A co-op preschool, or cooperative preschool, is a non-profit school where parents are involved in the daily operations and education of their children. Parents work alongside professional teachers to help create a nurturing and engaging environment for their children.

Families can apply for the upcoming academic year starting on January 1st. At the conclusion of our final open house (the second Thursday in February), we start the process of filling sessions for the upcoming school year. After enrolling children with priority first, we then use the lottery system to fill the classes with students who applied prior to the second open house. After that, any openings will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Note: With our flexible scheduling, it is often easier to enroll students who do not have a specific schedule in mind. If you need specific days, we may or may not be able to provide you with every session you’d like. We also prioritize older students for our Extended Day sessions. These were specifically created to allow those children who plan on attending elementary school the following year to practice a longer day and a lunch time. Please find more information here.

FUMCN offers three programs for children of different ages: - FUMCN Preschool servicing children ages 3-5 who turn 3 years old by September 1st. As we are not a Kindergarten, our programming is most suitable for children up to Young 5s. - FUMCN Twos drop-off program for children ages 2-3 who turn 2 years old by September 1st. - Parent Playgroup for parents and their children aged 18 months - 3 years. More information can be found in the "Membership" section of our Handbook, which can be found on the "Parent Resources" page on our website.

At FUMCN, our preschool is fully cooperative. Our Twos and Parent Playgroups have cooperative elements but do not require a TEAM job or assist shifts. Each preschool student’s family will work on one of our FUMCN Teams or serve on the Board. More information about each TEAM can be found in this document: TEAM Structure Each preschool student needs an adult to assist in the classroom around 2-4 times per month. More information can be found here. Sibling Care is available at FUMCN, Tuesday-Thursday at a cost of $20/day. We offer this option only for younger siblings of preschoolers on the days their parents are assisting, and not as a childcare program for older siblings or for when parents are not assisting. More information can be found on the Sibling Care page. In addition to assisting, preschool families will be scheduled for 1 e-assist (emergency assist) day once every 1-2 months. When a family is in the e-assist role, they are in charge of providing a fruit or vegetable snack for 30 students. They are also on call to assist in the classroom if one of the families that was scheduled to assist is unable to do so. Preschool students go on walking and driving field trips. If the trip is a driving field trip, parents are required to bring their students. For walking field trips, parents are strongly encouraged, but not required to attend. Field trips can happen 1-2 times monthly during warmer months. All families are required to attend a spring Welcome Meeting, Fall Orientation, and January Parent meeting. These meetings are mandatory, due to the requirements for our licensure.

FUMCN offers education for families at our 3 mandatory meetings. Assisting adults are also required to complete a mandatory online health & safety training prior to the start of school, in addition to completing the state-required fingerprinting and background check. During a shift, assisting adults wear an apron with schedules and duties listed in the pocket. They also meet upon arrival with the Lead Teacher to go over any specific details about the day. FUMCN produced the following video to walk you through the requirements of an assist shift, which can be reviewed throughout the year: https://www.fumcnpreschool.org/resources

No, while both programs have co-op elements, there is no assisting.

Rest time is required by the state for children who are on site for 5 or more continuous hours. Rest time, or "quiet time", is provided for children enrolled in our extend days - Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. FUMCN provides cots, and families provide the bedding. A quiet, cozy atmosphere is maintained for those who wish to nap. Children who prefer not to nap are given quiet activities to engage with independently.

FUMCN is a NUT FREE environment. Additionally, we partner with families on an individual basis to ensure that the needs of each child are fully understood and the safety of each child is maintained. Emergency Allergy Action Plans for each child are posted in our A Room (where all food is consumed and medication is safely stored) and are communicated with all adults interacting with the children. As much as possible, FUMCN will strive to tailor the snack list to allow all children, regardless of allergies or dietary restrictions, to participate in snack without any restrictions. More information can be found in our Handbook which is located on the "Nutrition and Allergies" page. We encourage you to contact us to discuss your child's needs should you have any further questions.

Rather than a discipline code, the Preschool has a framework of social-emotional learning that begins with the relationship between teachers and students, teachers and families and students and families. Please see the Loom video on the website for more information. https://www.loom.com/share/3a6e0d9e45b04a2eaa9f9447329af0c0 In the Twos classroom, our highly trained teachers are experienced in helping young children to learn social-emotional skills through gentle intervention and redirection, opportunities to share and cooperate, and a SEL curriculum especially for small children.

Childcare is available for the younger siblings of preschool children on the days that the caregiver is assisting in the classroom. This applies to emergency (e-assist) shifts if the caregiver is needed. The siblings stay in our Twos classroom and enjoy the day alongside enrolled children from that program. We are only able to offer Sibling Care on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, which needs to be considered when making a preschool enrollment plan. Sibling Care is an enrolled program, and not available as-needed. Due to our licensing requirements, we are only able to serve children 6 months and over. Babies under that age may be worn in the preschool classroom. Information on cost can be found on the Tuition page.