Wild Acorns Parent Handbook

2026–2027: Our Final School Year

Welcome, Wild Acorns Families!

I am so thankful and excited to welcome your family to Wild Acorns! It is a privilege to be trusted with your children during these sweet, foundational years.

The 2026–2027 school year will be the final year of Wild Acorns Nature Preschool. After so many years of friendships, muddy boots, baby chicks, garden harvests, celebrations, and beautiful memories, I am especially grateful for every family sharing this final year with us.

Wild Acorns has always been about more than a place where parents drop off their children for a shared activity. Community is part of what I hope to give our children. I want them to grow up knowing what it feels like to be known, welcomed, valued, and certain that there is a place where they belong. I want them to carry that sense of belonging with them and know that they can find and build community wherever life takes them.

I want that same gift for our families—a place where parents know one another, show up for one another, celebrate together, and form genuine friendships beyond preschool hours. My hope is that when our final year ends, families don’t simply remember a preschool their child attended, but a community their whole family belonged to.

This handbook provides the information families need for a safe and successful year. Please reach out anytime with questions, concerns, or ideas. Open and honest communication is always welcome.

The Wild Acorns Experience

Wild Acorns is a small outdoor nature preschool in Waxhaw, North Carolina. Our program combines Montessori-inspired learning with outdoor exploration, creativity, independence, and a strong social-emotional focus.

Children enjoy our classroom, learning activities deck, garden, wooded acre, play structures, mud kitchen, sand and gravel areas, sensory stations, loose parts, and chicken coop.

They help plant, water, weed, and harvest the garden and may use what they grow in art and nature projects. Caring for our gentle hens is also a treasured part of our mornings. In the spring, we often incubate eggs and welcome baby chicks!

Learning at Wild Acorns

My hope is to nurture a love of learning, kindness toward others, care for animals and nature, gratitude, confidence, independence, and the magic of childhood.

Our days naturally include:

• Early math, sorting, counting, patterns, shapes, and building

• Fine-motor activities, cutting, playdough, pre-writing, and name practice

• Nature science, gardening, animals, and sensory experiments

• Open-ended art using traditional and natural materials

• Stories, conversation, and imaginative play

• Music, instruments, movement, and name songs

• Friendship skills, emotional regulation, and problem-solving

Children are encouraged to explore without being pressured into formal academics before they are developmentally ready.

Class Size

Class size is determined by city requirements and is limited to five children attending without a parent present. This intentionally keeps our regular preschool group very small.

Stay & Play

Wild Acorns offers a Stay & Play option for students who attend with a parent. The parent must remain on the property for the entire time their child attends.

Parents are welcome to naturally support their own child when needed. However, during class time, I will remain in the teacher role and handle instruction, classroom routines, behavior, and redirection for all children. This helps the children experience the same expectations and guidance whether they are attending independently or through Stay & Play.

I will be the only adult who takes children to the restroom or assists them with restroom routines.

Siblings ages six and younger are welcome to join their family during Stay & Play at no additional cost.

Stay & Play is not charged as regular tuition. Stay & Play families pay a separate fee for each regular class they attend. There is no charge to participate in Wild Acorns field trips or family and community events.

Parent Visits

Parents are always welcome to visit Wild Acorns during their child’s class. Please just communicate with me ahead of time so I know you’re coming. I love having families involved and want parents to feel welcome and connected to our school community.

Calendar and Communication

The school calendar is provided as a Google Drive document pinned to the top of our private Facebook group.

Important reminders, supply information, event details, photos, and community updates will also be shared in the private group. Please check it regularly so your family does not miss anything.

Families are welcome to invite grandparents, extended family members, or other trusted people who would enjoy watching our school year unfold to the private Facebook group.

Dressing for Nature School

We play outside in most weather, so please send children ready to become muddy, wet, and fully involved in their play.

• Dress your child in weather-appropriate layers.

• Bogs or similar neoprene boots are ideal because they are both waterproof and provide protection in extreme cold.

• Two-piece rain gear is recommended instead of a one-piece rain suit because it is easier during restroom breaks.

• Disposable hand warmers are recommended during very cold weather because they fit easily inside gloves.

• Do not use 100% cotton as a base layer, including socks. Merino wool or a polyester-cotton blend is required for base layers.

• Please avoid flip-flops, tie shoes, and clothing your child cannot manage independently.

• Pants/shorts should have elastic waistbands without difficult buttons or zippers (no jeans with zippers/buttons).

• Elastic waisted jeans are not warm enough in cold weather unless fleece-or flannel-lined.

• Avoid one-piece swimsuits for girls because they make restroom trips difficult.

• Apply bug spray before school when needed. I do not apply bug spray during class.

Our motto is: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!”

Supplies

The complete school supply list is included in the details of the Popsicle Meet & Greet event. It can be found under the Events tab in our private Facebook group.

One labeled gallon-size bag of extra clothing should be kept at school. It may include underwear, shorts, a T-shirt, and sweatpants or leggings.

Lunch and Dye-Free Policy

Please send your child with a full, healthy lunch and a filled water bottle each school day. The children play hard, use a great deal of energy, and are usually very hungry by lunchtime.

Wild Acorns is dye-free for all shared treats and foods provided for the group. This includes items such as party cupcakes, Easter egg fillers, and food brought to class parties or community events. This does not apply to food packed for your own child’s regular lunch.

Kindness and Behavior

Wild Acorns is a place where children are treated with kindness and encouraged to treat others the same way. We practice respecting classmates, personal space, creations, animals, plants, and school materials.

Hitting, unsafe touching, wrestling, name-calling, mean teasing, foul language, and aggressive behavior are not permitted.

Children may not:

• Enter the house without permission

• Open exterior gates

• Touch another child without consent

• Handle the woodpile, chickens, plants, sticks, or other materials without following directions

I guide behavior through encouragement, redirection, choices, problem-solving, and quiet time near me when a child needs help regulating. Physical punishment is never used. My goal is always to help children learn—not shame them for still learning.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition is due by your child’s first class day of each month and reserves their regularly scheduled days. If tuition has not been paid, your child will need to wait to return to class until the balance is paid.

Tuition is not refunded for your child’s absences or scheduled school holidays. When space allows, I do my best to offer a makeup day at no additional charge, but makeup days are not guaranteed.

Wild Acorns loosely follows the Union County Public Schools calendar for major holidays and breaks, including winter break and spring break. Please always refer to the Wild Acorns calendar for our exact closure dates.

If I need to cancel class because of teacher illness, teacher vacation, or weather, tuition for that day will be refunded. When space is available, I may instead offer your child another class day as a substitute. If accepted, the substitute day will be an even one-for-one exchange rather than a refund.

Payments may be made by cash, check, Zelle, Venmo, or bank-to-bank digital invoice.

There are no enrollment or tuition-deposit fees this year. Each student pays a one-time supply fee.

Enrollment Changes and Withdrawal

Reducing scheduled attendance days or withdrawing from Wild Acorns requires 30 days’ written notice. Tuition remains due during the 30-day notice period even if your child does not attend. Requests to add days depend on available space.

My sincere desire is for every child to feel safe, known, and successful at Wild Acorns. If concerns arise about whether the program can safely or appropriately meet a child’s needs, I will communicate with the family and work toward a solution whenever possible.

Wild Acorns may discontinue enrollment if the program is unable to meet a child’s needs, a family repeatedly does not follow program policies, or continued enrollment affects the safety or well-being of the child, classmates, teacher, or program.

Drop-Off, Pickup, and Attendance

Children will only be released to their parents or to another person whom a parent has specifically authorized in writing to pick up their child that day. Written authorization is required for any irregular pickup.

Please let me know if your child will be absent, arrive late, or be picked up by someone different.

Pickup is a very busy transition. At the end of class, the children are excited to see their families and tend to rush out of the gate all at once. Children who do not see their parent waiting can quickly become worried or distressed. I do my best to keep everyone together and safely supervised when a parent is delayed, but this can be difficult while multiple children are being released at the same time.

For both safety and your child’s comfort, please plan to arrive about five minutes early and be standing at the gate when class ends.

Each family receives one courtesy grace for a late pickup during the school year. After that, pickup after 12:00 p.m. is subject to a $1-per-minute late fee. Please message me immediately if an unexpected delay occurs.

Our driveway may occasionally become blocked during drop-off or pickup. Thank you for your patience as each family safely loads and leaves.

Illness

Keeping illness out of our little school as much as possible protects every Wild Acorns family. Because I am the only teacher, illness can also result in school closing for everyone.

Please keep your child home if the child—or anyone in the household during the previous three days—has experienced vomiting, viral diarrhea, lice, a contagious rash, or another highly contagious illness.

Children must remain home for:

• A fever of 100.7°F or higher

• Vomiting or viral diarrhea

• Severe or persistent coughing

• Difficulty breathing

• Pink eye or unexplained eye discharge

• Lice or nits

• An undiagnosed rash

• Any contagious illness

Children must be fever-free without medication for at least 24 hours. Pink eye requires at least 24 hours of treatment, and the eyes must be free of discharge. A rash must be gone or accompanied by a medical note confirming it is not contagious.

Please never give fever-reducing medication to hide symptoms before school. Doing so may result in termination from the program.

If symptoms develop during school, your child will be kept comfortable and separated from classmates while I contact you for immediate pickup. All medications, including over-the-counter medications, must be given at home.

Parents and siblings who are ill should remain outside the preschool area during drop-off and pickup.

Outdoor Safety

Outdoor learning comes with wonderful opportunities and natural risks. Children interact with mud, rocks, sticks, trees, the garden, animals, tools, swings, and climbing equipment. Occasional bumps, scrapes, bruises, insect bites, and very muddy clothing are part of active outdoor childhood.

Our safety practices include:

• Keeping exterior gates closed

• Teaching children to remain where they can see an adult

• Teaching safe use of sticks, rocks, tools, and play equipment

• Frequent handwashing, especially after animal contact

• Requiring appropriate clothing and footwear

• Adjusting activities for heat, cold, rain, wind, or storms

• Closely supervising children throughout the program

We use a covered outdoor potty for restroom breaks. Children should wear clothing they can manage as independently as possible.

I will notify you of injuries and significant emotional incidents. Please also tell me about any existing injury or unusual mark when your child arrives.

I, Hannah Grady, and my husband, Darby Grady, live on the preschool property, along with our son, Drew (age 7) and dog, Daisy Mae.. Our neighbor, Sherise Irving, lives behind us and shares the driveway. Sherise is not involved in the preschool and does not interact with the children other than occasionally waving hello.

Background checks have been completed for all adults living on the preschool property. I have also completed CPR training and the North Carolina Family Child Care Home Licensing Workshop.

Emergency Contacts and Procedures

Parents are considered their child’s primary emergency contacts. Please provide current phone numbers for both parents whenever possible, along with any additional emergency contacts requested on the enrollment form.

In an emergency, I will contact the parents immediately. If neither parent can be reached, I will call the additional emergency contacts listed for the child.

For a life-threatening emergency, I will call 911. If emergency personnel determine that a child must be transported before a parent arrives, the child may be taken by ambulance. Wild Acorns does not transport children to the hospital and is not responsible for ambulance or medical expenses.

Birthdays, Field Trips, and Community Events

We love celebrating birthdays at Wild Acorns! Families may provide a dye-free classroom treat, and children with summer birthdays will also receive a special celebration day.

Several field trips will be planned during the school year. Parents transport and remain responsible for their children during field trips. Younger siblings are always welcome. Families are responsible for admission or activity fees.

Community is an important part of Wild Acorns, especially during our final year. Our school events may include:

• Class parties such as Thanksgiving, Valentine’s and Easter Eggstravaganza

• Popsicle Meet & Greet

• Lantern Festival

• Jingle Jams

• Sausages & S’mores Bonfire and Potluck

• Veteran Visitor

• Field trips to the pumpkin patch, strawberry field, and tree farm

• Nature hike releasing our hatched butterflies

• Graduation at Cane Creek Park

These are parent-participation events rather than drop-off activities. Please make every effort to attend so our children and families can build friendships and share these special memories together.

Events cannot happen without your help! Parents will be asked to help bring dye-free food and assist with planning, preparing, setting up, or supporting events alongside me. I will reach out to families with specific requests for help and involvement as each event approaches.

Acknowledgment of Nature-School Risks

Nature-based learning includes risks that cannot be completely eliminated, including falls, branches, sticks, rocks, animals, insects, spiders, snakes, weather, tools, playground equipment, and possible exposure to animal waste or other outdoor contaminants.

I use supervision, cleaning, safety instruction, and reasonable precautions to reduce these risks. School will be canceled when wind, storms, snow, ice, or other conditions make attendance unsafe.

Thank you for trusting me with your children. It has been an incredible gift to create Wild Acorns and watch so many children learn, grow, explore, make friends, care for animals, and find joy in nature.

I am truly grateful and excited that your family will be part of our final chapter. My hope is that we finish this last year with a strong sense of community, treasured friendships, and memories our families will carry with them long after Wild Acorns ends.