Message from Henny Penny's New Director

Hello everyone! 

My name is Shauna, and I am honored to serve as the Director of Henny Penny. I am both a proud mom to a five-year-old son and a foster mom, experiences that have deeply shaped my perspective on children’s growth and development.

For the past five years, I have worked in the education field while completing my Child and Youth Advocacy program , Directors certificate and earning my degree in Human Services. These experiences have strengthened my commitment to creating nurturing, supportive, and engaging learning environments.

I am passionate about following each child’s lead in their learning journey, taking the time to understand them as individuals, and celebrating their unique strengths. I am especially excited to bring my background in nature-based learning and expressive arts into our program, helping to create meaningful experiences that inspire creativity, curiosity, and confidence.

I truly look forward to meeting you and your children, and I am excited to be a strong support for your family as we grow and learn together at Henny Penny.

Warmly,
Shauna

Our History

Henny Penny Nursery School is a part of First Church in Salem, and has been welcoming children and families for over 60 years. We're the oldest running preschool North of Boston!

About Our Program

We offer a morning preschool program Monday through Friday for children between the ages of 2years 9months - 6. Our morning schedule runs from 8:30 - 12:00, with early drop-off at 8am for an additional fee. Families may choose any combination of 2, 3, or 5 days. Henny Penny attempts to closely follow the Salem Public Schools calendar, with exceptions.

Staffing

All staff members at The Henny Penny Nursery School hold teaching certificates from Department of Early Education and Care (or are in the process of completing qualifications), and are current on CPR and Infant/Child First Aid training. Teachers are required to complete 15 hours of professional development annually. This helps to keep the curriculum fresh and up to date. The average student teacher ratio will be no more than 10:1.

Program Philosophy & Goals

At Henny Penny, we believe each child's development is unique. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where each child may grow socially, emotionally and physically. We believe strongly that children learn best through play.

Our program is a thoughtfully planned combination of teacher directed and child centered activities. The classroom is made up of playful learning centers and interest areas that provide opportunities for creative exploration and discovery, imaginative and dramatic play, block building, artistic expression, music, creative movement, and the development of pre-reading, writing, math and science skills.

Children are encouraged to take responsibility, make decisions and learn through play in mixed age groupings.

We aim to foster a true love of learning as we prepare our students for success when they enter kindergarten.

Curriculum

We write our own curriculum which is literacy-based and child-led. Our curriculum is designed around topics in Science, Math, Music, Language Arts and Social Studies. Standards, based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, and established to stretch students' intellectual growth while also being developmentally appropriate. No worksheets here! We believe children learn best through play, and all of our learning goals are met through play. We listen to the children, and develop play activities with their interests in mind.