From first words to first grade.
Handprints teaches children from 18 months to 6 years in four classes, each with two teachers and a curriculum matched to its age. Your child joins the class for their age, and each class builds on the one before it.
Admissions are rolling: children can join any class in any month, subject to open seats in the group, and decisions come within 1 to 3 working days.
One journey, four classes- 18 months – 6 yearsfrom first words to first grade
- Four classesone stage of childhood each
- Two teachersin every class
- Rolling admissionsjoin in any month
Which Class Is My Child's?
Children join by age, the way they will later join school by year:
from 18 months
→ 02Preschoolthe year your child turns three
→ 03Pre-Kindergartenthe year your child turns four
→ 04Kindergartenthe year your child turns five (the compulsory pre-primary year in Slovakia)
→Each class covers one stage of early childhood and teaches to it precisely: the rhythm of the day, the length of activities, and the goals all match what that age can do. The goals come from Colorado's early learning guidelines, which describe what children work on in every age band, from first sentences at two to first written words at six.
Not sure which class fits? Send us your child's birthday and we'll tell you the class, and what's open.
Before Nursery, There Is Baby Club
Baby Club is a free weekly morning for parents with children under 18 months: a first taste of school for babies, and a community for the adults who bring them.
The morning is built from singing, games, and nursery rhymes with a Handprints teacher, and it ends with morning coffee and cake while the children keep playing. Babies get used to the rooms, the faces, and other children. Parents get other parents.
Baby Club is free, and seats are limited: sign up in advance through the office. When your child turns 18 months, Nursery is next door.
Nursery
Nursery is where most Handprints families begin. Children join from 18 months, with one teacher for every six children, and learn what school feels like: a familiar rhythm, a teacher who knows them, and mornings built around play.
Children this young do best when they know what to expect, so drop-off keeps the same shape every morning: cubby, a short confident goodbye, morning circle. Days start short and grow longer, and your child's comfort item has a place in the cubby and a job to do.
Through songs, stories, sensory play, and time outside, children begin talking, choosing, climbing, and doing more and more for themselves.
In Nursery, your child works on…
Most children join the year they turn two. Children do not need to be potty trained for Nursery; diapers are not a problem here. Seats in this group are limited, and most families continue through Kindergarten.
NurseryPreschool
Preschool children talk all day: to teachers, to friends, in songs, stories, and games. This is the year English takes hold, and the year friendships become real.
Weekly topics connect the days, so a week about weather shows up at morning circle, at the craft table, and in the questions your child brings home. Children who arrive with no English typically begin following the class within their first months, each at their own pace.
In Preschool, your child works on…
Children join the year they turn three. No English is needed to start.
PreschoolPre-Kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten children ask why, and the class is built to let them find out. Projects grow longer, questions get tested, and early literacy and numeracy arrive through hands-on work.
A class project may start in the greenhouse, continue with counting and measuring, and end with each child presenting their results to the group. Activities run longer this year because attention spans do. Friendships deepen, group games gain real rules, and children practice winning, losing, and trying again.
In Pre-Kindergarten, your child works on…
Children join the year they turn four and are potty trained by September 1st.
Pre-KindergartenKindergarten
Kindergarten is the bridge to primary school. Children read their first words, write their first messages, and practice working in a team, with the structure of real school and the warmth of a small class.
This is the only class with daily Slovak alongside full English immersion, which keeps both school systems open after graduation. Ms. Dáška, who also serves as the school counselor, follows each child's readiness closely, and three parent-teacher meetings during the year keep you informed.
In Kindergarten, your child works on…
In Slovakia, the pre-primary year is compulsory for every child who turns five by August 31. Handprints is registered in the official network of schools, so the compulsory year is fully met here.
KindergartenAfternoon Clubs
Each club is priced separately. Choir, weekly gym class, and monthly field trips are part of the regular program and included in tuition. For schedules and dates, ask the office.
Kindergarten · the bridge to primary schoolReady for Either Path
Children leave Handprints prepared for both roads ahead. Because Kindergarten includes daily Slovak, families can keep the choice open as long as they need, and we talk each family through the next-school decision personally.
Summer Camp, out in the parkSummer Camp (July and August)
The school stays open year-round. In July and August, Summer Camp welcomes children who are not enrolled during the school year, with play, movement, creativity, and seasonal activities in the same international setting. Many new families use a summer week as their child's first taste of the school before September.
€250 per week, everything tuition includes. For dates and availability, contact the office. See tuition and fees →
Your child joins the class for their age, and the school grows with them: from first words at two to first written words at six.
Every child develops at their own pace, and a morning visit answers more than any page can. We would be glad to welcome your family.
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