Tuition information, as well as steps for enrollment, is included on this page: http://www.gretchenshouse.com/information-for-parents/policies/enrollment/

Look for this link: 2013 Fee Schedule

- Hope

The number of children in each room depends on the space at each particular center. In most of our buildings, infants and toddlers are in groups of 8. In most of our buildings, preschool rooms have up to 24 children. You can read detailed descriptions of each program under the pulldown menus above: About Us/Child Care Programs/select the age you’re interested in.

If you have a question about a particular center, please feel free to call or email the director of that location.

Thanks for your interest!

Thanks,

Tatiane

Keep up the great work and your extra efforts are noted and appreciated! My family will be forever better off for spending our early and formative years with you.
Beth D.

Tuesday April 12th at Oak Valley 6-7:30
Topic: Guided by group, but I’ll also be sharing information on sibling rivalry and two research studies, one from MIT the other from UC Berkely on early learning.

Thursday April 14 at Dhu Varren 6-7:30
Topic: Guided by group, but I’ll also be sharing information on praise vs. encouragment and applying some simple prevention strategies to your home environment to stop problems before they occur.

Please notify me – elizabeth.melampy@gretchenshouse.com if you plan to attend either of these sessions.
Thanks!

When people speak of diversity, they often mean race or ethnicity – the attributes that are easily visible. You are correct, however, that there are many aspects to the topic of diversity that need to be recognized in order to provide an environment where similarities and differences are appreciated and celebrated.

The most important thing any adult can do to promote diversity is to maintain an attitude of respect and openness with all people. Our curriculum approach and program philosophy are based on mutual respect between children, parents and teachers.

We are fortunate to be located in communities where the population itself offers diversity. We have many families who have moved to our area from other countries, and they bring with them the traditions, foods, clothing, and habits of daily family living that enrich our smaller Gretchen’s House community. Of the hundreds of families we serve, some include mom, dad and a couple of children. Others are made up of grandparents raising children, or families with two moms or two dads. We value the partnership we have with all parents, and we promote open communication with families.

We address the issue of diversity on a very practical, concrete level because that is how children process ideas in the early years. We avoid the “tourist” approach to diversity, because that view often relies on stereotypes and gives children a false, often inaccurate view of another culture. In other words, you won’t see us doing “Mexico week” in our programs. As with any curriculum topic, children only learn from meaningful experiences that allow them to explore their interests at their own developmental level.

So instead, we invite families to share their traditions with us. This could mean a simple cooking project for a holiday, but it could also be as simple as bringing in empty food boxes to be used in the house area. We decorate our rooms with artwork families bring from other countries, and we make sure that our books, toys and other materials represent people of many races, genders or capabilities in a variety of roles. Our parent manual has been translated into several different languages, including Japanese, Mandarin, and Hindi. Our assessment tool is also available in a Spanish translation.

Our Teacher Support Coordinator provides resources to parents and teachers, as well as materials or adaptive equipment for children with special needs who are enrolled in our program. We participate with Champions for Children and Child Care Network to provide care for children who are receiving state or private scholarships to attend our programs.

Thanks so much for addressing this topic – it’s important for parents to know the many ways they can promote diversity with their children.

Heidi McFadden
Executive Director

Gretchen’s House is very committed to diversity of all sorts…so much so that it occurs to me now that we haven’t taken time to highlight it in our materials. It’s very much a matter of business as usual for us, but your question makes me realize that we can do a better job of showing the community what we do to encourage diversity. Our executive editor will do a better job than I can explaining the specifics so you can expect a follow-up from her in this space soon.

Hope Vestergaard
web editor

Thanks for you answer.

Kenya Hunter
Program Coordinator
Peace Neighborhood Center – Satellite Centers