Our flexible daily schedule reflects about 80% play-based, (unstructured, 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 to traditional public-school Kindergarten, we feel it’s not only fair, but necessary to prepare children for the very structured Kindergarten environment by setting healthy boundaries and limits, clear classroom expectations, and incorporating teacher-led activities throughout the day. 8:00- Morning Greetings, Play, Play, Play 8:45- Wholesome Snack 9:00- Friendship Circle-Time 9:15- Process Art or Creative Art 9:30- Outdoor Nature Play* 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-Wholesome Snack 3:30-Reflection Connection Circle-Time 3:45- Outdoor Nature Play* 5:00- Good-Bye Hugs *Please understand that we always attempt to follow the schedule as stated, but with children we prepare for flexibility. *All children should arrive to school by 9:00am. *If the weather is too hot, too wet, or too cold we will have outdoor nature playtime inside. *Rest/Nap time is a Childcare Licensing requirement.

We are a Licensed Family Child Care Home, licensed through Texas Health and Human Services, formerly known as Texas Department of Family and Protective 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 are a full-year program. We 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. For the safety of our students and families, we also follow AISD’s closures for inclement weather and delayed start. When AISD has a 2-hour delayed start, we open at 9:00am. 2023 · January 16: MLK JR. Day · February 20: President’s Day · March 13-17: Spring Break · April 7-10: Easter Break · May 29: Memorial Day · June 19: Juneteenth · July 4: Independence Day · July 17-21: Summer Break · September 4: Labor Day · October 5-10: Satff in-service/Professional Development · November 20-24: Thanksgiving Break · December 21- January 8: Winter Break 2024 · January 15: MLK JR. Day · February 19: President’s Day · March 11-15: Spring Break · March 29-April 1: Easter Break · May 27: Memorial Day · June 19: Juneteenth · July 4: Independence Day · July 15-26: Summer Break · September 2: Labor Day · October 5-10: Staff in-service/Professional Development · November 11: Veteran's Day · November 25-29: Thanksgiving Break

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 our students be up-to-date on immunizations before enrollment start date. We do accept delayed schedules, immunization exemptions, or Affidavits at this time.

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 wish list 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 their entire class. Snack suggestions. 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 created a healthy, kid-friendly snack menu for Pint-Size Playhouse. Focusing on whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, protien, and dairy, substituting organic when available. We serve water with every snack and lunch, and children have access to their water cups throughout the day. 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

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 as a resource to choose appropriate media.

We typically do not initiate the process. We may begin the discussion if we feel a child is cognitively, physically, and emotionally ready to start potty training and parents have not yet started the process. Ultimately, we want parents to make the decision because they will be making a dedicated commitment to their child and the toilet training process. In our experience, children who start Toilet training at home are more successful at school. After there is a consistent routine at home, typically the process logically and naturally transitions over to the preschool setting with minimal difficulties. Toilet training primarily centers on parent's pro-active support and the developmental readiness of the child. We assist children in every way possible to be successful. For sanitary concerns, Pull-Ups or diapers are worn at school until children are fully toilet trained and accident free for 3 weeks.

We’ve used a combination of play-based learning resources to create our own preschool curriculum. Primarily, we focus on children’s interest to lead the direction of our themed lessons and often follow The Creative Curriculum®