BYU-Idaho Child Labs Policies and Procedures
The following are policies relating to children's participation in the child labs. Please review prior to enrolling children in the labs and use frequently as a reference regarding parking, illness, or holiday observance in the labs.
In case of fire, children will exit the preschool/toddler classrooms to the playground. Fire drills will be conducted regularly. In an emergency, if evacuation of the building is necessary, children will be taken to the Smith Building and parents notified. Parents may pick up their child from the circular driveway located between the Clarke Building (near the playground) and the north end of the Smith Building.
Please provide the following for comfort in your child's backpack or clothing bag in the event of an emergency: A change of clothing; including socks, a small (non-perishable) snack your child will enjoy, a bottle of water and one dose of any medications they may need with instructions of how to administer. Place them in a large zip lock bag with their name written on the label. We will return all unneeded/unused items at the end of the semester.
Please provide the following for comfort in your child's backpack or clothing bag in the event of an emergency: A change of clothing; including socks, a small (non-perishable) snack your child will enjoy, a bottle of water and one dose of any medications they may need with instructions of how to administer. Place them in a large zip lock bag with their name written on the label. We will return all unneeded/unused items at the end of the semester.
Please dress your child in comfortable play clothes that are appropriate for the weather. There will be an outside play period each day, except in extreme weather, usually below 15 degrees.
At the beginning of the semester, you may send an extra set of clothes, including socks and diapers or underwear (some you're not worried about losing). These clothes will be returned to you at the end of the semester. Children should NOT bring toys, gum, candy, or food to class.
At the beginning of the semester, you may send an extra set of clothes, including socks and diapers or underwear (some you're not worried about losing). These clothes will be returned to you at the end of the semester. Children should NOT bring toys, gum, candy, or food to class.
We will prepare a nutritious snack each day your child is in the preschool/toddler lab. You will receive a copy of the snack schedule before classes begin. Inform the lab supervisor of any unique dietary restrictions or allergies. Accreditation guidelines prohibit the distribution of homemade food brought to class. You should discuss any exceptions to this policy with your lab supervisor.
To ensure an environment of cultural respect and equality, we do not include holidays and/or birthdays as part of our preschool/toddler curriculum or instruction. If you want to bring a store-purchased individually wrapped treat, we will send it home with the children.
Parents will be notified, but written permission will not be requested when children go on walking field trips on campus (ex: for activities in the ballroom or a walk to the garden). Parents are welcome to attend on-campus field trips. Please arrange participation through your child's teacher. Due to shorter class times, the toddler lab does not have field trips.
No photographing or videography is allowed by parents or observers while children are in the lab. Another child may be in the frame when the picture is taken, and to prevent social media posts of other children in the labs, we cannot allow pictures or videos to be taken. Video recordings and photos of children in the preschool/toddler lab classrooms may be made for educational purposes and viewed by preschool/toddler lab faculty, staff and students. Occasionally preschool/toddler lab staff creates videos or take photos of the children's preschool/toddler experience that are then given to parents. If you have concerns about this practice, please contact the lab director.
We acknowledge that parents are the most influential teachers of their children. Because of our commitment to this premise, we provide several avenues through which parents may become involved in their early childhood education experience. We hope you will take advantage of the following activities:
- Sneak Peeks and Parent Handouts: highlights major learning activities related to focus for the week. You can prepare your child for each day's activities and discuss activities when you pick up your child.
- Child check-in/check-out: provides opportunities for student staff and parents to visit informally about the child.
- Home Visits: provides opportunities for student staff to become better acquainted with children and their families and discuss their child's experience individually.
- Posting of daily lesson plan: informs parents of scheduled activities.
- Extending classroom learning experiences in the home: A preschool sneak peek page, and a toddler lab parent handout, highlighting the week's activities will be sent home regularly. You can prepare your child for each day's activities and discuss activities when you pick up your child. Parents and families can reinforce and extend what the child is learning at school with follow-up activities at home.
- Parent Involvement: this gives parents the opportunity to be involved in the classroom through sharing personal talents, sharing family culture, and assisting on field trips.
- Classroom involvement: Schedule with the supervisor how you'd like to be involved in the classroom (preschool only).
- Individual Parent Conferences: this allows parents to schedule a time to meet with a teacher or program director to observe and discuss their child.
- Observation Booth: allows parents to observe their child at any time. Booths are open any time preschool/toddler labs are in session and are located in rooms 201, 215, and 221 for preschool and for toddler 275.
| Group | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Preschool | M/W Morning | 8:30 am - 11:00 am |
| M/W Afternoon | 12:10 pm - 2:10 pm | |
| M/TH Morning | 8:40 am - 10:40 am | |
| T/TH Afternoon | 1:15 pm - 3:45 pm | |
| Toddler | M/W Morning | 9:00 am - 10:30 am |
| M/W Afternoon | 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm | |
| T/TH Morning | 9:00 am - 10:30 am | |
| School-Age | M/W Afternoon | 2:45 pm - 5:15 pm |
Our guidance policy is to "Love them, correct them, and prepare a way for them" (from Teach the Children: An Agency Approach to Education by Neil Flinders). Our goal is to help children develop self-control and problem-solving skills. To achieve this goal, we will:
- Structure the environment and curriculum to minimize problems.
- Model appropriate behavior.
- Set reasonable and positive expectations.
- Offer choices.
- Trust children, respect feelings, and calmly talk about problems.
- Reinforce children's success in self-control and problem solving.
- Remind children of the rules when they forget and engage in inappropriate behavior.
- Redirect inappropriate behavior to something appropriate.
- Hold a child or remove him/her from the classroom if he/she is out of control or is resistant, but return the child to the classroom as soon as possible.
- Humiliate a child.
- Isolate them in a separate room or use a time-out chair.
- Take away food, rest, or bathroom privileges as punishment.
- Use corporal punishment.
If your child is ill, please keep him/her at home. This avoids exposing other children and teachers to possible illness. Notify us if your child develops a condition that might be transmitted to other children, such as chickenpox or head lice. If any of the following symptoms exist, please keep your child at home:
In the event of a disease outbreak, a child exempted from Idaho childcare immunization requirements may be excluded from a childcare facility for the duration of the outbreak, both for his/her own protection and for the protection of others.
- Headache
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Vomiting
- Sore throat
- Abdominal pain
- Pink eye
- Unusual spots, rash, or infected skin
- Runny nose with any colored discharge
- Any condition that would take your child out of the mainstream and require that a teacher spend an inordinate amount of time with just your child
In the event of a disease outbreak, a child exempted from Idaho childcare immunization requirements may be excluded from a childcare facility for the duration of the outbreak, both for his/her own protection and for the protection of others.
You will receive a parking pass permitting you to park in the designated area in the Clarke Building parking lot. This pass can only be used during the time you and your child are in the lab or observation booth.
For Toddler Labs, a teacher will greet you at the check-in table outside the classroom door. You will sign your child in, help wash their hands, and put their name tag on the back of their clothing. You may then accompany your child into the classroom as another teacher greets you both and helps your child find their locker and put their coat and backpack away. Please briefly say goodbye and let the teachers guide your child to a play activity.
For Check Out, a teacher will be by the east gates on either playground with a clipboard and sign-out sheet. You are invited to come onto the playground and pick up your child after you have signed them out. We also do check out indoors as well. Parents need to come to the classroom door, where a teacher will let them in to pick up their child.
For Preschool Labs, parents come to the classroom door and sign the children in and out with the teacher.
For Check Out, a teacher will again meet you at the curb to sign the checkout form. The children will be brought out as soon as they are ready. Alternatively, parents may sign their child out and go into the classroom. We also do check out indoors as well. Parents need to come to the classroom door, where a teacher will let them in to pick up their child.
All Labs If there is a line of cars in the parking lot, you can "quick" park in the 10-minute parking loop (just south of our parking area) at the Smith Building and walk to check your child in and check them out. If you arrive and no one is at the check-in table or curb, you must sign your child in and bring them into the classroom. DO NOT send your child in alone! The same person signing the child in must be the one to sign them out unless you have left written instructions on the sign-in sheet. Children will not be checked in early as the teachers are preparing. Late fees of 50 cents per child per minute will begin 5 minutes after the check-out time has ended.
For Toddler Labs, a teacher will greet you at the check-in table outside the classroom door. You will sign your child in, help wash their hands, and put their name tag on the back of their clothing. You may then accompany your child into the classroom as another teacher greets you both and helps your child find their locker and put their coat and backpack away. Please briefly say goodbye and let the teachers guide your child to a play activity.
For Check Out, a teacher will be by the east gates on either playground with a clipboard and sign-out sheet. You are invited to come onto the playground and pick up your child after you have signed them out. We also do check out indoors as well. Parents need to come to the classroom door, where a teacher will let them in to pick up their child.
For Preschool Labs, parents come to the classroom door and sign the children in and out with the teacher.
For Check Out, a teacher will again meet you at the curb to sign the checkout form. The children will be brought out as soon as they are ready. Alternatively, parents may sign their child out and go into the classroom. We also do check out indoors as well. Parents need to come to the classroom door, where a teacher will let them in to pick up their child.
All Labs If there is a line of cars in the parking lot, you can "quick" park in the 10-minute parking loop (just south of our parking area) at the Smith Building and walk to check your child in and check them out. If you arrive and no one is at the check-in table or curb, you must sign your child in and bring them into the classroom. DO NOT send your child in alone! The same person signing the child in must be the one to sign them out unless you have left written instructions on the sign-in sheet. Children will not be checked in early as the teachers are preparing. Late fees of 50 cents per child per minute will begin 5 minutes after the check-out time has ended.
| Check-In | Lab Time | Check Out | Late Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preschool M/W AM | 8:20-8:30 | 8:30-11:00 | 10:55-11:15 | 11:20 am |
| Preschool M/W PM | 12:00-12:10 | 12:10-2:10 | 2:05-2:25 | 2:30 pm |
| Preschool M/TH AM | 8:30-8:40 | 8:40-10:40 | 10:35-10:55 | 11:00 am |
| Preschool T/TH PM | 1:05-1:15 | 1:15-3:45 | 3:40-4:00 | 4:05 pm |
| Toddler M/W AM | 8:50-9:00 | 9:00-10:30 | 10:25-10:45 | 10:50 am |
| Toddler M/W PM | 1:50-2:00 | 2:00-3:30 | 3:25-3:45 | 3:50 pm |
| Toddler T/TH AM | 8:50-9:00 | 9:00-10:30 | 10:25-10:45 | 10:50 am |
| School-Age M/W PM | 2:35-2:45 | 2:45-5:15 | 5:10-5:30 | 5:35 pm |