Twos
Our youngest children settle in with gentle routines, sensory play, and lots of warm one-on-one attention as they build trust, language, and a budding sense of independence.
Our Program
A Day at Pacific Primary
Our teachers’ skill, dedication and knowledge are what create the exceptional learning environment at Pacific Primary: a place where children feel respected, loved, secure, and open to learning.
7:45am–5:30pmFull day, every weekday
6:1Student–teacher ratio
12Months a year
3Meals & snacks daily
DailyOutdoor play
WeeklyField trips
A day in the life
A typical day
Every day follows a gentle, predictable rhythm of play, meals, rest, and time outdoors. This is a sample day; exact times vary by classroom and age group.
| 7:45 AM | Arrival and quiet morning play |
|---|---|
| 8:30 | Breakfast, family-style |
| 9:00 | Morning circle & songs |
| 9:30 | Free play & emergent projects: art, blocks, dramatic play |
| 10:30 | Outdoor play in the yard |
| 11:15 | Music & movement or expressive arts |
| 12:00 PM | Hot lunch, family-style |
| 12:45 | Story time & rest |
| 2:30 | Afternoon snack |
| 3:00 | Outdoor play & child-led activities |
| 5:30 | Departure |
Safe, loved & known
Every child is truly known here
From a child’s very first days, our teachers take time to learn who they are: their routines, their comfort objects, what makes them laugh, and what helps them feel safe. We ease new children in gently, and with a 6:1 student-teacher ratio, every child is genuinely known and cared for as an individual.
Our teachers are skilled in positive discipline and peaceful conflict resolution. They get down to children’s level, speak in calm voices, and help children name big feelings and work through them, so the classroom feels secure, respectful, and warm.
A schedule that works for working families
The school has always sought to support working parents and therefore operates year-round from 7:45 AM to 5:30 PM. The tuition allows for flexibility of hours and is not pro-rated, and there is no separate charge for early drop-off or late pickup: the full day is simply included. There is no patchwork of half-days or summer gaps to bridge, just one program, all year.
The city is our classroom
Field trips
San Francisco’s extraordinary local environment is an important resource for our school. Throughout the school year, classes explore the city through weekly field trips, usually using public transportation and with the assistance of parent volunteers.
Summer program
Our wonderful summer program begins in July and includes two months of fun-filled field trips. We take excursions throughout the Bay Area on a chartered school bus, with child safety seats, and the support of parents and extra staff.
Play with purpose
Children at Pacific Primary spend their days exploring: building, painting, climbing, singing, digging, pretending, and asking questions. Behind every bit of it is an emergent, child-centered curriculum that grows from students’ interests and honors each child’s unique abilities, guided by teachers skilled in positive discipline and peaceful conflict resolution.
Read our educational philosophy
A signature difference
Expressive Arts & Music
The arts run through every day at Pacific Primary. We are one of only two schools in the Bay Area, alongside Stanford’s Bing Nursery School, with two full-time music teachers and two full-time expressive arts teachers on staff. Children paint, sculpt, sing, dance, and explore instruments daily, and every Friday the whole school gathers for folk dancing, families included.
Our expressive arts teachers even write custom puppet shows for each classroom, using the puppets to help children work through the real conflicts and feelings their class is navigating together.
Explore our arts & music program
From our kitchen
Hot meals, made in-house
Lunch isn’t packed from home here. Pacific Primary is one of the few schools in San Francisco with two full-time chefs, cooking fresh, seasonal vegetarian meals and snacks from scratch every day, and teachers eat family-style alongside the children.
See our meals & menus
Our classrooms
Growing together, by age
Children learn in nurturing, mixed-age classrooms that grow with them, from our youngest twos through our oldest pre-kindergarteners.
Threes
Threes stretch into cooperative play and early friendships, following their curiosity through hands-on projects, art, music, and imaginative play.
Fours & Pre-K
Our oldest children take on bigger challenges: storytelling, early literacy and numeracy through play, and the social confidence to lead and to step into kindergarten.
See for yourself