Frequently Asked Questions

Little Green Tree House guides our mission to promote the optimal and growth of the whole child. We accept children 6 weeks old to 5 years old.  Our classrooms are separated as follows:

• Infant: six weeks to 15 months (full-time only)
• Toddler:  15 months to 24 months
• Advanced Toddler:  24 months to 36 months
• Preschool: 36 months to 48 months
• Pre-K: 48 months to Kindergarten

At Little Green Tree House it is important that our classroom size and teaching staff are appropriately aligned for learning and development. Student-to-teacher ratios are based upon the age group and classroom:

• Infant:  4:1
• Toddler:  5:1
• Advanced Toddler:  8:1
• Preschool:   10:1
• Pre-K:  10:1

These numbers listed above are the ratios mandated by the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS).  Because the size of the Little Green Tree House classrooms vary in physical size, many of them operate at ratios better than those mandated by the DCFS.

Each classroom at Little Green Tree House has one lead teacher and either one or two assistant teachers depending on the classroom size and age group. Our lead teachers and assistant teachers have either a Bachelor’s Degree or an Associate’s Degree with several years of working experience. Many of our teachers hold a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or a speciality field within Education. All LGTH teacher qualifications exceed the requirements outlined by the Department of Child and Family Services.

As a condition of employment at Little Green Tree House all staff undergoes a complete background check that is completed and approved by the Department of Child and Family Services.

At Little Green Tree House our guidance and discipline policy is based on the belief that young children must experience trust and respect in order to build essential lifelong social and emotional skills. Our teachers create a positive environment where gentle guidance through simple and consistent rules, modeling of appropriate behavior, and fostering communication and negotiation skills in children set the tone for positive behavior. When disruptive behavior occurs, teachers gently redirect behavior to a more positive one and use natural consequences when necessary (example:  pick up the blocks that were dumped on the floor). Through a positive environment and gentle guidance, our classrooms are calm places where children can securely explore and learn.

Morning drop off times range between 7:00 am to 9:00 am and pick up starts from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. These times serve as a general guideline for parents. It is important to know that the busiest times for drop off in the morning are at 8:00 am and at 5:00 pm in the evening for picking up.

Little Green Tree House requests that breast milk, formula and other foods are provided by the parents for infants 12 months and under. Lunches and two snacks are provided daily by HOK (Healthy Organic Kids) for children over 12 months.

As part of our green initiative Little Green Tree House uses only cloth diapers. While we promote and encourage this type of green behavior, it is not a requirement to use cloth diapers outside of the school. If you are using disposable diapers at home, we ask that you provide us with one disposable diaper for each day that your child is at school. Your child will be sent home in the disposable diaper that you have provided. While your child is at Little Green Tree House, they will be cloth diapered. We use a diaper service and you are not responsible for supplying or washing the cloth diapers.

Yes! As a green environment, there are many outdoor play options available at Little Green Tree House. It is our goal to get the children outside as often as possible, yet this is not always possible due to the seasons and various weather conditions.

Your children can enjoy our private playground or use our bright red buggies to play in the neighborhood park. Preschool and Pre-K classrooms use the walking rope and buddy systems rather than the buggies to visit the park.

Yes, Little Green Tree House does have an open door policy for our Infant rooms. For the Toddler through Pre-K rooms, we don’t recommend that you visit unless it is for a class project/part of the lesson plan as entering and leaving the classrooms of children 15 months and older can be disruptive and may exacerbate a child’s separation anxiety. Parents are free to call Little Green Tree House during the day to check on their child. We encourage parents to spend time talking with our teachers at drop-off and pick-up!

Often times Little Green Tree House will have immediate spots available and no waitlist. When a spot does become available it is open to any outside family who is interested in enrollment. A spot cannot be reserved or guaranteed without the necessary paperwork Families are given 48 hours to reserve the available spot. Little Green Tree House generally post available spots on the homepage of our website. If there is interest in an available spot, we suggest contacting LGTH for a tour.

When classrooms are full or if enrollment is desired for several months in the future there will be a waitlist. Our waitlist is separated by age group and goes month-by-month. When signing up for the waitlist you will pick the desired month of enrollment and you will be notified within a reasonable amount of time whether a spot will or will not be available for the desired start date.