When the Preisser family moved to the area more than a decade ago, their search for a preschool yielded more than just a facility. It brought them a whole community.

Having been an early childhood educator, mom Alison Preisser knew what she was looking for. “Children using their innate curiosity and instincts to play to navigate their social, emotional, and physical world is where I wanted my children’s learning to launch off of,” she says.

She and her husband, Joe, sought out a play-based school for three of their four children. “We really wanted a school that understood that play is really how children learn. It’s not this superfluous thing that children do to pass the time,” says Joe.

They found what they needed at Phebe Anna Thorne School, located on the campuses of Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College. “It’s such a warm, caring community,” says Joe. “You could feel that the minute you walked through the door.”

More Than Drop-Off Childcare

“Thorne,” as parents affectionately call it, is a small, boutique school that focuses on play-based learning and developmentally appropriate activities for children from toddler to kindergarten age. Director Amanda Ulrich, whose own children attended years ago, emphasizes that Thorne offers more than typical childcare. “It’s a whole experience when you come to Thorne,” she says. “It’s not just dropping your kid off at school.”

Thorne fosters a community of learners, educators, and parents who work as partners. “That partnership, that understanding that we are in this together, that parents have valuable information to share, and that the teachers are incredible resources…Thorne not only knows that, but values that,” says Alison.

Communication strengthens this partnership. Teachers and administrators remain approachable. Monthly coffee meetings allow parents to gather for informal conversation. Psychoeducational Consultant Dr. Jan Linowitz hosts meetings where parents can discuss any issues. “When we have an event, the community comes out for it,” Alison says.

Expert Teachers Who Understand Play

With small class sizes and highly educated instructors, Thorne offers exceptional education. “All of our teachers are experts in early childhood,” says Amanda. “Most of them have their Masters and have been in the field for a long time.”

“The teachers really are the fabric of the play environment there. When you walk into a classroom, they’re on the floor, they’re involved in the play,” says Alison. With developmentally appropriate activities in each program, Thorne avoids the long periods of sitting found in traditional schools.

Math lessons don’t start with counting—they start with play. “At Thorne when kids are initially given manipulatives to work with, they are told, ‘You can play with them and experiment with them, touch them’…before they’re asked to sit for more traditional lessons,” Alison explains.

Nurturing The Whole Child

Social and emotional development holds equal importance to academics. At weekly meetings, staff members discuss each child to identify any needs. “Thorne has very much impacted who my children are socially and emotionally,” says Alison. “It is literally the foundation of who they are. It never ceases to amaze me how they continue to look back at that to navigate situations that they encounter today.”

The school’s location on college campuses provides unique opportunities. Students visit the nature trail and orchard at Haverford College, explore the maze on Bryn Mawr’s campus, and use the soccer fields. “We actually have the whole campus at our disposal,” says Amanda.

The Kindergarten Experience: One More Year of Magic

Nestled in a private schoolhouse on the Haverford College campus, Thorne has been serving kindergarteners for 20 years. On any given day, its 16 students may visit the observatory, conduct science experiments in the chemistry lab, or explore the arboretum.

Teachers weave social-emotional learning into everything they do. “At Phebe Anna Thorne school, we celebrate kids as individuals and nurture their sense of self, which provides a foundation for success,” said Amanda.

Parent Ali Gazan sent both of her children to Thorne. “In kindergarten, my daughter really developed the foundational skills she needed—both educationally and emotionally—to thrive at first grade in public school. She was confident in her abilities to learn, and, even more importantly, had formed a love of learning that follows her to this day.”

Building Emotional Intelligence

Dr. Linowitz holds weekly classes on topics like friendship and feelings to help kids articulate challenging emotions like worry or jealousy. The class undertakes role-playing to explore emotions in a safe environment. This foundation helps children understand who they are and how to regulate their emotions as they move beyond kindergarten.

“Kindergarten is the first time many kids have had to think about academics—some are advanced and we try to figure out how to support it. Or if there’s a learning difference, kindergarten is usually when we figure it out—before it gets to a place it might be missed,” said Dr. Linowitz.

Balancing Play and Academic Learning

The kindergarten schedule balances play and academic learning while supporting children’s emotional needs. Teachers break subjects like math and reading into small groups based on each student’s level and interests. Specialty classes include music, sports, science, and art.

All kindergarten teachers are certified, and many have master’s degrees in early childhood education. A literacy and math specialist provides additional personalized support. Students enjoy three recesses each day, plus unique experiences like art shows, author events, and science activities with The Lower Merion Conservancy.

“I cannot say enough good things about the Thorne kindergarten program,” said Ali. “Kindergarten is such a milestone moment and it can feel nerve-wracking for kids and parents. But the moment you set foot inside the school on the Haverford College campus, you see what a special and magical place it is.”

A Community That Becomes Family

Parents appreciate school events like the family picnic, fall festival, holiday party, and spring fling. The small school size allows families to maintain consistent communication through conferences and open classroom visits.

“The small class size allows students—and parents—to form such special relationships with the teachers and each other. My son is now a student, and my daughter loves nothing more than visiting him at school to say hi to her former teachers,” said Ali.

Amanda captures why families choose Thorne for kindergarten: “Phebe Anna Thorne is where everyone knows you and loves you and takes care of you. Parents choose us for kindergarten because their child can only get one more year of this type of kind, nurturing school experience—and to hold onto it for one year longer is really a gift for your child.”

The Foundation for Life

“It would be the best decision you’ll ever make,” says Alison. “There’s no other school like it…This will be the foundation for them to be a wonderfully creative, thoughtful, kind, empathetic, curious person. They’re going to love learning.”

Ali agrees: “It truly takes a village and I consider myself extremely lucky to say the Thorne community is part of that village.”

Programs Offered

Phebe Anna Thorne School offers programs from toddlers (age 2-3) through kindergarten (age 5-6), including a Language Enrichment Preschool Program for children with speech and language difficulties. Preschoolers on the Bryn Mawr campus receive priority admission for the 16 kindergarten spots, though families also come to Thorne specifically for kindergarten.

Phebe Anna Thorne School has served families for 75 years. To learn more or schedule a tour, please contact Marcia Leithauser at mleithause@brynmawr.edu, 610-645-0204

Phebe Anna Thorne School supports the Main Line Parent Community’s Education Guide.  Collaborate with us.