Frequently Asked Questions:

Our flexible daily schedule reflects about 80% play-based (meaningful, imaginative play,) while the other 20% is teacher-led (Friendship circle-time, projects that support lessons.) Because most of our students leave Pint-Size Playhouse and head straight into traditional public-school, we feel it’s not only fair, but necessary to prepare children for the very structured Elementary environment by setting healthy boundaries and limits, clear classroom expectations, and incorporating a touch of teacher-led activities throughout the day. • 8:00- Morning Greetings, Play, Play, Play • 8:30- Snack • 9:00- Friendship Circle-Time • 9:15- Process Art or Creative Art, Enrichment Classes • 9:30- Outdoor Playtime* • 11:15- Handwashing/Educational Screen Time • 11:30- Lunch • 12:00- Story Telling/Yoga/Meditation • 12:30-2:30 Rest/Nap** • 3:00- Handwashing/Educational Screen Time • 3:15- Snack • 3:30- Outdoor Playtime* • 5:00- Good-Bye Hugs *If the weather is too hot, too wet, or too cold we will have playtime inside. **Rest/Nap time is a Childcare Licensing requirement.

Pint-Size Playhouse is a mixed-aged preschool. We enroll children as young as age two and most children continue through their fourth year. For our 4-year-olds, we take a personalized approach, evaluating each student on a case-by-case basis. This evaluation considers their motivation, engagement, and behavior within our playful learning environment. If a child begins to outgrow our little school, we will collaborate closely with their parents to discuss the best steps forward. This may involve transitioning out of PSP and into a new "BIG Kid" school that will continue to foster their growth and development.

We are a Licensed Family Child Care Home, licensed through the State of Texas Health and Human Services. Our total licensed capacity is 12. However, we stay well below the State's Minimum Standard and choose to enroll a maximum of 10 students. We periodically have a morning part-time assistant teacher and that changes our ratio to 2:10, otherwise it’s typically, 1:10

We closely follow Austin Independent School District’s student calendar for holidays and closures. Our school calendar is updated and posted when AISD releases their new school calendar. We are a full-year program, with the exception of a two week Summer Break. For the safety of our students and families, we accurately follow AISD’s closures for inclement weather and delayed school start. When AISD has a 2-hour delayed start, we open at 9:00am. 2026 January 19: MLK JR. Day February 13: Valentine’s Day - * Early dismissal 4:00 February 16-17: President’s Day/AISD Closure March 16-20: Spring Break March 31: Cesar Chavez & Delores Huerta Day April 3-6: Easter Break May 12- Childcare Changemaker May 25: Memorial Day June 4-23: Summer Break July 3: Independence Day August 21: Personal Day September 7: Labor Day October 8-13: Professional Development October 30: Halloween – *Early dismissal 4:00 November 23-27: Fall Break December: Winter Break- TBD

Pint-Size Playhouse strives to maintain a safe and healthy environment for our students, teachers, families, and autoimmune compromised household members. Our school community is small and cozy and we prefer that all of our students to be fully up-to-date on immunizations before enrollment. Delayed immunization schedule could effect enrollment start date.

Yes! Pint-Size Playhouse believes a strong school community is an important component to children's growth and development. We encourage parents to participate in any capacity they feel comfortable. Your involvement shows your child that you value their education and you think it’s worth participating in. We understand that every family’s circumstances and work obligations are different. Parent involvement for one family may look different than another’s, and that’s Okay! Parent involvement can take on many forms, it can be anything from donating learning materials and resources, purchasing wishlist items, reading a book at circle-time, or helping set up a class party. The possibilities are endless, and we appreciate however you’re able to contribute. "At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of their parents" ~ Jane. D. Hull *Parents that volunteer more than 8 hours per year in-person will need to submit a background check with fingerprints. Parents are never counted in adult/child ratios.

Parents provide a healthy, wholesome lunch everyday. PSP has a Low-Sugar/No Junk Food policy. As part of the enrollment agreement, every family hosts one healthy snack per month for the entire class. We offer 2 healthy snacks every day, avoiding as much processed food as possible. We have partnered with Misti Buie - Nutritionist and Owner of Balanced Foodies. Misti has helped us created a healthy, kid-friendly snack menu for Pint-Size Playhouse. Focusing on whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, protien, nut butters, seeds, and dairy, substituting organic when available. We view meals as an opportunity to gather as a school family and participate in meaningful conversations. We conscientiously strive to avoid pressure or conflict around food. We follow Ellyn Satter’s “Division of Responsibility” when it comes to snacks and meals. You can read about it here: https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ELLYN-SATTER%E2%80%99S-DIVISION-OF-RESPONSIBILITY-IN-FEEDING.pdf(https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ELLYN-SATTER%E2%80%99S-DIVISION-OF-RESPONSIBILITY-IN-FEEDING.pdf)

We respect and follow the American Academy of Pediatrics screen time recommendations. (One-hour of screen time per day for children ages 2-4 years.) We feel 1 hour of educational or physically active screen time (broken up and sprinkled throughout the day) is an adequate amount of time for our preschool schedule. For example, we will watch 15 minutes of screen time while washing hands before transitioning into snack or lunch time. And sometimes, at the end of the day when we are waiting for parents to pick up. We always watch age-appropriate content, educational programs, interactive music and movement. Children, who do not want to participate in screen time are always welcome to read books or color. We refer to www.commonsensemedia.org (www.commonsensemedia.org)as a resource to choose appropriate media.

Ideally, we want children to have started the process before enrolling and be fully potty trained by their third birthday. We have successfully assisted and supported many children and families over the years with this developmental milestone. In our experience, parent’s full commitment to the potty-training process has the biggest impact on their child’s potty-training success. Children can phase out of pull-ups and wear "BIG" kid underwear at school when they have been accident free for at least 2 weeks.

We’ve used a combination of play-based learning resources to create our own preschool curriculum. Primarily, we focus on an "Emergent" learning style, which is defined as...... Taking children’s interests, strengths, and developmental needs to lead the direction of lessons. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/undefined