ORIENTATION OF NEW FAMILIES

When a new family is enrolled at the Moss Street Children’s Center, the Mentor Teacher for the child’s age group will contact the family to set up an orientation at the Center. Opportunities for the parent and child to meet other classroom teachers and to spend more time in the classroom can also be scheduled. The initial orientation is the best time for parents to raise questions they may have about the program, about their child starting care, or daily routines.

Once children begin care, additional questions sometimes arise. Because teachers are engaged with children, pick-up and drop-off times may not be the best time for a complete conversation. Parents can let the teacher know they would like to talk and the teacher will strive to find a mutually acceptable time to talk without interruption.

TRANSITION OF CHILDREN

We encourage the parents of new children to provide a supportive transition into our child care at a rate tailored to their child's needs. The success of this transition sets the stage for that child's comfort and ability to adjust to the demands of our environment.

Prior to children moving to a new age group, an orientation for parents and visits to the new classroom for children will be scheduled.

VISITING

 Parents are welcome to visit their children attending Moss Street at any time.

Talking with teachers : Because teachers are busy leading groups of children, they may not be available to talk at drop off and pick up times. Scheduled meetings with teachers are generally more helpful than dropping in to talk. Brief check-ins at drop off or pick up are a good way to share information about how children are doing each day.

Parent visits : Families with young babies are encouraged to visit in order to feed them or otherwise meet their baby’s needs. With all ages, parents are welcome at anytime, however, it is important to be aware that parental visits can be disruptive to classroom routines or to children’s participation in classroom activities. Some children have difficulty saying goodbye to their parent. To ensure that parent participation contributes to a positive classroom environment, teachers will communicate with parents about how visits may be affecting the classroom as a group or their child in particular. In general, the best times for visiting a program are prior to 11:30AM or between 3:00 and 5:30PM.