Morning Program

Morning Program

Apple Orchard School consists of four age groups, and offers four Classroom levels. Our morning program is Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

  • Chicken Coop: For children turning three years old between September 1st and December 31st, this class is often the first school experience for young threes. The primary focus is to develop social awareness skills and foster confidence.
  • Class I: For children three to four years old, this class promotes a child’s self-image as a capable and confident learner who is able to interact with his or her environment. Children are provided with opportunities to work and play independently and cooperatively.
  • Class II: For children four to five years old, this class is structured to further enhance skills in all developmental areas including cognitive, social, emotional, and physical. This class is often an extension to the child’s three-year-old year, and he or she typically becomes more focused and independent.
  • Class III: For children five to six years old, this class continues the process that began in preschool. We carefully nurture a positive attitude toward ourselves, our peers, and learning. Play is “work” for the young child, and we believe children learn best through hands-on, active learning. This program is designed to be flexible enough to meet each child’s developmental style and pace. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays Class III is in session until 2:30 p.m.

Toilet Training

We highly recommend that all children be toilet trained at the start of school. Our program is based on outdoor learning, discovery, and exploration and these adventures take place all over the farm. It is difficult for a child who is not toilet trained to fully embrace and enjoy this kind of curriculum. Although we expect occasional accidents, children should come to school in underwear, not pull-ups or diapers. We keep extra clothes at school for necessary changes.

Click the button below for helpful toilet training tips. For additional guidance and support, please feel free to contact us at 617-731-6463.

Toilet Training Info

Good Gear for AO

As you know, at the heart of our school is a belief that children need to be engaged in play-based learning while immersed in nature. Since we are a school on a farm we spend a substantial amount of time outside running in fields, feeding the ducks in the pond, walking our goats, building with rocks and branches, sledding, and stomping in puddles.

With this in mind, we've compiled some ideas to help you prepare your child for all the snow, rain, mud and cold that we experience at AO while on our adventure walks.

Click the button below to learn about good gear for AO!

Good Gear for AO!


Morning Program

  • There is not a day that goes by when we don’t arrive at Apple Orchard and appreciate this gift we have been able to provide our children. Apple Orchard is truly a magical place, with amazing teachers and team who care so much about our children. Without the scholarship program, our family would not have this opportunity to introduce our children to education in such a special way. We are forever grateful.

    Former Parent

  • Receiving a scholarship for The Apple Orchard School has made it possible for my child to be a part of such a wondrous school. A school that does not feel like school, but feels like home. As a parent that has made a world of an impact on our family. When we count our blessings, we count Apple Orchard twice.

    Former Parent

  • “I am thrilled that we have been able to find a preschool for our daughter that elevates play and concrete activities over academic concerns. You don’t pretend to do things, but you really do them. I love it that the kids pick vegetables, collect eggs, and cook snacks together. I think it’s nothing short of fabulous that the children got to watch ducks raised from eggs and set free on the pond.”

    Former Parent

  • “Apple Orchard is truly a model school, the best place on the planet to send your child to jumpstart his or her education.”

    Current Parent

  • “The grounds are like being in another, simpler world.  During a parent visit, taking a winter walk, I could see the joy in the children’s faces as they skipped, ran, got distracted, picked up a stick or rock, and then continued on their way.  How often do you see a child skip these days?  You do at AO!”

    Former Parent

  • “The staff is genuine, friendly, exceptionally knowledgeable, and competent.  They know your child’s habits, likes, dislikes, anything you can think of, and challenge them in a way that incorporates the natural world into the learning plan.”

    Former Parent

  • “All of our kids left AO with a deep appreciation for the outdoors and animals. This is a gift we could not have given them in any other pre-school setting.”

    Former Parent

  • “Apple Orchard is a magical place for our children as they learn without knowing they are learning! Friendships are formed which last a lifetime as our children develop a love for each other, their teachers and nature.”

    Current Parent

  • “All of our children have attended AO and completely embraced and loved every aspect of their experience. Combining the outdoors with traditional learning fosters an early school experience that has cultivated both academic growth and social development in our children.”

    Former Parent

  • “Apple Orchard helped to shape my children’s creative potential. Apple Orchard had such a significant impact on one of my children that he decided to come back as a teaching assistant for his senior project in high school.”

    Former Parent