Every day, in the cubby
What to wear and bring
Children are outside most of the day, so what they wear is part of the program. Six things, labeled with your child's name.
Layers
A base layer, a fleece or wool middle layer and a rain shell on top. Cotton stays damp, so wool or fleece next to the skin keeps a child warm on a wet morning.
Easy to take off and put on
Nothing that needs a safety pin
Rain jacket and rain pants
One-piece rain suits or a jacket with pants. They go on after drop-off and hang on the drying rack at pickup.
Hood or a separate hat
Sized a little big
Boots
Waterproof boots that a child can pull on alone. Pack a spare pair of dry socks, since there will be puddles.
Pull-on, no laces
One spare pair of socks
A hat
A wide-brimmed hat in summer and a warm one in winter. Sunscreen goes on at home before you come.
Brim in summer, wool in winter
Sunscreen put on at home
Two sets of spare clothes
A full change, down to the socks, in a labeled bag that stays in the cubby. Mud finds its way in.
Top, bottoms and socks
Checked at the start of each season
A water bottle
A bottle with your child's name on it. We fill it at the outdoor sink and it goes with them to the garden.
A lid a child can open
Name on the bottom
On the wettest mornings
How we decide
Each morning the director looks at the forecast and the air quality, and tells each group's teacher how long to stay out. Rain is a reason to dress, not to stay in. When the ground is iced over, the wind is high, there is lightning or the air is smoky, the groups stay in, and there is still a lot to do with the indoor rooms.
In short
Rain: gear on, out the door
Ice, lightning, high wind: indoors
Smoky air: indoors until it clears
At the center
What we keep on hand
A shelf of loaners
Rain pants, boots and mittens in a range of sizes, for the child whose pair stayed home.
A drying rack by every door
Wet gear goes on the rack after morning play, and dry gear goes back on for the afternoon.
A warm room
Each group has a room to come back to, with a heater that is out of reach and cots for rest.
See the yard and the boot room
Tours run on weekday mornings, when the groups are outside.