8:00–10:30 AM

Our registration for the 2026–2027 school year is coming up:

• Current families and alumni: Registration opens 12/8/2025 at 10:00 AM

• New families: Registration opens 1/5/2026 at 10:00 AM

Spots fill quickly, so we highly recommend touring our preschool before registration, ensuring a smooth registration experience. We’ve offered three different times and dates for the Open Houses to fit your schedule, so don’t miss this opportunity to discover why The Learning Nest is the perfect place for your child to learn, grow, and thrive.

We can’t wait to welcome you!
Kelly Braun and Angela Jolley

Books and Blessings: Nurturing Hearts and Minds

Hello Learning Nest families!

I’m so excited to share a new program we introduced this year, Books and Blessings. Once a month, I visit each classroom for a special time of reading and reflection with the children. Each session features a thoughtfully chosen book that highlights an important Christian value. Together, we read, talk, and participate in activities that help the children see how these lessons can be lived out every day.

This program has taken the place of our Family Chapel from last year. Although our newly renovated space is larger overall, it no longer includes a chapel area for group gatherings. Books and Blessings has become a wonderful way to bring that same spirit of faith and connection directly into each classroom. It’s been such a joyful way to invite God’s presence into our preschool in a way that feels natural and comfortable for the children.

In October, we focused on the value of kindness through our book of the month, Welcome: A Book About Friendship by Axel Scheffler. The story reminded us that kindness and friendship go hand in hand, and the children loved sharing ways they could make others feel welcome, just as Jesus teaches us to do.

This November, our focus turns to sharing and gratitude with the beautiful story I Am Thankful. The book follows three families as they celebrate the holidays in their own unique ways, each finding meaningful opportunities to show kindness, express gratitude, and give back to their communities. It’s a wonderful reminder that gratitude and generosity are at the heart of every true celebration.

The children have really embraced this special time together, listening with excitement, sharing their own experiences, and discovering how they can live out these values in small but powerful ways. I’m so grateful for the chance to connect with them each month and help them see God’s love in their everyday moments.

Thank you, families, for partnering with us as we nurture both hearts and minds here at The Learning Nest. I can’t wait to see how Books and Blessings continues to grow and bless our little learners in the months ahead.

With love and gratitude,
Emily Keiser

Discovery Friday at The Learning Nest – Where Curiosity Takes Flight

At The Learning Nest Preschool, our Discovery Friday program has been full of exploration, creativity, and hands-on fun! Each Friday, our curious 4–5-year-olds dive into interactive science and sensory experiences guided by Mrs. Hudson, our lead teacher, and Mrs. Kauffman, her assistant. Together, they create a joyful environment where learning truly comes alive.

So far this year, our young scientists have explored the wonders of fall with our Pumpkin Playdough activity. The children got their hands messy mixing, molding, and smelling their freshly made dough while learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin—from tiny seed to a bright orange pumpkin ready for harvest.

In our Apple Science Unit, the children investigated apples in a whole new way! They enjoyed weighing their apples, comparing sizes, and experimenting with surface tension using water, orange juice, and milk. Their favorite part? Blowing bubbles from inside their apples and watching how each liquid behaved differently.

In our All About Caves unit, we journeyed deep underground to learn how stalagmites and stalactites are formed. The children were fascinated by the creatures that live in caves and even designed their very own cave creations, complete with bats, glittering rock walls, and hidden corners to explore.

Our Hocus Pocus Halloween Fun unit on October 31 was full of spooky excitement and discovery. With Mrs. Kauffman, the children brewed up magic potions and made rice dance during a bubbling science experiment. With Mrs. Hudson, they got to experience a Plasma Ball for the very first time, watching energy move and light up inside. To top off the day, we dissolved creepy monster eggs to reveal surprises like eyeballs and flies inside!

Discovery Friday is one of the most exciting parts of our week at The Learning Nest. Each session encourages curiosity, builds confidence, and helps our children see the magic in everyday science. From sensory play to mini experiments, every Friday brings a new adventure and a new reason to love learning.

Discovery Friday meets every Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and we still have a few spots available in this program. If you’d like your child to experience the joy of discovery and hands-on learning, contact The Learning Nest Preschool today to learn more or reserve your spot!

From Our Hearts to Yours: The Story of The Learning Nest

At The Learning Nest, our story is one rooted in community, dedication, and a shared love for teaching. We are a team of women who have been nurturing young minds together for years at the former St. Thomas Nursery School, a beloved institution that served families for 65 wonderful years. When St. Thomas closed its doors, we knew our journey as educators did not have to end. We simply needed to create a new chapter.

Thus, The Learning Nest was born. Though our preschool has only been in business for two years, our team has a history and bond that spans decades. From lead teachers to assistants and substitutes, we are more than colleagues. We are a family. And as a family, we stick together, supporting each other through every challenge and celebrating every milestone.

Starting The Learning Nest was a leap of faith. We did not know exactly what the future held, but we knew we wanted to continue serving families with the same love, care, and dedication that has guided us throughout our teaching careers. Thanks to the unwavering support of our community, we grew faster than we could have ever imagined.

Our growth meant moving to a larger space, and we could not be happier to have found a home in Milford, where most of our staff resides. This move allows us to welcome more families into our nest and provide an enriching environment where children can learn, explore, and flourish.

We are beyond grateful for the families who have joined us on this journey and for the community that has embraced us with open arms. As we look toward the future, we are excited for many more years of learning, laughter, and growth together.

The Learning Nest is more than just a preschool. It is a place where teachers, children, and families come together to create something special. We cannot wait to continue this journey with you.

Welcome to our nest!

Love,

Kelly Braun & Angela Jolley