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3.
3:10 – Snack: We provide a generous snack that sometimes looks more like a meal! One or more
alternatives are usually offered for those children who will not eat the day’s offering. Some children like to
help the staff serve the snack and everyone eats together in the common room. Children pre-clean their
own dishes when finished, and then take a moment to commit to an activity choice by signing up for one
on the posted list.
4.
3:20 – Activity period: When everyone has finished dining and cleaning up, the ringing of a bell indicates
the beginning of our activity period. Children go to their various activities (or areas in which they have
elected to play) and they are expected to engage themselves in this activity for at least 20 minutes before
shifting to any other choice. (Typically, children are happy with their choices and immerse themselves in
projects and play, never realizing that much of the afternoon has passed!)
5.
5:00 – “2nd Snack”: Sometime around 5 p.m. we call for a general clean up and announce that a second
snack is available. Typically, this is a “light offering” (fruit, popcorn); we want children to leave with a
healthy appetite for dinner.
6.
5:00 to 6:00: The daily activities often continue until we close, and as children finish them, we encourage
cool-down games and activities to round out the day.
Special Events
Theme Days – From time to time your child may mention some special event going on in EDP. It could be an ice
cream social, a “sleepover party”, or “Beach Day” (usually the coldest day in winter). The kids enjoy planning
and decorating for these events, and all children registered for EDP on those particular days are welcome to
participate.
Halloween – It’s one of the big holidays at the school. After our parade and assembly in the morning, the
costumes are put away for the school day, but emerge again at 3 o’clock when EDP begins. We hold a big
party with special snacks and activities. We now have a tradition of dressing the EDP Director in whatever
costume the EDP kids have secretly created in the preceding weeks.
School Events and EDP – There are many all-school and class
events that begin before or at EDP closing time. If your child attends EDP on a day when the family will later
arrive for an event, please make every effort to arrive before EDP closing time to sign-out our child from EDP
care.
Extra-curricular activities
– Over the years, we have sponsored outside programs during EDP time or invited
outside organizations to use space in the school to run their programs (for TCS and non-TCS families alike).
Programs run in the past include piano lessons, group karate classes, violin lessons, art classes, and tutoring. If
your child participates in such a program you may or may not need EDP care before or after it. If a child is
registered for both an outside program and EDP, we make sure s/he gets back and forth and is supervised at all
times. If the child is not registered for EDP it is the parents’ responsibility to supervise the child(ren) before and
after participating in outside programs.
Parent Communication
Daily Communication – We try to connect with parents daily at pick-up time to communicate about a child’s
EDP experience. The director and staff are available most days to discuss any areas of concern, and we
encourage you to keep us informed of what’s going on in your child’s life outside of school. The EDP Director
works closely with the EDP staff to communicate between all staff and parents wherever appropriate.
Conference days
– The EDP Director is generally available during parent / teacher conference days for an
informal discussion either before or after your conference.
Meetings – The EDP Director is available to meet privately with parents about any area of concern. In addition,
you may invite the EDP Director to join certain meetings with your child’s classroom teacher.
Staffing
The EDP Director is a full-time employee of the school and is engaged with students and teachers throughout
the school day. A tremendous advantage of this is the Director’s understanding of what is happening with
individual students and with the entire school culture on any given day. The Director administers both the
business and program elements of EDP, and works directly with children during EDP program hours.