Parents

Our goal is for your children to have lots of successes, feel good about themselves, interact with other children, and enjoy coming to school for their first experience. There are concepts discussed like colors, shapes, nursery rhymes, seasons, etc., but our primary mission is social and emotional development! Sunshine teachers design curriculum based on the world around us and emerging interests among the classmates, with learning infused as we play, learn and grow together. We spend a lot of time outdoors and exploring nature is an essential part of every classroom experience.

In our Yellow and Blue Room classes the ratio is no more than nine children to two teachers. In the Green and Orange Rooms the ratio is no more than 15 children with two teachers.

During the regular day, the children share a snack. These usually consist of simple crackers and water. Lunch, which is brought from home, is eaten in all classrooms between 11:30-12:30.

• Early drop off begins at 7:45 (extra fee)
• Pre-K: 8:30 -1pm
• 4 year olds: 8:45-12:30pm
• Threes: 9-12:30pm
• “Stay and Play” from the end of regular day until 3pm or 4pm (extra fee)

Sunshine is a part time program -10 months per year, and roughly follows the Arlington public school calendar. See “Annual Calendar of Events” for details for this year. We offer a fun and active summer camp program and families may sign up for two, four, or six weeks.

See Enrollment and scroll to the bottom of the page for our tuition schedule.

In addition to the creative lessons children have in class, Sunshine has also contracted with specialists who provide Creative Movement, music with Jammin' with You, Yoga with Miss Jana, Nature Specialists, Animal Craze and more. See Enrichment for more information.

We often enroll children in Sunshine who speak a language other than English and it is a pleasure to work with them as they quickly learn English by playing and interacting with other children and adults.

Sunshine welcomes special needs children whose individual needs can be met within our regular classes. We strive to provide appropriate environments and opportunities for all students. Please call the director to discuss your situation.

Sunshine sponsors several events each year so that families can get better acquainted. There are playground playdates, school picnics, pizza parties and other gatherings. Additionally, families may be asked to help with with a social event or a school project, which offers a wonderful opportunity to get to know one another and help the school.

Sunshine’s semi-cooperative program allows parents the opportunity to help in the classroom a few times per year and help with a fund-raising or school improvement (i.e., playground clean up) activity. These are very flexible, and are meant to be an opportunity not a requirement. We love having family members in the classrooms! Our school is rooted in a cooperative model, and while Sunshine no longer has requirements for parent participation, we honor the importance of the home-school connection to support a child's development and encourage as much family involvement as possible.

When a child is enrolled in the school, he or she is expected to remain for the full year. If a child withdraws, the Board of Directors will decie whether there should be a refund of tuition. We ask families to communicate with the Director if you find you need to withdraw from the school for any reason. We will make every effort to fill your child's spot.

Yes! Sunshine in Summer offers a fun, active outdoor program for children ages 2.6 to 6. Each one-week session is filled with a variety of exciting activities that the children and teachers enjoy together. The summer schedule and registration is available each March. The program is limited to students who are attending Sunshine the fall after the summer session OR Sunshine graduates starting kindergarten.

The Director will inform the SNS community of cancellations due to snow via email and our parent communication tools. Sunshine Nursery School’s snow-day policy is usually aligned with the Arlington Public School’s decision. If school is cancelled in Arlington due to weather, it is likely that there will be no school at Sunshine. Rest assured that the director will communicate cancellations to the community as early as possible.