Application

Contact Us waveofthefuturecoop@gmail.com for more information, or to schedule a tour 

Apply here if you’re ready to reserve your spot.

Calendar 

Daily Schedule and Routines

8 AM: Arrival 
8-9 AM: Explore works 
9:00-9:30 AM: Snack 
9:30-11:00 AM: Explore works 
11:00- 11:15 AM: Gathering 
11:30-12 PM: Lunch 
12:00-1:30 PM: Walk 
1:30-2:30 PM Nap 
2:30-3:00 PM Quiet Work for olders
After- Care 3:00 PM
3:15-3:30 PM Snack
3:30-5:30: Artist or community activities + play.

Dog 

There is a sweet old dog, Scout, that may be part of the community room.

Fees 

2023 (based on annual enrollment)

  • Monday-Friday  Full day 8:00-3:00
  • $4200 or 6 $700 monthly installments
  • Monday-Friday Full day + After Care 8:00-5:30
  • $5400/yr or 6 $900 monthly installments

Pricing is available for 2 & 3 days/wk and also for half days. 

  • We offer a 10% family discount on tuition for families with multiple children enrolled. This offer does not combine with any other discounts. 
  • Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) Program: WCCC helps eligible families pay for child care for up to 100% for qualifying families.

Food & Snacks

Water

Please pack a fresh water bottle for your child each day. Teachers and Aides may refill these but not wash them. 

Lunch

Families are expected to bring their child to school with a packed lunch. Please make sure your child has everything they need and can easily open their lunch. We do this to encourage self-sufficiency and independence. Lunch boxes remain in the child’s backpack except during lunch. Please make sure lunches match USDA standards. Please include ice packs so that lunches can be kept at 41 degrees. 

Snacks 

We provide a morning snack from 9- 9:30 am and afternoon snack from 3- 3:30 pm. 

Our staff puts a lot of care into making balanced, nutritious and delicious snacks. We shop organic whenever possible. A menu is posted at the beginning of each week.

Licensing & Permitting

We are a fully licensed preschool with DCYF. Next step for us is to get a nature-based endorsement and Montessori Accreditation.

Philosophy

Our preschool is guided by the principles of Montessori Education incorporating the benefits of outdoor learning and expression through the arts. We hope to encourage the development of the whole child by cultivating independent thought and foundational skills as well as awareness of their environment; empathy for others; social ease and confidence. Our philosophy is expressed through the way we structure our day, interact and communicate with children, and the values we hope to instill through daily routines. As early childhood teachers, our role is to function as guides. Our goal is to offer the children we work with the opportunity to discover their interests, learn self-expression, and understand the importance of being grounded in the natural world.

Montessori Principles: 

  • Respect for the Child: Respecting the uniqueness of every child, their freedom to choose, to move, to correct their own mistakes, and to work at their own pace. Work and interact with children from a place of genuine respect.
  • Absorbent Mind: The first six years of life are the most crucial in a child’s development. In this period, children have a sponge-like capacity to absorb information from their environment. During this time, children rapidly develop an understanding of their culture, and their world, and construct the foundations of their intelligence and personality.
  • Sensitive Periods: Doctor Maria Montessori observed that children pass through specific stages in their development when they are most capable of learning specific knowledge areas and skills. She termed these stages ‘sensitive periods,’ which essentially describe windows of opportunity for learning. Characteristics of sensitive periods include: intense focus, repetition, commitment to a task, and greatly extended periods of concentration. As a staff, we support children in these periods, by offering stimulating and age-appropriate learning activities.
  • Educating the Whole Child: Montessori education is focused on nurturing each child’s potential by providing learning experiences that support their intellectual, physical, emotional and social development. In addition to language and mathematics, the Montessori Curriculum also covers practical life, sensorial, and culture. All aspects of children’s development and learning are intertwined and viewed as equally important.
  • Individualized Learning: Montessori learning programs are personalized to each child based on their unique stage of development, interests, and needs.  Lessons with the Montessori materials are presented one-on-one based on each child’s academic progress. Educators track each child’s progress and support them as they progress through the curriculum.
  • Freedom of Movement and Choice:  Children learn best when they are free to move, free to choose their own work, and follow their interests. In a Montessori classroom, children are free to move around the prepared environment, work where they feel they will learn best, and discover learning outcomes through hands-on experience. Montessori learning is largely active, individually paced, often self-correcting, and tailored to the needs and interests of each individual child.
  • Prepared Environment: The Montessori classroom is also known as the prepared environment. This is a carefully prepared learning space where everything has a purpose and a place. There is a distinct sense of order which assists children in developing logical thought processes. The fundamental idea is “order in environment and mind.” Within this space, children are free to follow their interests, choose their work, and progress at their own pace.
  • Intrinsic Motivation: The Montessori approach takes the view that learning is its own reward. In the Montessori classroom there aren’t any gold stars to reward children’s learning. Instead, children derive a sense of accomplishment from completing an activity and learning to do it for themselves.
  • Independence: Wave of the Future provides children with the environment, materials, and guidance to learn to do and think for themselves. It views children as born learners who are capable and willing to teach themselves when provided with the right stimulus. The ultimate goal of Montessori education is independence.
  • Auto-Education: One of the core principles of the Montessori Method is the concept of auto-education. It’s based on the belief that children are capable and willing to teach themselves if they are provided with interesting learning stimuli. Montessori materials were developed to meet this need and empower children with the ability to direct their own education. Montessori educators provide the prepared environment, guidance, and the encouragement for children to educate themselves.

Parent Handbook

All our policies are more detailed information is listed in our parent handbook

Pick-up & drop off

We abide by the Department of Early Learning policy which requires that parents or guardians sign their children in and out daily. When you arrive at school, please write the name of your child on the attendance log and the time you arrived. When you pick up your child, please sign out by writing the time you are leaving the facility. Maintaining attendance records is an important piece in our licensing process, so please make this a habit. 

Wave of the Future keeps a list of adults authorized to pick up your child in your child’s file. An authorized adult is required to walk your child in and out of the school premises. Please notify the school if someone other than yourself or authorized adults will be picking up or dropping off your child in writing by emailing the director the day before or texting day-of in case of last minute changes. If someone we are unfamiliar with comes to pick up your child, we will ensure they are listed as an authorized adult. 

Vaccination Requirements

Upon acceptance to the program and before a child’s first day of attendance, we require proof of vaccinations or exemptions.

Preparing for your kids first day.

We will schedule a time to introduce your kid to the classroom before their first day.

What to bring

Families are expected to bring their child to school with a packed lunch. Please make sure your child has everything they need and can easily open their lunch. We do this to encourage self-sufficiency and independence. Lunch boxes remain in the child’s backpack except during lunch. Please make sure lunches match USDA standards  Please include ice packs so that lunches can be kept at 41 degrees.

Covid

We are not currently asking students or staff to wear masks. We do ask that you inform us if you or a close contact has tested positive. We will continue to follow all local guidelines and CDC recommendations.