Yes. To meet our families' needs the school is open from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. There is a choice of full-day or drop-in care. The program offers special activities such as art, sports and cooking. In addition, there are supervised indoor/outdoor areas for free play. Care is provided on most school holidays. Windrush also offers a Summer Adventures Program for children between ages six and 11 years old.

Both structured learning and creative, choice-based activities are valuable to Kindergartners-indeed to students of all ages. The day includes core literacy, math, science and social studies, often embedded within a thematic project or various activities. Art and games are integrated to spark interest in the work. Daily routines are essential and include morning meeting, singing, read aloud and choice time. Outdoor "play first" followed by "table time" to eat and digest, as well as regular water and stretch breaks are also central to learning at this age and round out what we feel to be a superbly balanced full-day program.

Windrush kindergartners move at their own pace (with astute faculty guidance) from the comfort of classrooms and playground to working with and learning from older students. Our Buddy Program partners kindergartners with middle schoolers on special activities once a month, such as carpentry, read-aloud, and insect searches. Kindergarten classes participate in weekly Friday assemblies, and the K-5 Afterschool Program provides regular opportunities for mixed-age learning and socialization. The nature in which our youngest students are included and engaged in our school community is quite special, and often surprises—and delights—their parents!

We use a balanced literacy approach that integrates phonetic development based on a child's own language, reading and writing. Some children enter kindergarten knowing how to read, some begin reading in kindergarten, and some gather the tools and skills necessary to begin reading in 1st grade. Our small classes allow teachers to challenge each student at the appropriate level. Guided reading in small groups and individualized reading begin as students demonstrate readiness. We even have a trained "reading dog" who listens patiently as children sound out their words! Excitement about reading as a joyous event is key to our success.

Teachers provide two extensive written reports describing the child's progress in all areas. Parent-teacher conferences with each family also take place twice a year. Teachers write monthly newsletters describing current classroom projects. We recognize that informal day-to-day communication is essential, particularly at this age. Brief personal contact occurs frequently at drop-off and pick-up and parents may leave voice or email messages for any teacher. At Windrush, we take pride in being open, responsive, clear and supportive in our home-school partnerships.