FAQ

Any more questions? Contact us and we’ll be happy to help. We would love to hear from you.

Logistics/Expectations

Registration for the upcoming school year begins in February for CUMC and Messy Church families, as well as returning students.

New student registration begins February 15.

The registration packet is available here

If you would like to register your child for the current year, registration is open as long as there is space available in the class. Please contact us for more information.

Absolutely. We encourage you to visit the school, take a tour, and see our classes in action. Please contact us to set up a good time for a visit. 

Your child will be experiencing many new activities and you might see some different behaviors. All are normal behaviors.

Your child may become overly tired and irritable on preschool days. This may cause him or her to be overactive and noisy. This new experience is very stimulating.

Your normally outgoing child may be very quiet at school or vice versa. Accept this and let him or her enter at his or her own pace. Many young children prefer to watch first before entering play or a group.

Your child may do things at home for him or herself that they will not do at school or vice versa, like dressing self or cleaning up.

Your child will not necessarily ‘play together’ with other children. He or she may play alone or along-side others, and may quickly go from one activity to another, spending little time with any.

Your child may very likely come home dirty, but they will have had fun and grown through their experiences. Please don’t scold, threaten or bribe them to stay clean. Send them in play clothes.

Don’t expect your child to be equally happy everyday. We all have ups and downs. Part of preschool is learning about life and accepting the challenges and successes they experience.

Do not always expect your child to learn facts or complete songs, or bring home a finished product suitable for framing. He or she is learning skills, increasing coordination and developing happy, well-adjusted attitudes towards others and life.

 We utilize ClassTag to keep parents informed. Teachers post curriculum at least monthly, and most post pictures of activities weekly. You can also find snack schedules on ClassTag. The preschool director will contact you via email for overall school news. The news is often also posted on boards visible during drop-off and pick-up. 

Your child should arrive between 8:30 and 8:45 in the morning (unless you are participating in Early Drop-Off). You may drop off your child at the door of their classroom. We encourage separations to be loving, but quick so that the child can begin their day successfully. 

CUMC Preschool accepts payment via check or cash. You are welcome to pay the entire year up front, or tuition is split into 10 equal payments paid on the first every month. If tuition is not received by the 8th of the month, a late fee may be assessed.

An online payment option will be available prior to the 2022-23 school year.

A mid-session snack is served. We ask each family to provide a nutritious snack and a drink for the whole class (usually 12 children) typically averaging once every four to six weeks. The teacher will discuss snack and your child’s snack days with you at orientation. You will be given a snack information sheet that includes information on any allergies that need to be considered. Nutritious snacks are highly encouraged – fresh is best! Please avoid foods containing large amounts of sugar, salt or excessive food additives and preservatives.

Clothes for preschool need to be comfortable and sturdy for active, messy play, yet simple to take off/put on when using the restroom. To foster independence, we recommend clothing that allows for easy manipulation. Elastic waist pants and shorts work best. Remember to label everything that can come off your child and to send a change of clothes in their bucket daily.

We do not serve lunch within our traditional day. We do offer Lunch Bunch for children to stay an hour after school and eat lunch together. You must provide a lunch for Lunch Bunch and sign up ahead of time. There is a fee for this program. 

Health and Safety

The State Department of Health requires that we have a clear indication of each child’s immunizations prior to the start of school. The State of California requires a licensed physician’s certificate of good health and evidence of immunization for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus (DTP), polio, mumps, measles, rubella, HIB, hepatitis B and varicella (chickenpox).

Children first enrolled in an early education setting experience high rates of illness. Research shows that those children will acquire a strengthened immune system and experience less illness throughout the elementary school years as opposed to children who did not attend preschool. CUMC Preschool promotes a healthy environment and works to prevent the spread of illness and disease in several ways:

  • Staff and children wash hands throughout the day, especially before handling food, eating and after using the bathroom. 
  • Staff is trained in Preventative Health Practices and implement Universal Precautions as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
  • Classrooms, toys and equipment are regularly cleaned and disinfected. 
  • Children with communicable diseases or illness are excluded from the Center. In the event that any one of the following occurs, we ask that you keep your child at home:
    • A rash of any kind until diagnosed, treated or declared harmless by physician 
    • Early colds (coughing and sneezing), very bad colds with purulent discharge 
    • Difficulty breathing, respiratory illnesses 
    • Lethargy, persistent crying and/or irritability 
    • Diarrhea or vomiting within 24 hours before attending the Center
    • Red, runny or matting eyes – symptoms of pink eye (conjunctivitis) – please call your doctor 
    • Bronchitis – (if your child is coughing frequently) 
    • Head Lice – hair must be free of live lice and most dead nits (eggs). The child will be checked by trained staff upon his or her return 
    • A temperature of 100 F (or more) or any fever accompanied by:
      • A deep cough
      • Earache or draining ear 
      • Spasms of cough 
      • Sore throat

We are a preschool for “Healthy” children. A child who is not well does not benefit from our program and can adversely affect the health of the other children. If you have any doubts about your child’s health, please keep your child home and contact the child’s health care provider. In the event your child becomes sick while at Preschool, you will be promptly notified. We expect that you will come to the Preschool as quickly as possible to take your child home. There will be no deduction/reductions of tuition or trading of days due to a child becoming ill and missing any part of his or her regularly scheduled attendance.

CUMC Preschool will provide incidental medical services to children enrolled at the Preschool providing we can meet the child’s needs at the time of admission and throughout the child’s attendance at CUMC. Types of incidental medical services that may be provided include: Administering Inhaled Medication; EpiPen JR. and EpiPen; and any other incidental medical services contingent upon approval from the Department of Social Services – Community Care Licensing. Incidental medical services may be provided only when the child’s parent or authorized representative (any person or entity authorized by law to act on behalf of any child such as, but not limited to, a minor’s parent, a legal guardian, a conservator or a public placement agency), has provided written authorization and obtained written instructions from the child’s physician.

Each session you are required by law to sign your child in and out and indicate the time of day. The State of California requires a complete signature. You must leave the following information each time: a phone number where you can be reached and who will pick up at the end of the session. If it is someone not designated on your child’s office record, you must complete a short form giving permission for your child to be removed from school. If the staff is unfamiliar with the person, he/she will be asked to provide photo identification. It may be necessary to verify with the office that they are authorized to remove your child. Children will be released to either parent, unless you provide a copy of a court ordered Restraining Order. 

Your child may have a rough separation from you at the beginning. There may be tears. From our experience, the crying will soon stop and they will be on to playing in the classroom. When you leave, tell your child you love them, and assure them they are safe and you will see them when school is over. We recommend you leave quickly and rest assured we can handle the crying… it usually doesn’t last long. For transitions and promotions, too, we create a plan that’s tailored to their personality traits.

While we request that kids be potty trained before starting school, we realize it is not developmentally realistic that all children will be.  We expect accidents.  We suggest children who are still toilet learning send in extra pull-ups and a change of clothes in their bucket, and we will take care of accidents.

Due to our short instructional day for most students 8:45-11:45, we do not offer scheduled nap time. We encourage students to come to school well-rested and ready to learn. 

Please inform us if your child has an allergy, particularly one requiring immediate medical intervention. We will work with you to ensure your child is well taken care of and accommodated. 

For food allergies, we will inform all classroom parents, provide recommendations for allergen free snacks, and request all snacks be allergen free in that classroom. To be safe, we may also request that you provide your child their own snack, rather than partake in the classroom snack.  

Instruction

12:1. The larger classes will also typically have an aide in classroom to support for all or part of the day. 

Our play-based program recognizes each child’s individual needs. Our experienced and caring teachers are dedicated to helping children reach their potential across all areas of development. Community United Methodist Church Preschool emphasizes a God of love and supports the individual’s choice of religion. We strive to meet the 5 needs of all children regardless of race, color, gender preference and national or ethnic origin.

Each day, the children will spend at least one hour outside in Laird Park. Oftentimes, they will spend additional time outside based on the teacher’s curriculum for that day. 

While we firmly believe in learning through play, we are not a daycare center. Each day, teachers have interactive curriculum to involve the children, as well as support them with materials, ideas, and suggestions throughout their free-play time. 

Children will not be expected to complete worksheet-based homework.  Children will sometimes be offered an opportunity to prepare to show and tell something from home, or participate in an art-based project at home. 

We will consistently work on language development and pre-reading skills. For some students this translates into reading, and for many others it does not at the preschool level. Regardless, our curriculum prepares children to excel in language arts upon entering kindergarten and beyond. 

COVID-19

Masks are no longer required. Your child is welcome to continue to wear a mask if they feel more comfortable doing so.  

Toys, tables, chairs and touchable surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected daily.

We are separating classrooms by pods this year in order to minimize contact between classes. Within the classroom, all are masked. Hand washing is encouraged often, including upon entering the classroom, after outdoor time, and prior to handling food. 

If your child has symptoms of COVID-19, please keep them home. If they test positive or are in close contact with someone who tests positive, they will need to quarantine for ten days and present a negative test prior to returning to school. 

Supporting Our School

You can donate online via the CUMC church website. Please indicate that your donation is for the preschool in the Comments section after selecting Other (specify below).

You are also welcome to mail or bring a check to the office.
You can support our preschool while shopping on Amazon. Simply use this link to access Amazon and shop as usual! Our school will get a portion of every eligible sale. You can also use the Amazon icon at the bottom of our website.

If you use the Amazon App on your phone, make sure you have AmazonSmile turned on for phone purchases. by navigating to AmazonSmile in the Settings menu (all the way at the bottom), and toggle AmazonSmile on.