Outdoor child care in Cottage Grove, Oregon
Waddle is a child care center for 48 children from 6 weeks to 5 years, with a fenced yard, garden beds and a wooden play structure among the pines. Groups go out every morning, dressed for it, and come back to a warm room.
What to wear
We are outdoors most of the day in all four. Here is what to pack for each.
Leaf piles, mud and the first rain. Groups are out most of the morning and again after rest, and the garden beds get cleared and put to sleep.
Boots that stay on
A fleece under a rain jacket
Spare clothes, every day
Wetter than it is cold, with the odd frost. Blocks outside get shorter when it freezes, and a warm room and a drying rack are always waiting.
Rain pants and a rain jacket
Wool or fleece layers
A warm hat and dry mittens
The beds get planted, the puddles come back, and layers come off and go back on all morning long.
A light rain jacket
Boots and an extra pair of socks
Layers that peel off
Mornings in the yard, shade and the water table after lunch, and quiet play indoors when the afternoon is hot. On smoky days everyone stays in.
A sun hat
Sunscreen put on at home
A water bottle and light long sleeves
What you can check
Who licenses us, how many adults are with each age group, and the routines behind a day outside.
Licensed by DELC
Child care center · OR License # 000000Verify
48
Ages 6 weeks to 5 years
A teacher opens the yard gate for every arrival and hands each child back at it. We release a child only to the adults on your written list, and we ask for ID from anyone we haven't met.
We count the children at every change of place: out the door, through the gate, onto the path and back in. The count is said aloud and checked by a second adult.
Each morning the director looks at the forecast and the air quality and sets how long each group stays out. Rain means rain gear. Ice, lightning, high wind and smoky air mean the groups stay in.
Babies sleep on their backs, each in their own cot, with nothing in the cot. Older children rest on cots in the quiet room, and a child who doesn't sleep looks at a book.
Hands are washed at the outdoor sink before snack and lunch, and again on the way in from the garden.
Tell us about any allergy at the tour. Once you enroll, we ask again in private and post what each room needs to know.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
Four age groups
Every group goes outside every day. A schedule sets the hours your child is with us and the days of the week.
6 weeks to 2 years
Short blocks outside, a nap room, and a teacher who stays with the same babies all day.
2 to 3 years
Digging, hauling and stomping, with the mud kitchen and the sand close by.
3 to 4 years
Garden beds, watering cans and long walks along the trees.
4 to 5 years
Projects that run for days: a stick fort, a bed of peas, a rain gauge.
Places in each group change through the year; ask at the tour.
Sample programs.
Our team
Every group has a lead teacher you'll meet at the tour.
Director
Sumiko opened Waddle after years as a lead teacher in a woodland preschool. She sets the day's outdoor plan each morning, reads picture books in Japanese at story time, and is the person who answers the phone.
Lead teacher, infants and twos
Nylah leads the youngest groups. She takes the babies out onto the porch blanket and the twos to the mud kitchen, and she knows each family's morning routine by heart.
Lead teacher, threes and fours
Mukund runs the garden beds and the long projects with the older groups. He keeps the rain gauge, the pea trellis and the loose-parts shed in order.
From parents
4.8
41 reviews
“Our son used to dread wet mornings. Now he asks which boots to wear, and he comes home with mud to his knees and a story to tell.”
“The teachers dress them, watch them and count them every time they move. At pickup a teacher always tells us how the day went.”
“We toured on a rainy Tuesday and watched the threes wade through the puddles in the yard. We enrolled that week.”
Sample reviews.
The year
When to visit, when places open, and when we close.
Most weekday mornings
Come when the groups are outside, and dress for the weather.
March
Families on the waitlist hear first.
Early October
Rake a leaf pile with us and meet the teachers.
Early September
A gate-side welcome for every family.
Last week of November
We close for the week.
Between Christmas and New Year's
Other closing days are posted at the start of the year.
Sample dates.
Five steps from a first question to a first morning at the gate.
Call or text us at (541) 555-0124, or use the form. The director answers and tells you what is open for your child's age.
Tours run on weekday mornings, when the groups are outside. Plan on about an hour, dress for the weather, and bring your child if you like.
If the group you want is full, you join its waitlist. We offer places in the order families joined, and call each family when one opens.
Once you accept a place, you register. Forms, emergency contacts and health details go there, privately, and never in an email.
Bring boots, rain gear and spare clothes in a labeled bag. A teacher meets you at the gate, and we text you once your child has settled in.
Children from 6 weeks to 5 years, in four groups: infants, twos, threes and fours. Each group has its own schedules.
Yes. Tours run on weekday mornings, when the groups are outside, so you see the yard in use. Book one online, or call us.
Waddle is licensed by DELC, Oregon's Department of Early Learning and Care. Our license number is in the footer of every page, and we are glad to show the license at a tour.
We dress for rain and go out. We keep the groups in for ice, lightning, high wind and smoky air. The director checks the forecast and the air each morning.
Only the adults on your written list. A teacher meets each one at the gate and asks for ID from anyone we haven't met.
Only with your written permission, and never with a child's name.
Tours run on weekday mornings, when the groups are outside.