Mission Statement:
We provide a Christian atmosphere. We want to share our nondenominational Judeo/Christian Faith, beliefs and values. We desire to honor and glorify God in all that we do and we dedicate the program to the Lord. We believe children are a blessing and a gift from God. We feel each child is uniquely created. We seek to demonstrate the unconditional love of Christ to each child. We desire to support and assist each family in their role of nurturing and encouraging their child's development.
We believe that the pre-school years are ones of rapid growth for young children and that many skills, abilities, and attitudes are developed during this time that affect their entire lives. Our pre-school program is designed to provide an enriched environment in which your child can learn and develop. We feel that a child learns best in an atmosphere of love, warmth and acceptance.
1. To help each child perceive him/herself as a worthwhile person, worthy of love and capable of achievement.
2. To help each child be able to give and receive from others.
3. To help the child develop interaction skills that will enable each child to
communicate with other children and adults.
4. To help the children be responsible for themselves.
5. To teach cognitive skills appropriate to each child’s level of learning.
6. To stimulate the child’s curiosity and creativity.
7. To develop each child’s large and small muscle coordination.
8. To help the children develop a feeling of self-confidence.
A written childcare program plan is available for parents to review.
The Pumpkin Patch Pre-school facilities are licensed by the State Department of Human Services. This assures families that high standards have been met regarding space, equipment, program and staff. The program is licensed for 30 children per session. We are licensed to have morning and afternoon sessions. The staff consists of the director, teachers and assistant teachers meeting state qualification requirements.
Eligibility
All children must be between the ages of 33 months and kindergarten entrance. The Pumpkin Patch Pre-school does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, creed, color, or national origin. Provisions for enrollment can be made for special needs of individual children such as physical handicaps.
Hours of Operation
School Calendar – School begins the day
after Labor Day and continues through May.
Parents will be provided with a listing of scheduled days off. There may be a
few days during the winter months when the weather will prohibit the
functioning of the
Pre-school day. In the event of extreme weather conditions, we will notify parents of the closing of school on WCCO 830 (radio) and WCCO channel 4 (television) under the name Pumpkin Patch. (The public school has a pre-school program also). Snow Days have been built into our calendar but if a particular session is missed more then two times due to weather conditions that session will be made up.
Hours – Hours are from 9:00am to 12:00 noon for the morning sessions. Afternoon sessions are from 12:30 – 3:30pm. A parent or other responsible adult must accompany the child into the room at 9:00 or 12:30. Your child will not be allowed to leave school with any unauthorized person. Parents are required to notify staff if any new or different person will be picking up the child. Children will not be released to anyone who is threatening, incapacitated or suspect. Children should be picked up promptly at 12:00 noon or 3:30. The parents will provide transportation or car-pooling arrangements are to be made by the parents.
Daily Programming
Self-Directed Learning – Children are encouraged to engage in an activity that interests them. They can choose from such interest areas as books, computer use, easel painting, art table, sensory table, trucks and blocks, housekeeping, toys for small and large muscle and cognitive development.
Get-together – This is a time for sharing and planning together. It is the time of the day when we talk about the calendar, weather, and what activities and units are happening in the room.
Sharing Time – Sharing week will be the first full week of the month. This is a time when the children can bring one/two items from home to show and tell the other children. Toy guns, knives, swords and other weapons are NOT allowed. Sharing Week is designated the first full week of each month beginning in October.
Snack – Nutritious snacks are provided daily for your child. If you would like to provide a snack or treats are brought from home, they may be:
1. Purchased – commercially prepared
2. Fruits and/or vegetables to be cleaned and prepared at school
3. Ingredients can be brought to school and prepared at school by the parent or staff
We look upon snack time as a time of socializing and conversation, which helps language development. In addition to encouraging conversation we also encourage good manners in the form of passing the snack, waiting for each person to be served, cooperating in pouring each other’s drink and asking to be excused when they have finished their snack.
Physical Education – We try to get outside every day except when it is raining or extremely cold or wet. If we stay indoors we have planned activities to develop muscles and coordination.
Unit Discussions and Activities – During this portion of the day, we focus on a particular unit of study (science, colors, pets, time, etc.). We plan various activities to meet each child’s level of skill development. Children meet in small groups with their peer group for this teacher directed time.
Music and Literature – Each day we take time to read stories, sing songs, and do music & movement activities etc. This is a planned activity for everyday but also occurs throughout the day, for example during self-directed time, and transition times.
Resources Visit
Generally, Pumpkin Patch will bring community resource people to the school in lieu of field trips. For example, Fire Fighters will be invited to bring a fire truck and their equipment to school to show the children. We are always open to suggested resource people. Occasionally the children will be taken on walking field trips to neighborhood interest sites. The children’s registration form will ask permission for the children to participate in these walking field trips. In the event a field trip requiring transportation is planned specific permission slips will be given to parents of the children involved. Only children with signed permission slips will be allowed to participate. Public transit will be required or regulations regarding car seats and restraints followed. Currently our insurance and these state regulations discourage these trips in private vehicles.
Communication with Parents
Parents will receive monthly newsletters, which will include news about the program. We will plan a parent-teacher conference during the year and a pre-admissions conference prior to the opening of the school. Records will be kept to aid in the evaluation process. These records will be destroyed when your child is no longer in the program. Parents are welcome to visit school anytime. A Parent Volunteer Calendar is available for parents to sign up to help out in various ways. We will arrange an open house in the Fall so you can see what the children have been doing the first weeks of school. Parent parties and a family picnic are planned each year.
www.pumpkin patch preschool.com Parents and
others may also visit our web site to view our Parent Hand Book, newsletter,
pictures etc. Research and Public
Relations Activities Permission Registration materials will include a request for parent’s
permission for the child to participate in general public relation activities
such as newspaper promotion or a photo display used to promote the program. In
general the photos will not be identified by name. Pictures or videos may be
taken to be used within the program such as for a bulletin board display. In the event Pumpkin Patch Pre-school is asked to be involved in a research program or experimental
procedure all participation would be voluntary and any child participating
would have a signed parental permission form on file. Behavior Guidance and
Discipline Policy The staff at Pumpkin Patch believes that positive
reinforcement, redirection of negative behavior and an explanation of what is
expected and why, is the best and easiest way of handling inappropriate
behavior. Yet at times purposeful discipline becomes necessary for the good of
the individual child and the other children in the program. The following is a course of action that may be taken if
needed: 1. First
time – identify the undesirable action to the child as being inappropriate 2. Second
time – reminder of the rule and redirection 3. Third
time – temporary exclusion from the group and/or loss of privileges. (Child is
excluded from the group for a short time in an observable spot in the
classroom). If the inappropriate behavior continues, a parent-teacher
conference will be requested to discuss alternative measures of behavior
guidance. A written behavior guidance policy and procedure plan is followed
and is available for parents to review. Health Your child must be examined by a physician within three
months prior to being admitted into our program. All immunizations must be
current. The required immunization form must be on file the first day of
attendance. The completed Health Summary form signed or stamped by the child’s
clinic must be returned within 30 days. These regulations are from the State
of Minnesota Department of Human Services. For your child’s well being and the
protection of the other children, your child should be kept home if he has the
following: ·
Red Eyes ·
Heavy Cough ·
Upset Stomach ·
Ear ache ·
Open sores ·
Swollen glands ·
Fever ·
Diarrhea ·
Undiagnosed rash ·
Unexplained lethargy Children with reportable or contagious conditions must be
kept at home until treated or cleared by a physician. If your child becomes
ill at school, the teacher will notify the parents or contact person on the
emergency card if the parents can’t be reached. You should have someone who
will care for your child if he/she cannot remain at school. While waiting to be
picked up the ill child will be isolated from the other children and allowed to
rest on a cot in the office under the supervision of a staff person. The staff
will notify you if a contagious illness exists among the children in your
child’s group. If your child has exposed his/her classmates to a communicable
disease or condition including lice, impetigo, ringworm, chicken pox, or strep
throat please notify staff within 24hr exclusive of weekends and holidays. Staff
are NOT allowed to give medication. In the event of an accidental
ingestion of a poisonous substance the Pumpkin Patch Staff would call the Poison Control Center. If advised to administer Syrup of Ipecac the parent’s or guardian’s
written permission is required. Parents will be asked to give their permission
for staff to administer Syrup of Ipecac at the time of enrollment. A written
permission form will be maintained in the child’s file. Suspected Child Abuse All staff persons are required to and responsible for
reporting instances of suspected child abuse or neglect to the director and to
the appropriate county officials as specified in Minnesota Statues, Section
626.556. See attached addendum. Emergency Procedures In the case of an emergency we will first call the parents
or the contact persons identified on the emergency card. If the parents or
contact person can not be reached and the nature of the emergency requires
immediate attention, the Doctor or Clinic on your emergency card would be called.
If hospitalization would be advised by the Doctor, the child would be taken to
the local hospital. Transportation would be arranged when the teacher talks
with/to the parent or contact person. If the parents cannot be reached, either
the teacher would transport or the ambulance would be called, if the injury
warranted. The following procedures would be followed for these
specific emergencies: 1. Tornado
– designated place of safety in our building 2. Fire
– emergency shelter (Resurrection Lutheran Church) 3. Blizzard
– children would be sent home with parents 4. Power
failure in the building – if prolonged, the children would be sent home 5. Missing
child – Staff would search the area while the teacher contacts the parents.
Police would be called. 6. Minor
scrapes and scratches – the staff has been trained in first aid to be able to
deal with this sort of emergency. ·
The pre-school also participates in monthly fire drills so the
children are familiar with the procedure to get out of the building quickly. ·
Tornado drills are conducted in September, April and May as well. The Members of the pre-school staff have completed CPR
training as required. Clothing Children’s clothing should be comfortable, washable, and
designed so that they are generally able to manage toileting by themselves. We
will go outside when the weather permits, therefore, sweaters, snowsuits,
raincoats, caps, mittens, and boots should be easy and big enough for the
children to put on by themselves. Please mark each item with the child’s name
clearly for identification, particularly, snow boots, snow pants, sweatshirt
jackets, etc.… Use of Volunteers Parents are encouraged to spend time at the pre-school
helping in a variety of ways. A Parent Volunteer Calendar is available to sign
up to help out. Presence of Pets Pumpkin Patch Pre-School does not at this time have a
resident pet. If at sometime during the year a family wishes to bring in their
pet to visit, arrangements should be made with the staff to set up the best
date and time. In general we find it works best for the parent to stay with
the pet during the entire visit as a safety precaution for the children and the
animal. Birthday Celebrations Each child will be recognized for their Birthday on or
near their day. Children with summer birthdays will be recognized in May.
Pumpkin Patch has some traditions to help make the Birthday child feel
special. A Birthday apple from our Birthday tree will be pinned on the child
and the children will sing Happy Birthday to the child during circle time. Children
are welcome to bring birthday treats or snacks to celebrate but this is
optional. Treats to send home (candy, gum, cereal bars etc.) must
be individually wrapped but do not need to be edible in nature, stickers,
pencils, small trinkets etc. are also fun. If you want to provide snack to
celebrate your child's special day remember to sign up ahead of time and/or
talk with the teachers. Remember snacks must be commercially prepared or
prepared at school. There are generally 30 children/group and 4 teachers. Pumpkin Patch Fees and
Tuition Policies Registration Fee: There is a registration fee
to be paid at the time of registration. This fee along with the registration
form is required to hold an open enrollment slot. The registration fee is not
refundable. Tuition: The tuition fee is a monthly
fee that is based on the number of sessions the child is enrolled for and it is
prorated for the year so the monthly fee is the same each month. Tuition payments are due at
the beginning of the month upon receiving the monthly newsletter which will
serve as a monthly billing reminder. Checks are made payable to:
Pumpkin Patch Pre-school It is our policy to carry an
account a maximum of two months. If the account has not been paid at that time
the child will be dropped from our program unless arrangements are made to
bring the account current. If the child is dropped the past due amount will
still need to be paid. There is no refund for
illness or occasional absences. Credit of one half months tuition can be given
only if the child will be absent for two consecutive weeks with prior
notification of vacation. Withdrawal from the Program: If an early withdrawal of a
child from the program is necessary a one month paid written notice is requested. (For example
if you are moving and the child will be attending until November 15th,
notice would be given by October 15th and all of October tuition and
half of November's would be due.) If a child is removed from
the program in April or May half of the remaining tuition will be
charged as the slot can not be filled so late in the year. Insurance: Pumpkin Patch Pre-school carries Commercial General
Liability Insurance. Holidays and Days School is closed: Thanksgiving Christmas Break Martin Luther King Day Presidents Day Easter Break Work Shop Days Department of Human
Services Licensing Division (651) 296-3971