Dewdrops | Shyne School

Our youngest class is called the Dewdrops. We designed the environment, the schedule, and curriculum to make this the premier one year old program in the area. The children drink out of sippy cups, take one nap and must be walking for their safety.

Schedule Options:

Courtney Queen (Lead Teacher) Since Aug. 2024, started April 2022

7:00 am to 3:00 pm (paid Break & planning 11:00 to 12:00)

 Ellen MacLean (Lead Assistant Teacher) Since August 2023

8:45 pm to 4:45 pm

 Monica Jilka (Afternoon Aide) Since July 2024

3:00 to 5:30 PM

Here are samples of Weekly Lesson Plans.  For current students teachers email weekly plans to parents.

Our teachers are intentional in planning and assessing our students’ learning and development.  We use the Washington State Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines as our Assessment tool on the Procare App.

Please view the guidelines:

WA Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines 2012

Teachers are the core of The Shyne School. The curriculum centers around the loving, warm and welcoming interaction children have each day with teachers and friends. Teachers work together with parents so they can ensure children feel safe and secure while at school. We work with parents and respect individual differences as well as families’ preferences.

Our teachers attend special training in early childhood education, so teachers understand the different stages of children’s development. Understanding development helps them guide the children’s behavior with patience and understanding. Each classroom at The Shyne School has two primary teachers to promote consistency and responsiveness. We have a low turnover rate that helps us provide a high level of care.

With a group of 10:2 (5:1 ratio), teachers are able to be responsive to the children’s needs. When interacting with the children, teachers actively encourage and extend the children’s language development. Teachers identify and label objects, feelings, and actions while the children are going about their day. Children learn basic sign language to extend communication for talkers and non-talkers, such as the sign for more, eat, drink, want, tired, cold, and coat, etc. Children learn during daily routines as well as specially planned projects that include Literacy, Pre-Math, Science, Art and Music and Movement.

Children must be one year old by August 31st and walking to attend. Children will range from 12 to 23 months of age at the beginning of the year. They will move to the two-year-old classroom at the beginning of our school year in September. We move children by teacher recommendation and space available in the next class. This will be the group they will move with from classroom to classroom. They will all leave for kindergarten together. Children need to move from a bottle of formula to a sippy cup of whole milk before they start. Bottles are not recommended past 12 months of age. We provide one afternoon nap. Parents are encouraged to prepare their child at home by adjusting their nap schedule, so they are napping from 1 to 3 PM before they start. This will make the transition easier.

We want to support parents in all areas of development and new milestones the children reach.  We are limited to diapers and pull ups in the Dewdrop class.  We are not allowed to use potty training seats and we do not have toilets in the classroom.  When children are at the level of staying dry for extended periods of time in pull-ups and they can ask to go to the bathroom we will take them to the toilets in the main building.  Children must initiate the need to go and be able to hold it.  Bathrooms are used by all the classrooms so children may have to wait to use the toilet.  Please see our parent handbook for our potty learning strategies. In addition, we recommend a wet bag that we can send soiled clothing home in.

We encourage active parent participation. Parent communication is especially important. We ask parents to let the teacher know about the child’s night and morning has been. We feel the more time the parents and teachers spend together on the child’s transition and separation anxiety the more trust is built and the stronger the bond.

The classroom plan includes separate areas for diaper changing, general hand washing, art, sensory, small motor, large motor, teacher prep area and quiet areas. To help children feel strong, competent, and empowered, toys are down at the children’s level for self-selection, tables, and chairs and a hand washing sink are just their size. Children love to be independent and feel “BIG”. Teachers work with children to make appropriate choices so they can “do it themselves.”

Keeping the children healthy is important to us. The children go outside at least two times a day, weather permitting. While the children are outside, we can air out the classroom. Large motor activities outside are important to their health and development so we ask parents to send their children in coats with hoods for those drizzly days. Parents can also send rubber boots and waterproof pants.

The daily schedule is balanced between active and quiet, teacher directed, and child directed times. Our day starts with free choice activities followed by snacks and a circle time. The children can choose from special projects, playing in the learning centers (art, sensory, books, blocks, dramatic play, large or small motor areas), during free choice. The children then clean up and head outside before lunch. After lunch we prepare for a nap. When the children get up, they learn self-help skills such as putting socks and shoes back on, diaper change and snack before we head outside. The children come back in for music and movement time and free choice activities until parents pick up. The children eat and have diaper changes about every two hours or more often as needed.

National Association for the Education of Young Children: New research on brain development underscores the importance of the first few years of life for children’s development and learning. Recent studies also confirm that when young children are in childcare, quality matters.

At The Shyne School we know you are your child’s first teacher, so we want to build a partnership with you so we can provide the highest quality of care.

Our school parent handbook is on the Registration Page with full behavior management, curriculum, philosophy and what to bring.  In addition, for Waddlers and Toddlers we recommend rain pants (not full suits) teachers can slip on to keep students dry outside and a wet bag that we can send soiled clothing home in.