WildWoods Wonderland

WELCOME to WildWoods Wonderland!

Our goal is to always provide the highest quality of early childhood education and care for your child(ren) in a creative & peaceful learning environment. These child care policies and procedures will give you an insight into your child’s day at WildWoods Wonderland, how it all works, and what we do to provide your child with the best set of tools to grow as an individual, grow in their skills while interacting in a group, learn as they explore, prepare for the next phase of learning at school, and life beyond the classroom. Children’s safety and well-being is our main concern. Your child will be loved and treated with respect as a uniquely special person
while in our care.

Our facility is licensed by the California Department of Social Services, Child Care Licensing to care for 8 children at one time. The quality ratio we operate under is 8 children to 1 teacher.

During the initial tour, an enrollment packet including these Policies and Procedures is handed to each family interested in bringing their children to WildWoods for nature preschool classes. A two-week trial period will begin after enrollment to ensure that WildWoods Wonderland is the best fit for both your family and for us. Over time, I’ve come to learn that sometimes a group setting is not the best fit because a child has different emotional or developmental needs, and that’s okay. We all want what’s best, after all.

Supervision and Protection of Children
We will provide a clean and well-supervised classrooms. The layout of the indoor & outdoor classrooms provides the opportunity for us to know where each child is at all times. All toys and materials are sanitized weekly or as needed. We have safety plates on all outlets not being used, and all harmful chemicals or potentially dangerous items are kept way above 36 inches, behind locked doors, or not accessible to the children.

Discipline
A copy of the behavioral expectations of preschool aged children and the discipline methods we use are handed out in the enclosed packet. We also apply Love & Logic™ choices with empathetic natural consequences, a generous dose of Conscious Discipline™ and speak the 5 love languages of children. I’ve learned, that a child who feels loved will more likely accept teaching. Discipline comes from a Greek word meaning “to train.” It involves the long and vigilant task of guiding a child. The goal is that a child will reach a level of maturity that will allow them one day to function as a responsible adult in society.

Absolutely no corporal punishment is used and is considered unacceptable in our facility.

Child Abuse or neglect
All licensed child care providers are morally and legally obligated to report any suspected child abuse or neglect to CPS!

Ages
WildWoods Wonderland Nature Preschool enrollment is targeted for children ages 2-6 years old, with the choice of either full day, half day morning or half day afternoon class. Sometimes there might be a child attending that is either older or younger than the targeted age range.

WildWoods Wonderland Adventure Camps enrollment is targeted for children ages 2 years old through children in 5th grade (including the summer after 5th grade.)

We follow Montessori philosophy by mixing ages, giving the children opportunities to help and learn from each other. The curriculum contains guided exploration play, general class lessons and activities, as well as specific one-on-one lessons tailored to each child.

Rates
WildWoods Wonderland Nature Preschool Hours:

• FULL DAY schedule starts at 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
• AM class starts promptly at 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday.
• PM class starts promptly at 12:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

$20 Half Day $35 Full Day

~ Extended care may be available upon agreement, for additional tuition.

A $50 fee is required for enrollment at a future time to hold your child’s spot. This fee will come off of your first week’s tuition upon their start date.

All payments need to be paid by 3:30pm the Friday before the week of class You may choose to pay ahead (monthly, biweekly, or weekly as long as it is by 3:30pm the Friday before the week of class.)

Adventure Camps Hours:

• Morning Camp: 8:30 am – 11:30 am
• Afternoon Camp: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm

One week of camp: $100

You may sign up for multiple weeks of camp. A $50 non refundable deposit is due upon registration. The $50 will go towards payment for the last week your child/ren is registered for Adventure Camp, or if there was a registered week that was not attended. FULL payment is due for each week by 3:30pm, on the Friday prior to the week of camp. Advance payment in full is welcome and appreciated.

I will supply you with a W-10 form of all payments received in January each year. If paying by check, please make it payable to Judy Fairall-Woods. If you would like to pay via debit card or credit card, there are payment options online or through an app.

Various additional charges:
$5 charge for each day your payment is late.

$30 charge for checks returned for any reason.

Early pick-up – Late drop-off
Please notify us via phone call or text should you need to pick your child up early or need to drop them off late, so that we can prepare the environment for the late arrival or early departure.

Receiving and releasing children
Children will only be released to people who are listed in their child care enrollment packet. Notification from the parent is required if anybody else is picking up your child(ren). If we have not met the person, they will be required to bring a picture identification with them to compare to the enrollment contract. If your child is dropped off by someone other than the parents, notice is appreciated.

Wellness Policy
WildWoods Wonderland is a well child program! This means if your child is not feeling well, for whatever reason, you must make other arrangements for their care until they are feeling well and are no longer contagious. Do not bring your child(ren) to class if they have a fever over 101 F, diarrhea, vomiting or have a contagious illness. The child(ren) will not be allowed back into care until they are symptom free for 24 hours. If they are too sick to go outside, they are too sick to be at class. If your child is sick enough to require prescription medication – pink-eye, strep throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc., we will require you to keep your child(ren) home until he/she has had instruction from a Doctor that they are able to come back to a child care environment. If the child has a clear runny nose, and is not lethargic, that is acceptable, and they can still come to class.

Medication
Please dispense all medications at home. Should you child need rescue medication i.e. epi-pen, inhaler, etc. a medication release form has to be signed and on file. I ask parents to please follow the guidelines for illness with respect. This is for the protection of everyone. If you are not sure if your child should be attending preschool/adventure camp, feel free to call us ahead of time.

Meals & Snacks
Nature Preschool:

Please bring a snack and/or lunch for your child for the first week.

(It is always nice to have a snack your child is familiar with as they become familiar to their new class environment. After the first week, you may continue to bring snack/lunch, or it will also be provided.*)

*Children with common food allergies need to bring a sack snack/lunch from home to help meet their individual nutritional & medical needs.

Snacks are provided for children attending ½ day & full day classes.
Lunch is provided for children attending full day classes.

Adventure Camps:
Please bring a sack snack for your child each day.

Open Door, Communication and Confidentiality
Parents are always welcome at Fairyland to visit, to observe, or to stay and play with your child, unless restricted by a court order. If there is a court order restriction, we will need a copy of the order. Feel free to request a private meeting at any time to discuss your child’s development, concerns, or goals. We will also request a parent-teacher conference if the need arises to discuss a matter.

Preschool Program
We use the California Core Standards as a guide to kindergarten readiness and discuss these during parent/teacher conferences. The main focus in early childhood is for children to begin to value learning, gain knowledge, and understand their world. Our goal for children is the opportunity for them to learn how to interact with people in cooperative, respectful ways, to teach them skills on how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner. To respect themselves and to behave in ways that honor who they are and who others are, in ways that allow people to feel safe. We want children to feel safe, to follow the rules of society that keep people from getting hurt. We want children to think for themselves, rather than merely following others. We want them to face challenges, not hide from them through misbehavior and self-destruction. We want children to stand up for themselves and their belief without stepping on others. We want them to help build a community and to be a vital member in it, and to learn many ways of acting, of thinking, and of behaving that promote fairness for all. Learn – that’s what we want them to do. In order for them to learn we will guide them with example, direction, information, dialogue, relationship building, assistance, practice and support during their trials and errors. With our help, they will learn the complex set of skills that it takes to be a contributing citizen of the world.

Professional Liability Insurance
As with all professional businesses, we carry professional liability insurance.

Employees
All employees have gone through an orientation training process. They are qualified in First-aid; adult, child and infant CPR; and must have passed a federal and state background check before working with the children.

Social Media
WildWoods Wonderland has a Facebook and Instagram business page. We post pictures of activities we do, fun crafts, and the environment. This is a public page. If you do not wish your child to be in any posted photos, please indicate it on the enrollment form.

Termination of Contract
This contract shall be terminated if any one or more of the following occur: 
1. Serious illness of a child preventing attendance.
2. The account becomes delinquent.
3. If we determine that we are unable to meet the needs of the child.
4. Failure of the parent to cooperate with us, which we determine is serious enough to warrant termination.
5. Parental termination – a Parent is required to give us a written one week’s notice for which you will be charged your normal child care rates. Advanced payment is required for the entire week. Should a concern arise, please contact Judy Fairall-Woods at 805-524-0594 directly for mediation.

WHAT WE ASK OF THE PARENTS

• Abide by the prearranged hours. If you will be running late or early, please call or text us and let us know.
• A current copy of immunizations of the child(ren) to enroll to be on file.
• Financial arrangements must be kept according to the contract. Should there be any questions, I will be glad to discuss them and go over it with you. PROMPT PAYMENT IS REQUIRED as I have a budget to follow and scheduled payments to make, too.
• Please bring a change of clothing for your child attending nature preschool – underwear, pants/skirt, a shirt & socks to be kept at WildWoods.
• Bring a sweatshirt or jacket for your child on days that it is cold, as we love to use our outdoor classroom as much as possible. If you have rain boots or raincoats, when it is rainy, please bring them that day too!
• A re-usable water bottle, preferable with a lid or closable top that can be kept at WildWoods for nature preschool.
• We emphasize the importance and practice of good manners. Every young child is capable of learning some of the most important phrases: “Thank You,” “No thank you,” “May I / please,” and “You are welcome.” We thank you for reinforcing the practice of using good manners in the home environment also.
• Open communication between parents and the teacher is vital, if there is a concern or question, please contact me and let me know in a timely manner. Likewise, if there is a concern or question from someone at WildWoods Wonderland, it should be addressed in a timely manner to the parent. We are a team working together for the wellbeing and growth of your child. If there is a significant change in the child’s life or even if they are just having a tough day at home, please let us know so we can be more aware of the child’s immediate needs.
• The information in this booklet is written from experience and situations I have faced in child care. It has certainly been a learning experience for me. With that said, I am always open to suggestions. I truly want everyone to be happy and comfortable with our nature preschool & adventure camp programs!

*** I do have the discretion to make changes in rates and policies when I deem necessary. You will be notified in writing of any changes and when they go into effect. Updated and effective as of: March 16, 2019.