Acorn Infant / Toddler Program
Do you believe it's never too early to begin nurturing and establishing a spiritually based sense of growth and development? Then Acorn is for your family!
Principia’s Acorn Infant/Toddler program—on-campus and online—supports Christian Science parents and their children through three years of age by providing early social and learning experiences outside the home and family.
Why Acorn?
The abundance of psychologically and physiologically based parenting guidance on the Internet and in bookstores is often overwhelming—and contradictory. In contrast, Principia’s Acorn Program provides a positive, spiritually grounded forum for Christian Science families to link up with each other and with experienced educators to discover the joys and rewards of early childhood.
As a community, we explore how to support our children’s growth on the basis of spiritual unfoldment, rather than external triggers of development. Both on campus and online, Acorn will share with parents information and strategies relating to creative play and learning, character education and independence, discipline and communication.
Acorn On Campus
Our Acorn program, staffed by loving and experienced teachers, has supported St. Louis-area families since 1975.
On-campus activities and facilities include:
- Tuesday play-ins (children ages 1–3): In our newly designed Acorn space in the Preschool building, we engage in play-based activities to help gain knowledge of the world we live and work in. We create with a variety of art materials and develop our language and social skills as we sing songs and practice positive interactions with friends. Parents or guardians help supervise the children and have an opportunity to interact with each other.
- Weekly parenting seminars—offered on Tuesdays during play-in, these interactive parent-focused discussions are facilitated by the program director. Occasional presentations by guest speakers are videotaped and shared online with local and Acorn Online families.
- Wednesday and Thursday Co-ops (children ages 2 and 3): Also based in our Acorn room, these activty times are an excellent first school experience for toddlers. On these days students engage in hands-on activities that introduce beginning literacy and math concepts. Through fine-motor work at activity stations, singing and stories at circle time, and free play, children explore science as well as social interactions beyond the immediate family.
- Toy library: The Acorn program offers access to a well-stocked toy library, from which enrolled families can borrow toys, puzzles, and books.
2019–2020 Program Costs
| Play-in* | $650 |
| Play-in—plus one day Co-op | $1,415 |
| Play-in—plus two days Co-op | $2,120 |
| Play-in—plus three days Co-op | $2,650 |
All Acorn options are payable in 10 equal monthly installments and include the weekly parenting seminars and access to the toy library. A second-child discount* is available for Play-in.
Acorn Online
For families not living in the St. Louis area, Acorn Online provides a number of resources to support and enrich this special time. The Acorn Online program is active throughout the year. Sign up for access to the Acorn Online web portal.
Online activities include:
- A web portal that houses articles, activities, videos, and other resources that support spiritually based parenting, home-based teaching, and creative activities for toddlers and parents.
- A private, curated Facebook discussion group for Acorn families, which will address key questions and share innovative ideas and information from Principia’s own resources as well as other reliable sources.
- Monthly discussions with Acorn Online member families, to address issues of particular interest to them.