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At
TOT DROP, we are very focused on being responsive to the
needs of our customers. While we have listed the most commonly
asked questions below, we are pleased to answer any additional
questions you might have.
Click
here for information on How to Contact TOT DROP
We
understand what a big decision it is to place your child
in our care and want you to be comfortable trusting us as
thousands of families have trusted us for over a decade.
Click
here to read what TOT DROP Mommies and Daddies say
about our program.
| Q: |
What is TOT DROP? |
| A: |
TOT
DROP is a program with preschool curriculum for for children
ages 1-5 years old. At our school, children explore with
developmentally appropriate
activities, art materials and toys.
What makes TOT DROP unique is that we allow the parents
to schedule their child's
class time instead of predetermining days and times. |
| Q: |
How
is TOT DROP different from daycare programs? |
| A: |
TOT
DROP is a recreation program where children attend
for a maximum of 12 hours per week. It's a place for children
to socialize with their peers, as they participate in
educational activities, grow socially and gain new skills
and independence. Parents must be able and willing to pick
up their child
if their
child becomes unhappy or ill. If a child is having a rough
time being away from home and from you, we'll do everything
we can to distract, comfort, entertain, etc., but if what
they really need is to go home, we'll never let them just
cry. We'll call you and have you come to finish their appointment
together or to pick them up early. |
| Q: |
Is
TOT DROP babysitting? |
| A: |
The
only similarity is that like babysitting, you determine
when your child is with us. TOT DROP is a developmental
program for preschoolers, designed by a professional educator,
with a rich environment and a variety of activities.
TOT DROP is so
much more than
babysitting! |
| Q: |
How
is TOT DROP different from traditional preschools? |
| A: |
TOT
DROP has a similar curriculum to other preschools.
The main difference is that your child attends by appointment
rather than on a regimented weekly schedule. The benefit
of this system is that it allows parents to create and
change their child's schedule to match the parent's schedule
and the parent's budget while designing a schedule that
best fits the needs of their child. |
| Q: |
What
is the TOT DROP teaching / educational philosophy? |
| A: |
TOT
DROP is designed with the ideas which are used in
designing all developmental preschools. The children are
provided with many and varied educational activities. Children
are allowed to choose to play independently,
in small groups
or with a teacher. Not all the activities will appeal to
all of the children. The activities are changed often to
address different children's interests and learning styles.
Different children approach the same set up differently
and all ways are accepted and applauded. Children at different
levels of development benefit and learn from watching,
copying and/or leading others. This is a fundamental idea
behind grouping children of a broad age range. |
| Q: |
Do
the teachers direct the children's activities? |
| A: |
At
TOT DROP and In a developmental preschool, strictly speaking,
a teacher does NOT direct most activities.
Instead, a teacher participates in the activity herself
and thus draws the children to the
activity, assists them, praises them, and talks
with the kids about what they are doing. In so doing,
the teacher provides
the children with the language development and vocabulary
acquisition that go along with each activity. |
| Q: |
What
is the benefit of having a multi-age program for preschoolers? |
| A: |
One
benefit of a multi-age program is that children
can learn from
each other and explore different roles. Equally important,
siblings can attend TOT DROP together. This
is both convenient for you and supportive for them. |
| Q: |
How
do I set up an appointment? |
| A: |
Getting
Started at TOT DROP is easy. You just call
us like you would call to set up an appointment to
get your haircut. You can set up TOT DROP appointments
occasionally as needed or better yet set up an on-going
weekly schedule. By coming regularly, your child increases
their attachment to teachers and to their budding friendships,
grows in independence and derives the greatest social
benefit.
Whether
you choose to schedule appointments occasionally or on-going,
call and tell us the date you need and the arrival and
departure times. For example: "This is SAY
YOUR NAME, and I'd like to bring SAY
THE NAME OF YOUR CHILD,
who is age SAY THE AGE
OF YOUR CHILD, on SAY
THE DATE AND TIME". Then be sure
to say your phone number slowly and clearly,
so we can call you back to answer your questions and
to confirm your reservation. |
| Q: |
After
I call to request an appointment, how soon will I get a
confirmation? |
| A: |
We
call you back on the same day that you record your request
to let you know
if we have space for your child. |
| Q: |
Is
there a minimum amount of time that I can leave my child? |
| A: |
The
minimum reservation is one hour. We set appointments in
15 minute
increments, so you can make your child's
schedule match your plans. More importantly, this flexibility
is offered so that
we book only the amount of time that your
child can be successfully separated from you. For instance,
if your child usually naps
at home at about 11:30 am, we would
like them
to
be picked up before they become too tired
to be successful, say by 11:00 am. |
| Q: |
Is
there a maximum amount of time that my child can attend
TOT DROP? |
| A: |
The
maximum amount of time a child can attend is 12 hours
per week. |
| Q: |
What
is the best plan for scheduling appointments? |
| A: |
The
best way is to set up an ongoing weekly schedule. That
way your child gets to know the staff and the other children
who come regularly. This method has the optimum social
benefit for the child. Also, you can then look forward
to and anticipate a weekly break.
Or
you can call intermittently and just attend occasionally.
For some kids this is hard because each time is like
a first time. |
| Q: |
How
far ahead do I need to call to schedule appointments? |
| A: |
It
is best to call about a week ahead. However, you can often
get a last minute
appointment as we let families
cancel
without charge and often
have last minute openings. If you request
a day that is full, we will
put you on our waiting list and call you if another family
cancels, thus making a spot
available for
you after all. |
| Q: |
What
do I need to do if I need to cancel an appointment? Will
I be charged? |
| A: |
If,
for any reason, you can't make an appointment, just call
and cancel BEFORE your appointment begins and you won't
be charged. If you don't show up and have forgotten that
courtesy call to us to cancel, we're going to figure that
you're just running late (a diaper, a lost shoe, the phone,
etc.) and we're going to hold your spot for you. We hold
your spot for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, we'll try to
give your spot away to another family who is on our waiting
list for that day. However, uncancelled spots often go
unfilled. So, if you forget to call to cancel or cancel
after your appointment has already begun, you must pay
the full cost of your missed appointment.
Canceling is not just a courtesy. It is fundamental
to our being able to offer our unique method of flexible
scheduling. |
| Q: |
What
do you recommend for a child that has trouble separating
from a parent? |
| A: |
If
you think your child might have a rough time separating,
we recommend starting with frequent (2+ times per week),
short appointments (say an hour) where a parent plans
to stay for part or all of the time. If your child is
happy and involved, you can try leaving; give them a
kiss and tell them you'll be right back. Please do not
sneak out. Stay close (bring a book to read in the lobby)
so
that we can call you back into the room if it's too difficult
for your child, but give us a chance to get them settled
and give them a chance to get calm.
We
really want this to be successful, for your child and
for you, so we'll just take it slowly and work together,
listening to your child and taking our clues from them.
We want the child to practice liking TOT DROP and
build on positive experiences. For children struggling
with separation, it is best if they no longer feel that
the teachers are "strangers" before they attempt
to attend alone.
Bring
special blankie, pacifiers, special dolly, etc! We
want your child to have access to all of their comfort
items. |
| Q: |
Do
I have to pay for appointments when I attend with my child? |
| A: |
Yes.
Your child will be participating in the program, occupying
one of
the limited spaces and as
a child who is taking their first steps toward independence,
they will be the focus of our efforts.
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| Q: |
Is
there anything special I should bring
with me for the first first appointment? |
| A: |
Your
first morning, we'll be asking you to fill out an emergency
form,
so you'll need to bring along
the names and numbers of people you're going to authorize
to pick up your child. Just in case
they
ever get sick when they're
with us and we cannot reach you, we want to know who
you'd like to have us call. If anyone ever
comes to pick her/him up
other than you, we do require that they be
on your list and show Photo
ID. Please research all CURRENT phone numbers for your
emergency contact list.
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| Q: |
What
should I bring with me for my child? |
| A: |
Pack
a diaper bag. We really just
want dipes and wipes (no food in the
diaper bag because some
students have food allergies and we need to
know that we have confiscated
all food). Be sure to pack any cuddly things your child
would like to bring along -
baby
dolls, pacifiers, blankies,
etc. If you want your child to have sunscreen, please
put it on him/her BEFORE you bring them
to TOT DROP.
We
sit down for snack at about 10:00 am and again for lunch
at about 11:30am. Please pack food and a drink (bottles
are OK) in a separate container such as a lunch box.
Please no food in the diaper bag and NO PEANUT
PRODUCTS.
Please don't pack chokeable foods and
cut all
foods into
non-chokeable
sized pieces.
Please
pack a lunch box for even the shortest visit. Sometimes
all it takes to turn a sad child into a happy one is
to be able to offer them a drink or snack.
When
you pick up your child, they will always have a dry diaper
and a full tummy and will often be ready to fall asleep
in the car on the way home.
Remember
to LABEL EVERYTHING! |
| Q: |
What
about potty training? |
| A: |
We
work with children at all stages of potty training. Just
be sure you pack all the supplies they will need in their
backpack so that we can help them help themselves toward
independence.
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| Q: |
How
do teachers handle behavior issues? |
| A: |
Learning
self control in a group environment is one of a child's
greatest achievements. We work to encourage positive
behavior though praise and positive reinforcement. TOT
DROP teachers are skilled at keeping children actively
involved, at redirecting when needed and at maintaining
a safe setting where a minimum of restrictions are needed.When
inappropriate behaviors occur, at levels that match their
development, teachers help children to return the toy
they have taken from another child or comfort the child
they have upset, etc. Teachers model appropriate behavior
and provide the children with appropriate sentences to
use to help them through the situation and then redirect
them into more appropriate play.
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| Q: |
TOT
DROP sounds like a fun place to work! Whom do I
contact if I'm interested in employment? |
| A: |
Contact
us! TOT DROP is often seeking
kind, fun, gentle, easygoing,
high-energy adults who
love goofing around with
kids, facilitating
noisy play and messy
projects. Enthusiasm
and a good work
ethic are extremely important.
When
you teach at TOT DROP,
you can bring your toddler
with you for FREE!
Imagine working with your
toddler
at your side! What
could be better? |
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