Table of Contents
Welcome!
The start of school is a big adventure—for your child and for you! From Ladybugs to Crickets to Honeybees, each classroom brings new experiences, friendships, and joyful moments of discovery. This is a time for growing minds and growing hearts—where children begin to build community, learn to express themselves, and develop the social-emotional skills that will carry them through school and life. Whether you’re feeling excited, nervous, or a little bit of both, this guide is here to help make the transition smooth, supportive, and full of wonder.
Leaving Home, One Small Step at a Time
Saying goodbye—whether it’s the first day of preschool or the first day of college—can feel overwhelming. But what if leaving home isn’t one giant leap, but a slow, beautiful process built over time? This thoughtful reflection explores how our children grow into independence not in a single moment, but through years of connection, practice, and love—and how, as parents, we help them hold on by letting go.
Visit our Curriculum page to read more about Attachment and Bonding and view our yearly curriculum.
Start of School Check List
- Update your contact information in Brightwheel
- Backpack
- Snack box or bag
- Water Bottle
- Comfort Kit (new families)
- Emergency Form
- Vaccination & Exemption Records
Requesting updated vaccination and exemption records for enrolled students-for forms and info, visit our Immunization Policy section on our Health and Wellness page. - Spare Clothes (that stay at school)
Backpack
Your child will bring their backpack to and from school daily. Please choose a backpack that won’t be too large or heavy for your child and print their name on it so it is easy to identify.
- Water Bottle: labeled with child’s name
- Snack: No nuts-we are a nut free campus. If you send a sunflower butter snack please let us know it is nut free.
- Outdoor Gear (weather determined): rain suit, hat, gloves/mittens etc.
Please check their backpack after every session, for changing out wet or used clothes, and beautiful art work or news from the class.
Drop-Off and Pick-up
- Drop-off: Enter through the gazebo, wash hands and wait in the courtyard area until the teachers ring the bell. This is time for kids and parents to visit, but please no running, or building up high energy before they go to class.
- Pick-up: Carefully enter the parking lot and back into the your space. Starting at the far end of the lot next to the forest, please take the next available spot without leaving an empty parking space leaving the spot adjacent to the office free for resident use. Wait in the Gazebo for your child to be dismissed from the classroom.
The children will be dismissed one at a time to greet their adult. The children will be excited to walk down the brick path to meet you. They many be exhausted, as they held it together for the whole session. They might greet you with tears, yawning, or an ear to ear grin. The teachers will use this gathering time to share with the group what we did during session today, and might take you aside if they want to talk to you about your child individually. As the year progresses, and you read the news each week and get to know the children in your class, it is a great modelling exercise to comment to the other kids. “I hear you got a new bike!” “Welcome back from your trip to Disneyland!” etc. Modelling interactions with each other and community building.
Running late? It happens sometimes. Please call or text the school at (425) 392-1563 and let us know if you are running late.
Driving in and Out of the school
Parking
Our parking lot has spots for family parking and an open area near the hillside that serves as the driveway for the residence. The residence driveway needs to remain unblocked and is not used for parking.
The parking lot is a busy space at the beginning and end of class and requires back in parking to help keep this area safe.
When you park be sure to:
- back in: we ask you to back into a spot for clearer line of site and smoother exiting.
- resident driveway: it is a safety issue to retain access to the residence by not having unattended cars blocking the space. Please do not park in this area.
Create 2 Lanes Exiting the School- Left and right turn lanes onto Issaquah Hobart Road
When you exit the school, please use width of the driveway to form two lanes, a left turn lane and a right turn lane, creating smoother traffic flow out of the school.
Please be careful in the driveway and parking area. Upon exited your car HOLD HANDS with your child in the parking lot.
Visit our Parking Lot Practices Page for map and more info.
Arrival
Plan to arrive 10-15 minutes prior to the start of class. Being on time allows for an easy flow with their classmates to the start of school. If you come too early, their energy can get wound up in the car seat, as well as their anxiety. Although things happen to make us run late sometimes, habitually late arrival is a disservice to the student, and the flow of the day.
Please be careful in the driveway and parking area. Upon exited your car HOLD HANDS with your child in the parking lot.
Class Schedule:
- Ladybugs-Tuesday and Thursday. 8:15 – 11:15 am
- Crickets-Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:15 – 11:15 am
- Honeybees-Monday-Thursday. 12:15 – 3:15 pm
Name it!
Please write your child’s name on everything! From backpacks, lunch boxes and water bottles to spare clothes and outdoor gear, labeling your child’s items helps prevent confusion over similar items and identifying items left at school.
While we do our best to reach out to classes when we find items that have been left behind, our lost and found is filled with many very nice but unclaimed, unlabeled items.