Arrival & Departure

ARRIVAL

Parents are required to accompany their child into the center and into their child’s classroom. Parents should also speak with the teacher in the classroom, if only briefly. We encourage parents to communicate with their child’s teacher about their child’s temperament that particular day, how he/she slept the night before, whether he/she has eaten that morning, etc. If you are unable to communicate with your child’s teacher at the time of drop off, Procare can also be used.

Most children go through periods of difficulty with separating from their parent(s). This is common and developmentally appropriate. Try these tips for a successful drop-off:

• Establish a regular, predictable routine. Whether you have a kiss and a hug and go, or help your child put their items in their cubby first, do it the same way every day. What often makes separating stressful for a child is the uncertainty. If your child can predict what will happen, the separation won’t be as difficult.

• Separate once. If you come back into the classroom again and again or linger in the hallway, it will increase your child’s stress. Remember the moment of separation is the worst part for your child, so doing it more than once makes it more stressful for your child.

• Be reliable. Return when promised. Children who are picked up later than expected may have more difficulties separating. Phrase time in terms your child will understand. For example, you will be back after afternoon outside time or before rest time.

DEPARTURE

Yahara River Learning Center closes at 6:00pm Monday through Friday. If you will be later than your normal pick up time, please provide us with as much notice as possible. Please note that there is a late fee for arriving after 6:00pm. If someone we are not familiar with is to pick up your child, it is essential that you inform your child’s teacher in advance of the pick-up. This person must be listed as an authorized person or Emergency Contact on the child’s enrollment form. Remind the authorized person that they may be asked for identification such as a driver’s license to ensure your child’s safety. Even if the individual has picked up before, he or she may still need identification if the teacher in charge has never met the individual.

Be sure to say good-bye to your child’s teachers so they know you are leaving. Once you have reunited with your child and are departing, Yahara River Learning Center is no longer responsible for your child. For safety reasons, please do not let your child run ahead of you inside or outside of the building.

Unless there are extreme weather conditions, please do not leave your vehicle idling in the parking lot.

If parents/guardians do not arrive to pick up their child from the program, staff members will first try to contact the parents using all phone numbers provided on the Emergency Contact and Medical Consent form. If parents are unable to be reached, staff will try to contact all emergency contact persons. If staff members are unable to contact emergency contact persons, the Director and/or Assistant Director will then notify the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and/or the DeForest Police Department.

NO IDLING

Yahara River Learning Center is a nature-based learning center and we want to do our part as much as possible to try to reduce and reuse. Please do not allow vehicles to idle in our parking lot, unless there are extreme weather conditions.