FAQ

What days are you closed?

Small Wonders follows a predictable closure schedule: 2 days on or near 4th of July, most Federal holidays, a two week winter break, and one week spring break (breaks coordinate with PPS). Our first day of the school year is always the first Tuesday of September. We provide this schedule of closures to families the January prior to the new school year. We do not have early outs or late starts. We do not close for PPS snow days--extreme weather and road closures may prompt closure which would be communicated with our families.
Please note the Studio policies and schedules do vary.



Do you offer tours? Are tours required? Can I come observe?

Parents are required to visit our school for a complete tour. Tours are scheduled in advance. On the tour, interested families are given an overview of our philosophy, educational methods and a tour of our facility. The goal of the tour is for parents to ensure that Small Wonders is the right choice for their family. We spend about 45 minutes to an hour exploring the space and allow for question and answer time. We do ask that this first visit be adults only. We do not offer seperate tour times or host classroom observations--our teachers' attention must be on the children and for the integrity of their day disruptions limited. We field this question so frequently that it would be neither practical nor safe to allow unknown individuals to sit in on our class time as part of their decision process. Child visits are hosted at set times close to your child's start date.



Do you serve meals?

Small Wonders serves a breakfast snack at 8:45 and an afternoon snack served at 3:15. These meals are vegetarian and nut-free. Please note that parents provide a sack (ready to eat/nutfree) lunch. Our staff energy and time is therefore dedicated 100% on the children rather than meal prep, we minimize food waste, and a parent selected lunch will better meet each child’s dietary preferences, needs and restrictions.



When is nap? Can you tell me about nap and rest time?

All children calmly rest their bodies at the start of our rest period (12:30) while we listening to audiobooks. A full nap occurs between 12:30-3:00. We also host a non-napping room, typically for children 4 turning 5 readying for Kindergarten. A child is ready to be a “non-napper” when they can have a successful afternoon without the need of a re-energizing sleep and can participate in rest time choices quietly--this transition is dictatated by the child's age and readiness as well as room capacity. Should a child fall asleep they are allowed to sleep at minimum a “half-nap” as their body is communicating a need for rest. Again rest, per licensing requirements, is part of every child's day.



What is your potty training policy?

Toddler children (36 months and under at start date) are not required to be potty trained prior to enrollment at Small Wonders. Parents must provide diapers and wipes as applicable. Our staff will happily support you in the potty training process. Contact us for more information about our potty training tips! Children enrolling in the mixed-age preschool classrooms must be potty trained and wearing underwear. Children having reoccurring daily accidents or those unable to use the bathroom independently are not potty trained. To best meet our ratios and the standards set by our Health and Sanitation inspector our preschool potty training requirement is firm.



What is your class size and age groups?

Our licensed capacity at our Hollywood center is for 80 children daily. At our Grant Park space our capacity is growing to 100.
Upon enrollment your child is enrolled into one of the following specific core classroom based on age (as related to Kindergarten year) and schedule availability:
The toddler classrooms which include the Bears, Bunnies, and Birdies Rooms serve groups of ten children daily ages 24 months-42 months. The State staffing ratio for toddlers is 1:5. Children transition to a mixed age preschool classroom when 1) they have celebrated their 3 year old birthday 2) are fully potty trained and 3) and there is availability suiting your schedule needs. Friends anticipate remaining in the toddler room 1-2 years depending on when birthdate falls (in relation to September 1st and their Kindergarten year). The core groups are each served by a lead teacher and assistant teacher. They are joined by a full time floating aide bringing the ratio to 1:4.
Field Mouse, Fox, and Owl Rooms are our mixed-age preschool classrooms serving 20 children each ages as young as 3 years (36 months) up until Kindergarten qualifying age. They are led by teaching team of a Lead Teacher, an Assistant teacher, and an Aide all working full time to minimize transitions and provide consistency in care, communication, and programming. The state licensing ratio is 1:10, we however maintain lower ratios for higher quality care. Friends spend approximately 2-3 years in this setting until they graduate to Kindergaten. These classrooms do have a potty training requirement. The Kindergarten program serves those age 5 with a teacher and an assistant. This offering is limited to our Grant Park setting.



Do you offer half day schedules?

We do not offer half day tuition rates. Some families elect to pick their child up before rest time, as we have an open door policy and open pick up window families may come at any time without notice and it does not have to be a particular pattern.



Can you speak to your health and safety protocols?

An important topic on the mind of all, our answer is extensive and we ask you email for the highlights. Our priorities center on stagnant cohort groups, enforcing health exclusion policies, and our thorough sanitation supports. These efforts are supported by our low-low teacher ratio, our dedicated admin team, and important measures including nightly janitorial service, the use of our Halo system https://halosil.com/solutions/education/



© 2018 by Small Wonders School LLC. enrollment@smallwondersschool.org

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