The Early School
2510 Bingham Street, Honolulu, HI 96826

Rise and Shine

Early childhood is a time like no other. At The Early School, children from 18 months to 6 years feel safe to explore, learn, conquer new challenges, follow their curiosity, and build a foundation of social and communication skills they will use for a lifetime.

A Community of Children, Teachers, and Families

It takes a village to raise a child. At The Early School, the friendly and attentive collaboration between teachers and families fosters an atmosphere that powers educational, social, and physical growth for every student.

A Hands-On Learning Environment

Learning is most effective when it involves the whole self: body, mind, and senses. TES’s teaching approach, combined with its indoor and outdoor settings, invites children to engage with nature, numbers, words, colors, cycles, music, water, inquiry, and open-ended, whole-body play.

The Early School is a private, nonprofit, independent school, accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. It has provided early childhood education since 1973.

At The Early School, we offer a rich, indoor-outdoor environment, with a hands-on emergent curriculum shaped by students’ own interests. Blessed with one of the largest shaded outdoor preschool play areas in Honolulu, The Early School emphasizes real-world experiences, long-term projects and investigations, field trips, and outdoor play. In our classrooms, pre-reading, reading and numeracy skills emerge naturally through daily routines, group projects, song, art, play, and movement.

At the core of our curriculum is a research-backed emphasis on building social and emotional intelligence and confidence. We believe that learning to make mistakes and try again, to feel empathy for others, to solve problems with patience and resilience, to share thoughts and ideas, and to navigate many different relationships are crucial aspects of lifelong success. And we know that a child who has learned to take care of themselves, others, and their environment is someone who will make a positive difference to the world.

Young Children's Program

18 months–3 years

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The Sky Room

3–4 years

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The Lokahi Room

4–5 years

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Hear From Our Parents

“An Early School education is the absolute best gift I could have given my daughter. She not only learned to read, count, discuss, and inquire, but she picked them up organically. She felt like they were her idea. She loved that, and became—and still is—a truly self-motivated learner.”

“The Early School is a learning environment concerned with the whole person. I don’t know of too many other schools that make parents feel so welcome and important.”

“The Early School is a place where children, teachers, and parents work together for the good of the child in a spirit of tolerance, understanding, and love.”

Growing Individuals

At The Early School, we believe that every child has something unique to offer the world, and we have dedicated ourselves to creating and sustaining a school where those gifts can shine. Our low student-faculty ratios and emergent curriculum mean that teachers can build strong bonds of trust and respect; get to know each student’s individual learning styles, personalities, strengths, and challenges; and then make sure that individualized learning opportunities happen throughout the day.

Whole-Child, Whole Community

Following educational best practices for early childhood, TES takes a whole-community and whole-child approach to learning. Teachers take into consideration families’ ideas and knowledge to help create a positive community for every TES student. We rely on strong and mutually supportive communication between teachers and families, and we pay close attention to all aspects of learning: physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual.