St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten
100 North Highway 46 Bypass, Bloomington, IN 47408
About
St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten offers play-based days that include music, weekly band practice with Kid Kazooey for older classes, outdoor play, riding bikes, cooking in mud kitchens, digging in sandboxes, reading, process art activities, and rock climbing in the “Big Room.” Children and families also take part in play yard playdates, pizza parties, the Young at Art event, a Soup Cook Off, and an end-of-the-year Ice Cream Social.
• Ages: 0–6 years old
• Schedule: Nursery school classes run from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, and the kindergarten day runs from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten is a non-profit organization and an NAEYC accredited early childhood program of excellence, with four play yards that serve as outdoor classroom spaces and a “Big Room” used for gross motor activities such as rock climbing. The nursery school offers programming for children four months through five years, and the kindergarten is one of the few half-day kindergarten programs available in Bloomington. Indoor and outdoor classrooms are described as thoughtfully curated learning environments, with four beautifully designed play yards that invite discovery and wonder, and collections of loose parts indoors and out for open-ended creative play. Children are allowed to climb and jump from areas where they feel comfortable and are encouraged to think about whether they feel safe.
The program’s mission states that children learn best through play and meaningful relationships with peers and loving adults, and that the environment is continually adapted while following the child’s lead. The mission also states that tools for healthy, respectful social interactions are modeled, taught, and applied, that a sense of wonder is fostered through discovery, experimentation, risk taking, and the experience of all emotions, and that each child’s developmental stage and unique style are valued and accepted. The mission describes collaboration with families to provide a safe and welcoming village that bridges home and school, including empowering families when additional support is needed, providing in-house educational resources when available, and sharing helpful resources within the greater community, with the understanding that the health of a family supports the health of the child. The program does not teach religious doctrine and states that it nurtures each child’s spiritual growth through loving relationships and fostering a deep sense of wonder in the natural world.
St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten began in 1969 as a part-time nursery school program started by a small group of parents from St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, initially with one classroom of three-year-olds and a play-based curriculum. The program expanded the following year to include four-year-olds, later added infants and toddlers after a building renovation in 2000, and added the kindergarten program nine years after that. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the program expanded to include community outreach events such as “Young at Art,” and it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019. Initial NAEYC accreditation was received in 1990 and has been maintained since then, with special commendations in the area of teacher-child relationships.
The program states that each child’s social and emotional development is supported above all else through opportunities to play, and that social and emotional development is the number one priority. Teachers use “positive discipline” strategies gathered from experts including Jane Nelson and Dr. Becky Bailey and over 50 years of the school’s teaching experience, and they do not use punishment to correct behavior. Classes are staffed by a collaborative teaching team, each classroom maintains small student-to-teacher ratios, and two teachers work together to facilitate an emergent learning curriculum for up to 14 kindergarten students. The curriculum is described as child-led, and play is valued as the work of childhood.
St. Mark’s has two on-staff musicians who visit all classrooms weekly, and older classes have weekly band practice with Kid Kazooey, with teachers singing and dancing throughout the day. The Marcia Lloyd Children’s Library holds over 1,000 titles, and the on-staff librarian works with teachers and the Education Coordinator to ensure diverse representation in books. Classrooms and children’s literature are curated to contain visual images that counter stereotypes, and adults in the community set an anti-discrimination intention.
The program states that the experience children and their families have is strengthened by the diversity of the community, and that it welcomes and affirms all children and families and honors all gender identities, abilities, races, ethnic and national origins, sexual orientations, religions, or none at all. Family involvement is described as an essential part of the program, with required parent participation in place since its inception. Parent participants, IU Field Experience students, and vetted community volunteers join teaching teams, and families are invited to share food, games, talents, or traditions with the classroom. Families connect through events such as play yard playdates, coffee and chats, pizza parties, the Young at Art event, the Soup Cook Off, and an end-of-the-year Ice Cream Social, and the program includes community outreach events such as “Young at Art.”
St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten is NAEYC accredited and has maintained this accreditation since 1990, with special commendations in teacher-child relationships. As a part-time program, it is license exempt while voluntarily complying with Indiana’s licensing requirements.
Parent testimonials describe teachers who understand toddlers and provide a safe, caring, nurturing environment where the needs of the children come first. Other parents describe the kindergarten experience as one in which their child has grown socially, emotionally, creatively, and academically, and say the program allows children to explore their own unique interests while encouraging new experiences and learning opportunities. Additional testimonials describe St. Mark’s as more than a preschool, referring to a community of trust and support with love and respect for all children, and describe teachers as thoughtful, patient, and genuinely caring about each child’s development, creating a nurturing atmosphere where children feel safe to express themselves and explore their interests while gaining confidence and curiosity about the world.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
• Ages: 0–6 years old
• Schedule: Nursery school classes run from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, and the kindergarten day runs from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten is a non-profit organization and an NAEYC accredited early childhood program of excellence, with four play yards that serve as outdoor classroom spaces and a “Big Room” used for gross motor activities such as rock climbing. The nursery school offers programming for children four months through five years, and the kindergarten is one of the few half-day kindergarten programs available in Bloomington. Indoor and outdoor classrooms are described as thoughtfully curated learning environments, with four beautifully designed play yards that invite discovery and wonder, and collections of loose parts indoors and out for open-ended creative play. Children are allowed to climb and jump from areas where they feel comfortable and are encouraged to think about whether they feel safe.
The program’s mission states that children learn best through play and meaningful relationships with peers and loving adults, and that the environment is continually adapted while following the child’s lead. The mission also states that tools for healthy, respectful social interactions are modeled, taught, and applied, that a sense of wonder is fostered through discovery, experimentation, risk taking, and the experience of all emotions, and that each child’s developmental stage and unique style are valued and accepted. The mission describes collaboration with families to provide a safe and welcoming village that bridges home and school, including empowering families when additional support is needed, providing in-house educational resources when available, and sharing helpful resources within the greater community, with the understanding that the health of a family supports the health of the child. The program does not teach religious doctrine and states that it nurtures each child’s spiritual growth through loving relationships and fostering a deep sense of wonder in the natural world.
St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten began in 1969 as a part-time nursery school program started by a small group of parents from St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, initially with one classroom of three-year-olds and a play-based curriculum. The program expanded the following year to include four-year-olds, later added infants and toddlers after a building renovation in 2000, and added the kindergarten program nine years after that. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the program expanded to include community outreach events such as “Young at Art,” and it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019. Initial NAEYC accreditation was received in 1990 and has been maintained since then, with special commendations in the area of teacher-child relationships.
The program states that each child’s social and emotional development is supported above all else through opportunities to play, and that social and emotional development is the number one priority. Teachers use “positive discipline” strategies gathered from experts including Jane Nelson and Dr. Becky Bailey and over 50 years of the school’s teaching experience, and they do not use punishment to correct behavior. Classes are staffed by a collaborative teaching team, each classroom maintains small student-to-teacher ratios, and two teachers work together to facilitate an emergent learning curriculum for up to 14 kindergarten students. The curriculum is described as child-led, and play is valued as the work of childhood.
St. Mark’s has two on-staff musicians who visit all classrooms weekly, and older classes have weekly band practice with Kid Kazooey, with teachers singing and dancing throughout the day. The Marcia Lloyd Children’s Library holds over 1,000 titles, and the on-staff librarian works with teachers and the Education Coordinator to ensure diverse representation in books. Classrooms and children’s literature are curated to contain visual images that counter stereotypes, and adults in the community set an anti-discrimination intention.
The program states that the experience children and their families have is strengthened by the diversity of the community, and that it welcomes and affirms all children and families and honors all gender identities, abilities, races, ethnic and national origins, sexual orientations, religions, or none at all. Family involvement is described as an essential part of the program, with required parent participation in place since its inception. Parent participants, IU Field Experience students, and vetted community volunteers join teaching teams, and families are invited to share food, games, talents, or traditions with the classroom. Families connect through events such as play yard playdates, coffee and chats, pizza parties, the Young at Art event, the Soup Cook Off, and an end-of-the-year Ice Cream Social, and the program includes community outreach events such as “Young at Art.”
St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten is NAEYC accredited and has maintained this accreditation since 1990, with special commendations in teacher-child relationships. As a part-time program, it is license exempt while voluntarily complying with Indiana’s licensing requirements.
Parent testimonials describe teachers who understand toddlers and provide a safe, caring, nurturing environment where the needs of the children come first. Other parents describe the kindergarten experience as one in which their child has grown socially, emotionally, creatively, and academically, and say the program allows children to explore their own unique interests while encouraging new experiences and learning opportunities. Additional testimonials describe St. Mark’s as more than a preschool, referring to a community of trust and support with love and respect for all children, and describe teachers as thoughtful, patient, and genuinely caring about each child’s development, creating a nurturing atmosphere where children feel safe to express themselves and explore their interests while gaining confidence and curiosity about the world.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
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