Information About Extended Care

Extended Care is an optional program designed to accommodate working families. It operates Monday through Friday, 12 months per year around the 9:30-12:30 hours of the core program.  Morning Care is 8:00 to 9:30 and Afternoon Care is 12:30 to 5:30. 

Unlike many childcare centers, we allow for flexibility of scheduling. After selection of the core program schedule, parents can then create a customized weekly schedule of morning and/or afternoon care to meet their individual needs. 

Morning Care Drop Off 

Morning Care drop-off begins at 8:00 AM at the playground door by the brick walkway. Please do not ring the doorbell prior to 8:00 as the teachers are busy preparing their classrooms for the day and cannot accept early arrivals.

Staff will meet you at the door and you will say goodbye to your child as staff will then walk your child to the classroom and put their bag(s) away. 
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Your child is welcome to bring breakfast to eat at school if they arrive before 8:45 a.m. After that time, the teachers have play activities planned for the children, which prevents them from sitting with one child while they eat.

If you arrive late (after 9:35am), please use the main church office entrance so that the receptionist may assist you. She welcomes visitors between 9:35 and 1:30. If you need to access the school outside of those hours, please use the drop off door.

Picking Up Early

Our infants and toddlers are napping from 1:30-3:30. If you need to pick up your child prior to 3:30, please tap quietly at the playground door (please don't ring the bell!) or call Ashley at 804-909-3297.

​We request advance notice of naptime pickups so that we can position your child closest to the door to minimize the disruption to other sleepers.

Naptime

Younger infants sleep on demand. As children approach their first birthday, they will naturally outgrow their morning nap. We will adjust their daily routine to accommodate this shift. We provide cribs for infants, while parents supply the crib sheet. No top blankets or pillows are permitted, but sleep sacks can be used at parents' discretion.

Children in our toddler program nap from 1:30 to 3:30. We will provide nap mats, while parents supply all-in-one nap rolls (bottom sheet, top blanket, and pillow sewed together in one piece).

Children in the Pre-K program have an abbreviated rest period, usually 1:30-2:30, but duration and timing will vary according to classroom activities and the children's needs. Typically, these children will rest for 1 to 1.5 hours. We recognize that some children at this age do not take naps and that is okay. No child is required to sleep, but Social Services mandates that we provide a minimum of 1 hour of rest each afternoon. We will provide nap mats, while parents supply all-in-one nap rolls (bottom sheet, top blanket, and pillow sewed together in one piece).

For all age groups, please send in bedding on the first day of the week that your child attends afternoon care and take it home to be laundered on the last day of the week that your child attends afternoon care.

Afternoon Care Pick Up

Pick up is no later than 5:30. Please use the playground door with the brick walkway.  We close promptly at 5:30. Please arrive no later than 5:30 to pick up your child. Being late creates conflicts for teachers who have their own after-school appointments and responsibilities. Please be considerate of the teachers’ personal time. Parental lateness also creates extra payroll expenses for the school in the form of overtime pay. Late fees will apply (see parent handbook).

On rare occasions lateness is unavoidable. Please call Ashley (804-909-3297) or Debbi (804-305-8878) if you know you’re running late so that we can let the teachers know and plan for adequate staffing.

Lunch and Snacks

Please package your child’s morning snack, afternoon snack, and lunch in separate, labeled containers.  The teachers try to enable the children to be as self-sufficient as possible, so separate containers will help to ensure that they don’t arrive at lunch with nothing to eat because it was all eaten during morning snack time.

We ask that you send a lunch that follows the USDA guidelines for healthy meals for preschoolers.  This means 1 protein (e.g. meat, cheese, yogurt, peanut butter), 1 fruit/vegetable (e.g. banana, carrot, applesauce), 1 grain (bread, crackers, cereal), and milk for their dairy. 

Pack a reusable water bottle each day. Teachers will refill this as needed. Children have access to their water bottles all day and for snacks/lunch. You may send milk for lunch. Soda, juice, and other sweetened beverages are prohibited.

Glass containers are prohibited.

Extra Clothes and Diapers

If your child is staying with us through the afternoon, please provide a minimum of 5 diapers per day.

Please keep a set of seasonally appropriate extra clothes in your child's tote bag for those inevitable messy days.

Please Label Everything

Please label everything that you want returned to you.
  • All clothes, outerwear
  • All food and drink containers (lids too)
  • Lunch boxes, water bottles
  • Pacifiers, paci straps
  • Bedding
  • Tote bags

Examples of Nap Rolls