Children must wear clothes and shoes that are appropriate for active play and potentially messy activities. Play clothes must be non-restrictive. Clothing should be easy to manage for toileting and diapering. Elastic waistbands are best for younger children. Belts, snaps, buttons, zippers and tights are impediments to an urgent trip to the bathroom! Crocs, clogs and flip-flops are hazardous during outdoor play and should not be worn to school.

Children will need appropriate outerwear for our daily outdoor recess. A light jacket or sweatshirt may be sent for days that require a warm coat early but warm up by late morning. A sun hat or cap may be worn if desired. In winter they will need full snow gear to be comfortable and enjoy outdoor play: snow pants and jacket (or snow suit), warm winter boots with no laces, hats and warm mittens. Suede or rubber boots are not suitable for snow, as the cold quickly seeps in. Water resistant insulated mittens are necessary for snow play as knit mittens get wet quickly, making little hands cold.  No scarves or mittens on strings. Older children may wear gloves only if they can put them on unassisted.
All outerwear must be labeled with your child's last name to avoid loss or mix-ups.

Sunscreen and Insect Repellant

Please apply sunscreen at home daily for our morning playground time.  If your child is at school after 4:00 from May - September, please supply a container of sunscreen for reapplication before afternoon outdoor play.  We also keep sunscreen at the center during summer camp for all children regardless of schedule for multiple reapplications.  Do not send sunscreen in your child's backpack.  Please hand it to the teacher as this must be kept out of children's reach.

Please be advised that we enlist a program of monthly treatments for mosquitoes and ticks which continues until frost.  No pesticides are applied to the playground or near the garden area.  The woodsy perimeter of our outdoor space and driveway and the shrubbery around the building are treated.  The applications are done in the afternoon, and the play area is not used until the next day although it dries in one hour.  A report on treatment specifics is available by request. A mosquito sighting is a rare occurrence. If you still wish to apply insect repellant to your child, this should be done at home.  Please do not send insect repellant to school.