PROGRAMS, POLICIES and TIPS

Tamalpais Preschool offers preschool and pre-kindergarten programs, based on the child's age and level of development. The programs are designed to enhance a child's social, emotional, cognitive, physical and creative development. Each child is given many varied opportunities for learning through a play-based curriculum. The daily projects are tailored to the interests of the children and evolve from teachers' observations of topics suggested by the children's spontaneous play.

Tamalpais school hours are 9:00 am to 1:00pm, with optional Early Morning Child Care available from 8:30 to 9:00am, and Afternoon Enrichment Activities offered from 1:00 to 5:00pm.

Three-year-old children attend our Two-Day Program on Tuesday and Thursday. Four-year-old children attend our Three-Day Program on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tamalpais Preschool generally follows the local public school calendar, beginning school in early September and ending in the beginning of June. Optional summer programs are offered during June and July. Children approaching their fifth birthday may attend our Five-Day Pre-Kindergarten class.

Preschool Program

The preschool classroom is a spacious playroom, divided into three learning areas, with a large outdoor yard and garden. The indoor space includes an Art Room for creative and artistic expression, the Library Room with a large collection of children's books, puzzles, learning tasks and games, science experiments and writing materials, and the Block Room with building blocks, dramatic play props, dress-up costumes and small building toys. The playground features a large climbing structure, tire swing, sandbox, bike path, playhouse, outdoor musical instruments and a children's garden.

Forty children are enrolled in each class, with a team of five teachers.

Pre-Kindergarten Program

The Pre-K is housed in two classrooms, giving the children experiences with art, music and movement, mathematics, science, writing and language development. The Pre-K has two outside playgrounds, which include a climbing structure, sandbox, basketball hoop, art area and garden.

The Pre-K is a Five-Day program with 23 students and three teachers. Our Pre-K program has been designed for children old enough to attend Kindergarten, and whose families feel an additional year in preschool would be beneficial for the child.

Enrollment in the program is determined by birthday order of currently enrolled students, and may have spaces for newly enrolled children.

Children from the Pre-K may also join our Early Morning Child Care and Afternoon Enrichment Programs.

Lunch & Nutritious Snacks

Daily snacks are provided in the morning and in the afternoon. Snack may include crackers, cereal, vegetables, or fruit and a beverage, and an occasional birthday treat.

Children who stay for lunch, bring their own lunches to school in a lunch box or sack. Nutritious lunches give children energy and begin a lifetime habit of healthy eating. Pediatricians advise parents to avoid foods that may cause a child to choke, such as popcorn, nuts of all kinds, uncooked celery, carrots and hot dogs. Please no candy or drinks in cans or bottles.

Due to a few severe peanut allergies among our students, Tamalpais Preschool is a "nut free" school and we do not allow any peanuts or peanut products in our school. Please avoid peanut butter (a safer alternative is sunflower butter or soy butter) and peanut oil products in lunches or treats brought to school for any occasion.

Toilet Training

Children who attend Tamalpais Preschool must be toilet trained. We understand that occasional "accidents" happen and are to be expected, especially when children are adjusting to a new school setting. We have extra clothes for this contingency. Should a child be continually wetting or soiling him/herself, staff will ask the parents to withdrawal their child until toilet training is fully accomplished.

Tips to help ease your child's adjustment to the new and exciting experience of preschool: 

• Plan enough time for your child to dress and have a good breakfast.  Try to avoid a "last minute rush" by having lunches prepared, sweaters ready, car keys in place, etc.  It is best for your child to arrive at school feeling relaxed.
• Dress your child appropriately for school.  Growing and learning are a messy business, and dressy, restrictive clothes interfere with a child's freedom to explore new things.
• Bring your child to school on time.  It may be difficult for a child (who is just learning social skills) to come into the program after everyone else is busy at work.
• Our Early Morning Child Care from 8:30 to 9:00am is often a quieter, more relaxed time for a reticent child to begin school.  Parents may stay for a short while and help their child get involved in activities before the "big day" begins.
• Arrive on time to pick up your child from school.  It may be upsetting for a child to be the "last one" at school when everyone else has gone home or when your expected time of arrival has passed.  (A child may feel abandoned and afraid, and may refuse to come to school for awhile after such an experience.)
• Please be considerate of everyone by keeping your child home when not feeling well.  A child with a cold, cough, or mild intestinal upset does not have fun at school... and it is unfair to risk infecting other children.