About Jack & Jill

Childhood: A Special Time

Since 1970, parents have been selecting Jack & Jill Preschool and Kindergarten for their children's first school experience. They remember forever the smiling faces....Pink Wild Thing Day....field trips.....baking cookies.....favorite puppets.....the Pumpkin Patch....loving teachers... fingerpainting... hugs... Grandma & Grandpa Day. They also see their children grow in confidence day by day. These are very special days for a parent and child. Perhaps these experiences were long ago, perhaps more recently. No matter how many months or years ago their experience, children have found Jack & Jill to be a warm, happy place, and a good beginning to the years of learning that followed.

Today's children are growing up in a world that is increasingly stressful. Television shows images which no child should see. Movies depict violence as everyday occurences. Toys and video games promote and display extreme callousness and disregard for life. Children are feeling pressured to grow up too soon. What is happening to childhood?

Jack & Jill is a calm and loving enclave that welcomes children and gives them a safe haven in which to enjoy being a child. One that says, "Come in and we'll have fun learning together!"

Jack & Jill Philosophy

At Jack & Jill, we believe that "a good beginning has no end." Our mission is to provide a quality preschool and kindergarten education in a loving and nurturing environment, one that fosters individual creativity in a developmentally appropriate setting, one in which the children "love to learn."

Preschool and Kindergarten Scholarships are available to all accepted students according to financial need.

Our teachers nurture curiosity and self-expression through innovative programs and personal attention to the developing child, providing for his or her social, emotional, moral, intellectual and physical growth. What develops along with the child is a love of learning and respect for others and the world around them.

Jack & Jill believes that this nurturing environment should not be limited only to those students enrolled at our school. For this reason we offer programs open to all children in the area, including:

• summer camps for preschool/grade school children
• free literacy event ("Pumpkin Patch Party")
• expanded, no-fee science festival for all Lebanon Valley preschool children

How it all began......What happens when two young mothers rekindle a college friendship at a chance meeting of the Junior Women's Club in the late 1960's?

In searching for a creative learning environment for their own small children, Rita Moore and Carol Maurer joined forces. Thus, the legend that is now Jack & Jill Nursery School and Kindergarten was established.

Beginning with small classes in their own homes for two years, the school grew to three centers in Iona, Lebanon and Myerstown.

Throughout their 28 years of partnership, Rita and Carol have had the privilege of enjoying a close relationship with the nearly 4,000 children who have passed though Jack & Jill's doors. Additionally, treasured friendships developed between the children's parents and the founders.