Q: What are the class times & school fees?
A: The fees for our classes are broken down as follows:
Monthly tuition:
Morning 3 year old class – Tuesday/Thursday; 9:15am-11:45am; $170/month
Morning 4 year old Jr, Kindergarten class – Monday/Wednesday/Friday; 9:15am-11:45am; $200/month
Registration fee:
$100 non-refundable
Volunteer bond:
$100 refundable at end of the year (volunteer commitments must be met)
Field trip fee:
$25 – for information on frequency and the type of field trips we do see the Events page.
For further information on the above noted fees please see the registration page, then look for the registration package.
Q: What is the Affordability Grant Program?
Starting April 1, 2025, Preschools will be reimbursed up to $100 per month per child on parents’ behalf, up from $75.
This will replace the Child Care Subsidy Program for children zero to kindergarten-age attending child care during regular school hours.
The affordability grant is registered for through the preschool and applied automatically towards tuition (no action for registered families required, all families qualify for this). This $100/month government grant is already accounted for in our tuition rates.
Please contact chair@discoverypreschoolyyc.com with any questions.
Q: How can I pay for the school fees?
A: The school fees can be paid for either via PAD or Credit Card within ChildFriendly. To learn more please see the registration page, then look for the registration package.
Q: Do you offer full-time preschool?
A: We do not offer full-time preschool at this time.
Q: What does the typical daily schedule look like?
A: The standard day usually progresses as below:
Children start to establish drop off routines on their own. This consists of remvoing outdoor shoes and putting on indoor shoes, hanging up backbacks and placing snacks in the snack room.
Than children engage in free play time, art stations and pretend play (themes often rotating depening on the season and what the children are interested in)
Mindful morning meeting (includes our welcome song, affirmations, discussing the days plans and learning new letters, numbers, songs etc)
Gym time, outside time or body break (outside time dependant on the weather)
Bathroom break, all children are required to wash hands before snack
Snack time (this is a packed healthy snack from home – no nuts)
Back to free play or outside play/activity
Q: What are the class sizes?
A: The 3s class has a maximum of 16 students and the 4s class has a maximum of 18 students.
Q: What is the volunteering commitment (and pre-requisite) inside and outside the classroom?
A: The classroom volunteer commitment works out to approximately once per month (or once every couple of months with a full capacity class). This volunteer can be a parent, grandparent, or caregiver. Outside the classroom, parents are required to have a parent job which is generally a 1-2 hour commitment per month. Job sign up is at the start of the school year and the jobs themselves range from making play-doh to coordinating field trips.
To support our volunteer program and encourage participation, a $100 volunteer bond (Due September 1st of the school year), has been introduced. This bond is refundable at the end of the school year, provided that all volunteer duties have been fulfilled. If not, the bond will be retained and go directly toward supporting preschool operations.
NOTE: All volunteers are required to have a valid police check handed into the school. Information on how to acquire this is given once your child is registered. It is free of charge with the Discovery Preschool form and can be completed online. Please see the Registration Package for more information.
Q: When can I register my child?
A: Your child must turn 3 years old by December 31st to register for the morning 3 year old class. Children turning 3 years old between August 31 – December 31st can be placed on a hold list until they turn 3. Before their 3rd birthday they can still attend class but must be accompanied by an adult for child-to-adult ratio purposes.
Your child must turn 4 years old by December 31st to register for the morning 4 year old class.
To learn more, please see the Registration page.
Q: What is the Reggio Emilia approach?
A: The Reggio Emilia philosophy is an emphasis on project based learning built upon the interests of the students. Topics for study are captured from the talk and play of the children and the teachers use their observations to formulate the direction of the curriculum.
To learn more about the Reggio Emilia approach, please see the Reggio Emilia page.
Q: What is the policy on feedback from parents to teachers?
A: We welcome feedback at Discovery Preschool. If you are having an issue please email the teachers directly at teacher@discoverypreschoolyyc.com or the chair at chair@discoverypreschoolyyc.com to set up an appropriate time to discuss.
Q: How do I get regular updates on what my child is doing in class?
A: Seesaw. Our teachers post regular updates of class exercises in the Seesaw app which can be downloaded for free. Teachers will also email out a weekly update including reminders for the upcoming week. WhatsApp groups are also created at the beginning of the school year for parents to join if they like. These are helpful for class updates, reminders, photos and engaging with fellow families!
Q: What does the school use Mabel’s Labels for?
A: Fundraising and keeping track of our belongings! We ask everything that comes to school to be labeled, and Discovery Preschool has partnered with Mabel’s Labels. If interested, parents can order labels online and a portion of those profits will go towards the school.
Information is on our Fundraising page.
Q: What is Kids Development Services (KDS)?
A: At Discovery Preschool, we wholeheartedly believe in supporting the potential of all children. Because of this value, we’ve chosen to collaborate with Kids Development Services (KDS), an organization which focuses its work around identifying the learning needs of children. KDS uses a multidisciplinary approach to assess and develop educational goals, typically around areas related to fine and gross motor development, and speech and language development. Involvement with this program is completely voluntary.
Click here to learn more.
*As we are a volunteer-run school, when sending an email to the registrar please expect a reply within two business days. Please note that response times may be longer if we are experiencing a high volume of inquiries.