Parent Handbook

Enrollment Process

Before the start of the school year, Lil' Guppies Preschool must have the following forms on file:

• Registration Form
• $150 Registration Fee
• Copy of child's immunization record (must be current and up to date)
• Financial Agreement
• Photo release forms
• Medication Consent and information sheet (if applicable)
• Policy Handbook signature page

Once all of the forms are completed and reviewed, they will be safely kept in your child's confidential file.

Attendance

If you find you are struggling with your child's desire to go to school, please set up a time to speak with me about the situation. It is important for me to know and I may also have some helpful suggestions to assist with the process. Please understand that you are paying to reserve your child's spot at Lil Guppies Preschool, and that full tuition is expected whether or not your child attends.

Tuition Information

Tuition is due on the 1st of every month, or the next school day if the 1st falls on a non-school day. The first tuition payment is due on the first day of school, September 2, 2026. Tuition must be paid by the 5th of each month or there will be a $25 late fee. Payment is accepted through Apple Pay, Venmo, cash, or check.

Three day per week classes:

Tuesday through Thursday 8:00 am - 11:00 am

$200 per month

Checks should be made payable to Alexis Schatz or Lil' Guppies Preschool. If a check is returned by the bank for insufficient funds, there will be a $35.00 Returned Check Fee, plus any bank charges incurred by the provider. In addition, all future payments would need to be made in cash. Non-payment or late payments may result in the permanent termination of your child's enrollment in preschool. If payment is not received by the 15th of the month, a two-week notice of termination will be issued.

There is an annual non-refundable Curriculum Registration fee of $150.00 to help pay for insurance, curriculum, assessment materials, arts and craft supplies. This is due at the time of registration.

Withdrawal Policy

A two-week written notice is required if you choose to withdraw your child from Lil' Guppies Preschool. Tuition remains due during the two-week notice period whether or not your child attends. The registration fee is non-refundable.

Lil' Guppies Preschool reserves the right to terminate enrollment at any time due to non-payment, repeated policy violations, disruptive behavior, or if the program is not a good fit for the child or family.

Hours of Operation

Please try not to bring your child too early, as I do have to prepare for the day. Drop off should be no earlier than 7:50 AM unless you have made prior arrangements with me.

Lil Guppies Preschool's first day of school will be Tuesday, September 2, 2026. The last day of school will be Thursday, June 17, 2027. If there is an emergency and the school needs to close on a day that is not due to weather, I will contact parents as soon as possible to notify you of the school closure. Updates will be sent through our class Remind app or via text for Ms. Aly. Please understand that I will do everything I can to prevent an emergency school day closure. If there is a time I am sick and cannot be in class I will notify parents as soon as possible and we will have a makeup day. There may be times where school will be closed for personal leave. If more than three days are missed, there will be a prorated tuition for that month.

Please have your child at school on time. If they will be more than 10 minutes late, please let me know; If they are more than 20 minutes late, please keep them home. We have a short amount of time each school day, and interruptions can take time away from our class activities. If you are late picking up your child more than two days in one week, a $5 fee will be added to your next month's tuition. Prior arrangements must be made in advance to avoid late fees.

If the Kiona-Benton school district is closed for holidays that fall on scheduled school days, Lil' Guppies Preschool will be closed. For days that the school district will be operating under a 2 hour delay that falls on a scheduled preschool day, Lil' Guppies will be closed for that day as well. Please note that all preschool days that are missed because of weather closures and delays will be made up at the end of the year, or on non-school days.

After School Operation Hours

On scheduled school days you can contact me by phone, text, or email. If you need to schedule a meeting with me for any discussion of your child's development, or for any other reason concerning the preschool, I can do so by appointment before or after school on scheduled school days. Please understand that a scheduled appointment will have to be made for any questions or concerns you may have. This is both to maintain you and your child's confidentiality, and to respect the limited classroom time given to other students.

Typical Schedule

The preschool schedule will be a consistent, organized routine for preschool students. They will be taught recognition and pronunciation of their names, letters, numbers, shapes, days of the week, and calendar months. This will be done every morning together in a large group as part of our routine group instruction. After our group routine we will be breaking out into smaller groups, taking turns working on daily activities and focusing on specific skills.

The class will focus on a specific letter and number for 1-2 weeks at a time, in order to improve each child's phonetic sound, literacy, and motor skills. Each month, we will have different themes that will be incorporated into the daily activities during our small group time. These monthly themes include Animals, Camping, Dinosaurs, Community Helpers, and many more.

After we complete our large and small group routines, we will have a social time. Social time will include in-classroom playtime, art projects, and snack time. We will also have outside playtime in place of indoor classroom playtime on some days, weather permitting.

Snack Schedule

Class members will take turns bringing a healthy snack to share for the class. We will have access to kitchen facilities if you choose to bring a snack that you would like me to heat up for you. The snacks simply need to be something easy and healthy. Please do not send cupcakes or other sweet treats unless it is your child's birthday. I will send home a monthly snack schedule with your child's snack day, if the day you're assigned doesn't work for you please let me know and we can pick another day.

Screen Time Policy

At Lil' Guppies Preschool, screen time is limited and used intentionally to enhance learning. During snack time, a short educational program may be played. We typically choose age-appropriate content from PBS Kids or other educational children's programming.

The television is also occasionally used as a learning tool for interactive songs (such as days of the week, months of the year, letter sounds, and movement songs) and for guided activities like children's yoga. These activities support movement, listening skills, and classroom engagement.

Screen time is not used as regular entertainment and is always supervised. The majority of our preschool day is hands-on, play-based, and focused on active learning experiences.

Health and Wellness Policy

Lil' Guppies Preschool will not care for a child who has a fever, is vomiting, has diarrhea, a sore throat, draining eyes, draining ears, unexplained rash, ringworm, severe coughing, severe sneezing, persistent thick nasal discharge accompanied by other symptoms, lice, or shows signs of a communicable disease (chicken pox, mumps, measles, influenza, conjunctivitis, etc.). Please keep your child home if he/she is ill in any of these forms. Should any child become ill during the day with any of these listed symptoms, the parents will be asked to pick up their child from Lil' Guppies Preschool promptly. In this case, parents are required to pick up their child within one hour of being called by the teacher. Please notify me if your child has been exposed to a contagious disease, as this helps to protect both your child and the other children at the preschool. If your child has been exposed to a communicable disease while at school I will notify you as soon as I am notified. Any child who has seen a physician and has been prescribed any antibiotics for an illness (contagious or not) will not be permitted to attend preschool until the child has been on medication for 24 hours. This rule is in place to protect your child in the case there is any adverse reaction to the medication prescribed.

Children may return to school when they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, and they have been free from vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours, and they feel well enough to participate in normal preschool activities.

Lil' Guppies Preschool reserves the right to request a note from your child's physician stating the child is released to return to school.

Medication Administration Policy

I will not administer OTC medications. If your child has a medical condition such as asthma and needs to have an inhaler for use at school, you may meet with me on how I may help assist your child in the use of their prescribed medication. All medication needs to be given to the teacher so it can be locked away to ensure the safety of other students. It will be readily available for your child's needs. I will do everything I can to set up a plan with you and your child to help ease any medical conditions while in my care. Please note, however, that in this case there will be additional required paperwork signed by myself and the parent/guardian.

If your child has life-threatening allergies to foods I need to be aware of this prior to the first day of school, so we can accommodate your child's needs and also let volunteers and other parents know that these foods aren't allowed at the school. Please understand that your child's personal information is confidential and will not be shared with anyone other than staff members; however, I would need to send a letter to other parents to notify them of the food allergy. Your child's name will not be in the letter.

Children who have allergies to bees or any other allergy that requires your child to keep an EpiPen (Epinephrine Auto-Injector) will also require a special medical plan, so we know exactly what to do in case of an emergency. Please let me know as soon as possible so I can set up a private meeting with you and your child/children.

Fire Safety and Evacuation

Lil' Guppies Preschool takes fire safety and emergency preparedness very seriously. In the event of an emergency requiring evacuation, children will exit through the ground-level back door and relocate to the designated safe meeting area in the parking lot adjacent to the playground, a safe distance away from the building.

Parents will be notified as soon as possible via phone call, text message, or the Remind app. Children will remain supervised at all times until they are safely reunited with a parent or authorized emergency contact.

Emergency contact information must be kept current at all times. Each child must have at least two emergency contacts on file.

Immunization Information

Lil' Guppies Preschool is required to have a copy of your child's up-to-date immunization record on file. This information will be kept confidential. Please include this information with your enrollment packet.

Disciplinary Policy

At Lil' Guppies Preschool we believe that the best practice for behavior management is to promote and praise positive behavior. Therefore I will praise, reward, and model expected behavior as often as possible. However, there will be times that I will need to redirect negative behavior. At first, redirecting will be used, and then if necessary the child will be directed to a refocusing area in the classroom that is within sight of the teacher(s) at all times. No longer than one minute per year of the child's age will be given to refocusing time. After the child's minutes are up, I will high five, handshake, or hug the child for accepting their refocusing time to promote positivity. The child will then be encouraged not to repeat the negative behavior. Please try to see that your child gets enough sleep on school nights so they have the advantage of not having tiredness get in the way of their school day.

If your child needs to be redirected multiple times, I will contact you to take him/her home for the day. If your child bites or hits, they will need to be picked up immediately. If the child bites or hits again, they will need to stay home for a day before trying again.

Conferences

I welcome the chance to discuss any questions or concerns. Please understand that the sign-in and sign-out times are quite busy and may not be the best time to discuss an in-depth issue regarding your child or a concern you may have with the school. Parents are more than welcome to call during non-school hours to set up a meeting or phone conference. Please understand that I strive to keep confidentiality with all students and parents, and a discussion in the hall is not a confidential setting. There will be an informal meet and greet conference with me during registration to address any concerns or questions you or I may have. Do not hesitate to call or text me! If you are anxious and want to send a quick text message to see how your child is doing please feel free to do so; However, understand that I will be busy teaching the class so I may not get back to you right away. I am always open to any questions or concerns you may have regarding your child.

Open Door Policy

I ask that you drop your child off at the preschool door, as we want to make sure we get started with our entry task without interruption. If you feel your child is having a bad day, you can sit in the hallway (or elsewhere) to talk or hang out before going into the classroom. I will never let a child cry for excessive periods of time, but I may allow a few minutes for them to self-regulate while being comforted and supported. If you feel like he/she may be too upset, feel free to hang around outside of the classroom until they calm down. I will make sure that there are plenty of events to which parents will be invited.

Personal Belongings

Please do not send toys or personal items from home unless it is a designated sharing day. Items brought from home can become a distraction in the classroom and may cause unnecessary conflict among students.

Lil' Guppies Preschool is not responsible for lost, broken, or damaged personal belongings.

Clothing / Supplies

Your child will engage in many activities here at Lil' Guppies Preschool, and some may be messy. While we will attempt to keep their clothes from becoming soiled it may not always be possible to prevent all stains. Please send your child to school in "play clothes" that you don't mind becoming stained. In addition, we will have outside time on most days so please ensure your child is dressed for the weather, including a coat, hat, gloves, etc., if necessary. Also, have 3-4 diapers in their backpack in case of an accident.

Toileting

If your child is not fully potty-trained, please provide an extra set of clothing or have your child come in pull-ups. We do not change diapers or assist with toileting except to assist with clothing needs (buttons or snaps) if necessary. Accidents do happen on occasion, even with fully potty-trained children. If your child has an accident you will be notified to come and take them home so he/she may bathe and be cleaned up. You are welcome and encouraged to leave an extra set of clothing for your child to change into while they wait for your arrival.

Sign In / Sign Out Policy

Each day when your child arrives please sign him/her into the provided log book. When leaving, please sign your child out as well in the provided log book. Only persons authorized on the Registration Form or those with written notice from the parent will be permitted to sign your child out. Please notify the person authorized to pick up your child that they may be required to show a government issued photo ID, or they will not be permitted to leave with your child.

Mandatory Reporting Policy

As educators, any member at Lil' Guppies Preschool is a mandated reporter, and required by law to report to authorities any suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. For more information please refer to chapter 26.44 of the Washington RCW.

Field Trip / Transportation Information

Field trips are fun and valuable learning experiences for children. When a field trip is planned, parents will be notified at least one week prior to the trip. Parents will need to complete and return a field trip permission form or your child will be unable to participate. If we do have a field trip and you choose to have your child not participate you will be required to find alternate arrangements for the time we are gone.