In order to attend the Part-Time Chickadees, children must turn 2 by September 30th of the school year they will attend.

The Part-Time Chickadees has a maximum capacity of 8 children each day, and the minimum acceptable staff to child ratio, which will be maintained at all times, is 1 to 4.

The Part-Time Chickadees is a 9-month program, which runs September-May. The classroom is open daily from 9:00am-12:45pm, with three scheduling options:

• Monday - Friday
• Monday / Wednesday / Friday
• Tuesday / Thursday

For more information, please see the program calendar and tuition and fees document.

A typical day in the Part-Time Chickadees includes…

• indoor free-play and learning centers
• guided music and movement
• teacher-guided art, cooking, or science activity 
• animal encounters
• circle time
• trail walk, exploration, and outdoor free-play
• morning snack and lunch

In the Chickadees class, our teachers strive to work collaboratively with families to meet the unique needs of each child and create the best possible environment in which they can learn and grow. We acknowledge and respect that children move at their own pace, so we meet them where they are and support them in responsive and developmentally-appropriate ways to reach their full potential, as well as our curriculum-aligned age level expectations. In the Chickadees class we promote high levels of independence, as we know our students are capable of so much more than they might think possible. We also encourage our students’ ever-growing language acquisition and speech development, as well as their increasing physical abilities and confidence. 

Some big picture goals of the Chickadees include:

• independently completing classroom activities and self-care tasks 
• communicating wants, needs, and opinions
• confidently exploring and safely taking risks with less hands-on teacher support
• practicing skills of emotional regulation and problem solving
• creating strong, cooperative bonds with peers 
• following classroom limits, expectations, and routines