Our school is located at 80 Trowbridge Street in downtown Cambridge. We are easily accessible by bus or train and have a parking lot for pick up and drop off times. Our 20th century brick building features seven indoor classrooms and two playgrounds.
At Cambridge-Ellis, we believe that children learn best through play. We offer a child centered approach with an emphasis on emergent curriculum. Teachers draw learning themes directly from child observations and plan activities in response to their interests and questions. We offer a curriculum that challenges children at their developmental level while allowing kids to be kids. We have great respect for children as thinkers and learners and value their contributions to joint investigations.
Teachers support young children’s natural curiosity by cultivating indoor environments that encourage artistic, scientific, sensory, verbal, written, and mathematical expression. Each classroom offers dramatic play and building spaces, sensory, science, and writing tables, a large art area, and a cozy book nook.
Our Library is where teachers gather to plan and collaborate throughout the day. Our shelves are home to more than 5,000 titles which are used to supplement classroom bookshelves and curriculum. We are in the process of renovating and relicensing our upstairs space. Our plan is to keep this as a 'flex' space so it can be used for community events, small group classroom work, indoor gross motor space, and much more! We are also fortunate to have a recently redesigned kitchen for classroom cooking projects, an important aspect of our curriculum.
Our two gated playgrounds are wonderful extensions of our indoor classrooms. Children develop their imaginations, physical strength, social skills and confidence during their daily outdoor time. Playground structures and equipment mirror the natural environment in which they are situated and encourage a multitude of opportunities for natural play and physical expression. On Thursday evenings and Friday afternoons, we host our school-wide, weekly assemblies here.