Enroll Your Child

We would like to take a minute to share some things to consider when choosing Early Development Services to care for your child.

We respect the children in our care and demonstrate our respect in all our interactions with them. Respecting a child means treating even the youngest of infants as a unique human being not as an object. We do not do things to them, we do things with them. It is not just a matter of being nice but of being constantly aware that all children are sensitive to everything done to them and should not be treated to suit the adults’ agendas.

There are also some specific house guidelines that we follow:

• Our role is to create an environment in which the child can do all the things the child would do naturally. We do not interrupt when a child is actively involved in play as that is how children learn. When a child is working on a skill, we support them in the acquisition of that skill by being observant and determining what assistance theyneed if any. For example, when a child is learning how to put on their own shoes and they get them on the wrong feet, we encourage their skill by avoiding telling them they are wrong. We will instead ask if their feet are comfortable. If the child is comfortable, we celebrate their success with them. If they are uncomfortable, we facilitate by asking prompting questions such as “What can you do to make your feet more comfortable?”
• We do not force children to share. Trying to get children to share before they have developed the cognitive and emotional ability to do so is not realistic. If we sense that the situation might escalate, we intervene in the smallest way possible. Initially, this may be to move closer in a gentle, peaceful way. We do not try to find out who had the object first or to dictate the result but will keep the child safe through the stages of moral development. If a child takes away a toy from another child and the other child does not protest, the adult does not try to impose her/his values on young children by rescuing or returning the object.
• We believe that children learn more genuinely from open ended experiences facilitated by the entire community of the school than by sit down adult focused directives. In our program, children will interact with other children, adults and a carefully developed environment to create a curriculum that will emphasize the development of the whole child socially, physically, and intellectually.
• We provide sensory based experiences. Our children are provided opportunities daily to play that include water, sand, dirt, paint, glue, and the list goes on and on. These experiences help them grow and master skills emotionally, physically, and creatively. They also provide encounters with math, science, and social studies.

Because we offer these activities, you can expect your child to come home messy!

• We close early the third Wednesday of each month. During this time, we participate in comprehensive in-service trainings to continue to develop our skills. Additionally, EDS is closed for one week between Christmas Eve. and New Year’s.

Thank you for your interest in our program! We look forward to getting to know you and your children!

Waitlist application

You can submit a wait list application by creating a parent portal using the link below or visit one of our administrative offices where we can assist you in creating a parent portal and uploading documents. Wait times for enrollment vary on the time of the year, the need in the community, and particular site requested.

HOW LONG WILL I WAIT?

Unfortunately, we are not able to determine that. The difficulty is that the order of the waitlist changes, it is fluid. For example, a family may get on the waitlist and be number 4 when their child was an infant. However, when their children move up to the toddler wait list, they may become number 6 because there were already 5 toddlers on that waiting list that applied before they did and/or have a higher rank. Families can also get displaced due to a higher need/priority joining the waitlist such as higher rank number as assigned by state guidelines. Families that qualify for subsidized services will be assigned a number between 1 and 15 based on income and family size. This is NOT the family’s number on the waiting list. The state provides a ranking system for subsidized families based on income and family size which can be found here:

Family Income and Family Size Standards (Birth – 36 months & School-Age)

Family Income and Family Size Standards (36 months – Entry Kindergarten)

A family that falls outside the SMI guidelines is not assigned a rank number as they are placed on the full cost list. That list is ordered by date of submission.