What actually happens between drop off and pickup
The rhythm is fixed. What happens inside it follows whatever the room is deep into that week.
07:00to 08:30
Arrival and slow start
Quiet corners, books and a familiar face at the door. Nobody is rushed out of a coat, and goodbyes take as long as they take.
08:30to 09:00
Breakfast for whoever needs it
Some children eat at home, some arrive hungry. Both are fine, and neither has to explain themselves.
09:00to 11:30
Outside, whatever the weather
Snow pants in January, shade and water in July. Digging, climbing, and a great deal of running. Calgary weather is a curriculum, not an obstacle.
11:30to 12:30
Lunch together
Cooked here that morning. Children serve themselves where they can, and everyone helps clear. Nobody is made to finish a plate.
12:30to 14:30
Rest, then quiet play
Cots and blankets for those who sleep. Puzzles, books and drawing for those who have grown out of it. No child is kept lying down for two hours.
14:30to 15:00
Snack and regroup
The reset between the quiet half of the day and the loud one.
15:00to 17:30
Projects and pickup
Whatever the room is deep into that week. A photo and a short written note go home with every child, so pickup is not an interrogation.
The mornings they cry
Most children cry at drop off for a while. Some for a day, some for a month. It is the single thing parents ask us about most, and it says nothing about your child or about you.
Before the first day
Two short visits with you in the room, so the first time your child is left is not also the first time they have seen the place.
The first week
Short days to start, building up. One educator is assigned to your child specifically, and it is the same one every morning.
The goodbye
Short and certain, in the same place, every time. Drawn out goodbyes make the next morning harder, not easier. We will take your child from you if that helps.
The message
You get a message once your child has settled. You should not have to spend the morning imagining. If they are still distressed after an hour, you get a phone call.
How you find out how the day went
Photos and a written note
Every afternoon, so pickup is a conversation rather than an interrogation of a two year old.
A full log for infants
Every feed, every sleep, every change, written down as it happens rather than reconstructed at five o’clock.
