Founded in 1946, Los Gatos Parent Nursery School ( LGPNS ) is a nonprofit, parent cooperative preschool. With a beautiful, fully owned facility, the school provides a fun and nurturing educational experience for children ages 2-5 and an opportunity for parents to play an active role in their childs education. LGPNS provides a rich experience for children and their parents to share, and a wonderful first step in the lifelong process of learning. Parents are involved in all aspects of the school, from helping in the classroom and attending adult education night meetings, to running day-to-day school operations and maintenance. The schools philosophy is based on the work of Jean Piaget ( 1896-1980 ), a Swiss born biologist turned psychologist. His theory states that a child builds mental "maps", schemes or networked concepts for understanding and responding to physical experiences within his or her environment. The preoperational stage, ages 2-7, is our focus group. In brief, the preoperational childs learning opportunities increase when they are able to experience things for themselves. This is how they learn about the world around them. Children 2-7 years old need to touch it, taste it, test it and try it ( again and again and again ) to understand it. We offer a developmentally-oriented preschool experience in which children learn through play. Children develop in an atmosphere of encouragement and support where they are free to explore and discover. We emphasize socialization and free choice of activities. The rich curriculum includes arts and crafts, science, manipulative, reading, water play, music, animals, field trips, creative movement, cooking, gardening and sensory experiences. The daily schedule affords exposure to large and small group activities as well as self-directed project participation and free play. The school is run under the auspices of Adult Education Division of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint High School District and Los Gatos/Saratoga Community Department of Education and Recreation, an organization that partially subsidizes our programs as adult education classes. A Board of Directors comprised of parents oversees all school operations, and credentialed teachers guide both the childrens classroom experience and the adult education program.