Frequently Asked Questions

What hours are you open?
We are open Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m 12 months a year.

In what event will the center be closed?
Children of Tomorrow will be closed to honor the following holidays: New Years Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. We close at 4:00 on New Year’s Eve. We will be closed the Friday before Labor Day for our staff to prep and prepare for the upcoming school year. We will also be closed for 3 full days to attend workshops to enhance the knowledge of the staff; those days are generally the Thursday before Good Friday and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Friday before Labor Day. If the holiday occurs on a Saturday, we will close on the Friday previous. Should the holiday fall on Sunday, we will close on Monday following the holiday. Full tuition is charged for these holiday weeks.

Do you close for weather?
If the center must close due to the weather, we will put a message on the voice mail system. If you have questions before you bring your child to school or you might think there will be any cancellations, please call the office and listen to the message. A decision of any closings will be made at 5:30 am.

We will follow Eastern Carver County for the Chanhassen location and Waconia Public schools for the Waconia location procedures when the weather is bad. Please tune in to your local television channel for a listing of school closings.

If the center must close while the center is in the regular hours of operation, the parents will be notified and the parents will have to pick the child up or make arrangements for the child to be picked up. The staff will stay with the children until they have been picked up.

If COT must close due to a power outage, gas leak or any other event that may create an unsafe situation for the children during COT's regular hours of operation, the parents will be notified and the parents will have to pick their child/children up or make arrangements for the child/children to be picked up as soon as possible. The staff will stay with the children until they have been picked up. If an event like this happens prior to regular business hours, we will make attempt to contact everyone before their normal arrival time to the center. There is no tuition refund for emergency closings.

What is your children-to-teacher ratio?
Infant-1:4
Toddler-1:7
Preschool-1:10
Kindergarten and School age-1:15

Do you offer any absent credits?
Absent vouchers/Credits will be issued 90 days after a child is enrolled in the center full time or part time. Children who enroll in Sept., Oct., Nov., or Dec. will be issued absent vouchers 90 days after enrollment, which are usable throughout the upcoming year. This will be in addition to the absent vouchers they will receive at the start of the new calendar year.

Children will continue to be issued vouchers, at the beginning of the each calendar year.

You may use your vouchers for absence, illness or holidays, provided that you have notified the Children of Tomorrow of your child’s absence. These absent vouchers must be redeemed in the year they are issued.

Do you serve any meals?
Breakfast will be provided for the children who arrive between 6:00 a.m. and 7:50 a.m. Breakfast will be served at 7:00 a.m. and is finished at 8:00 a.m. promptly. Cold cereal, milk and juice will be provided. If you wish to bring a piece of fruit, yogurt or a bag of your own cereal your child can eat these items at this time.

We serve two snacks a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Milk is served with one snack and fruit juice with the other.

Hot lunch is catered in by Lancer Catering. Lancer prides themselves on healthy, wholesome meals. We strive for lower sodium, 100% whole grain breads-baked fresh daily, fresh/frozen fruit and veggies less processed and is served every day for an additional $2.75 per meal. You may also bring your own cold lunch. We will provide the milk.

Are your teachers CPR and first aid certified?
All staff at COT are provided and trained in First Aide & CPR

Do you have conferences?
The intellectual, physical, social, and emotional progress of each child will be documented in the child’s record and conveyed to the parents during conferences, which will be held in the fall and in the spring. Open communication is very important and is well respected. Our infant and toddler programs provide daily information reports regarding your child’s day. We also place quarterly “Parent Connect Calls”. This gives us a chance to address any concerns, what you like about the classroom, if are we meeting your expectations, how can we improve, and anything you would suggest to make things run more smoothly for your family.

Do you celebrate birthdays?
YES! What a great day! Your child’s birthday is a time to celebrate! COT is making an effort to be a health conscience learning center. If you choose to bring a snack to share, please do not bring in cake, cookies, ice cream, etc…choose healthy items such as: fruit, Jell-O or a small trinket for the classroom. If you wish to bring special treats on this day, the treats need to be store bought. . Health codes will not let us serve any homemade treats due to food allergies and not knowing specifically what ingredients were used. We need be respectful to all of the food allergies that may be in classrooms. A little hint to the parents--small stickers, erasers, pencils, etc. work really well instead of handing out edible treats. The children love getting little presents on somebody else’s birthday. Keep in mind that we are striving to be a peanut free facility-we ask you to respect this policy.

Do you go on field trips?
Each month we will have either on off site or on site field trip. You will need to sign a permission slip before your child is ever to leave the school. Transportation used on these field trips will be through the local bus company. Transportation of children on field trips will be in accordance with the Minnesota State Law. We often need chaperones on these field trips--anyone is welcome to join us. Please discuss it with your child’s teacher if you are planning to chaperone. If your child does not attend COT on a day we will be going on a Field Trip, your child may attend, but only with an adult chaperone or you will be charged for childcare during the time your child is in COT's care. If you do not want your child to attend a particular field trip, please let your child’s teacher know. Your child will have the opportunity to join the eldest classroom that stays at the center during the field trip. If you wish to make alternative arrangements for your child this day, please let your classroom teacher know.

Do you welcome parent involvement? Can I stop by any time?
Parents of enrolled children may visit the center any time during the hours of operation. We encourage you to visit, unannounced, at any time. Stop in, visit your child, and join us in our activities. We simply ask that you take in to account the times when your child may be eating or napping before planning a visit.

We believe parents are the most significant adults in a child’s life. We do everything possible to ensure parents’ involvement in our programs.

We welcome all families to be a participant on our Parent Advisory Board. Watch for announcements for meetings.

Will I need to enroll my child in a separate preschool?
No! We take pride in the learning environment provided at COT. We Math, Art, Reading and Language Arts, guided reading at age 4 and older, Music, integrate pieces of responsive classroom, Science, Spanish, Yoga, Computer, and other fun activities that are mostly theme based. Our preschool classrooms also incorporate Core Knowledge Curriculum into their daily schedules.

How often do you clean the rooms and toys?
All of our classrooms including toy are sprayed down and sanitized at least once a day. The changing tables and bathrooms are disinfected after each diaper change.

What is your policy regarding sick children?
In order to keep our children, their families, and our staff, as healthy as possible, we require that any child with a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or contagious disease be kept at home and not return until they are 24 hours with no symptoms, fever free, fever reducing medicine free and if needed- taking an antibiotic for 24 hours.

Do you provide daily communication?
An individual daily report will be written up for every infant and toddler. Preschool parents may request a daily report by taking a report from outside the classroom door, begin filling it out and give it to your child's teacher. From the Older Infant Room till the Pre-K Room, there is a daily updated "Our Day" sheet placed outside the classroom.