FAQs

Certainly! When you email us for more information, we’ll send you all of the details about our application process and when we offer tours to prospective families!

Our secure facility is open Monday through Friday from 6:30am until 6:00pm.

Applewood is closed on many traditional holidays, as well as on the last two days of August for our Annual Staff Professional Development Days. We make every effort to remain open in inclement weather.

We understand that starting a new school can be a difficult transition for you and your child.  Whenever possible, we encourage a gradual transition, where you and your child visit together as often as possible, gradually increasing the length of your stay. A minimum of two classroom visits with a parent, guardian or trusted adult are required for each new child prior to their first day, and additional visits are strongly encouraged. Plan to spend a few extra minutes visiting and settling your child in during drop-off during your child’s first few days. Please provide a family photo for us to display in the classroom. 

Some classrooms have a one-way mirror so you can observe your child from the hallway. Each classroom has its own phone, and while nap-time is typically the best time to call, you are welcome to call as often as needed. We fully support breastfeeding and welcome moms to join us at any time to nurse in our quiet family room. We have an Open-Door policy, and that means you can pop in any time you want, unannounced, to visit or check on your child. If you’re in the neighborhood at lunch, feel free to join your child’s class for a meal. Your child’s Head Teacher is happy to share additional transition ideas with you… just ask! 

We’d like to make this transition smooth and successful for you and your child.

Yes, families are responsible for providing diapers and wipes for their children. We are willing and able to use cloth diapers provided by the family. If this is something you are interested in, please speak to the Director for more information.

Family focused implies that the staff recognize and value the family as the child’s first and most important teachers. We will look to you for ideas on working with your child, understanding his or her development, and for ways to make your child’s time at Applewood as positive as possible. We want to know about your beliefs, values, culture, and traditions, so that we can do our best to honor these in the classroom and share them with the community to the extent that you feel comfortable.

Absolutely! The Applewood teaching staff conduct on-going assessments of the children’s development through checklists, portfolios, and observations. These assessments are shared with the family annually during our family-teacher conferences.

Yes. Applewood offers a variety of part-time schedules to meet your family’s individual needs.  You may choose from a combination of full days (6:30am to 6:00pm), extended days (8:30-2:30) or half-days (8:30-12:30). Our minimum enrollment is three extended-days or three half-days.

Applewood offers a nutritious afternoon snack each day for all children over the age of one. Each family provides their child’s morning snack and lunch, and Applewood provides milk at lunch each day. Families of infants provide breastmilk or formula as well as any meals or snacks until the infant is one year old.

Each infant naps in their own crib according to their own needs. Safe Sleep practices are always followed. Toddlers nap once each day after lunch, for about 2-3 hours. Preschoolers also nap after lunch for about an hour or two. School-agers are offered quiet time after their lunch. All children are allowed to fall asleep and wake up according to their own biological rhythms. Children who do not fall asleep within 30 minutes are provided with a quiet activity while their friends sleep.

The staff at Applewood places great value on the benefits of outdoor play, fresh air, exercise, and connecting with nature. While infant schedules are individualized, we aim to bring the infants outside each day. All other classrooms have outdoor play scheduled twice each day.  Applewood offers a traditional playground with climbers and swings, as well our “Outdoor Classroom”, a unique natural playspace. 

Outdoor time is dependent upon weather conditions: during the winter months, windchill or air temperature must be above 15 degrees, during the summer months we avoid the hours of 12-2 and stay inside on “Air Quality Action Days” as determined by the NH Department of Environmental Services. Additionally, we follow a “sun safe” policy requiring hats and sunscreen during the warmer months, and encouraging insect repellent when the threat of EEE is present.

Applewood prides itself on offering “best-practice” ratios that meet or exceed the NH Bureau of Child Care Licensing requirements. Our Infant ratio is 3 or 4 to 1, Toddler is 5 or 6  to 1, Preschool is 8 or 12 to 1 and School Age is 15 to 1.

No. Our preschools have diapering facilities, and therefore children are not required to be fully potty trained before entering preschool. We’ll be working closely with families to ensure their child is potty trained shortly after entering preschool.

During the summer, we offer a full day School Age program with crafts, recreation and theme-based activities.