TLS Adventures

Class meeting times (Mondays-Fridays):

Morning program: 9am-1pm

Afternoon Program: 1pm-5:30pm (pick up before 5:30pm)

Before care: (enrolled students only) 8:00-9:00 in the skyroom

Staff contact information: If you need to get in touch with us during school hours, a ProCare message is preferred. If you do not receive a response to an urgent message, please call the school at (415) 567-0430.

Morning Program Team: Sotweed Schneble, Jessica Moskowitz, Sara Farr, and Maria Silva

Afternoon Program Team: Riley Graham, Laura Garcia

Drop-off and Pick-up: Please arrive at TLS as close to 9:00 a.m. as possible, and no later than 9:30am. Staggered pick-ups/drop-offs off-site require teachers to use their phones, delay transitions, and otherwise impact the whole group’s timing and supervision. If you have an appointment or other scheduled and non-flexible commitment, please communicate with us at least one school day in advance so teachers can plan the best time and place to meet with you, and minimize distractions and disruptions for the group. If your child is enrolled in the afternoon program, the best plan may be to drop them off at school for the afternoon program at 1:00pm.

What to Expect: We’re so excited to welcome your child into TLS Adventures this summer! TLS Adventures will meet in the Skyroom at The Little School daily at 9am.

We will say hello, play, go to the bathroom, and have a quick community meeting about safety, where we will hike that day, and any other important information that the group needs to know.

We’ll give hiking partners and hike out for the morning! Each day we will walk to a nearby park (e.g. Laurel Hill Playground, Raymond Kimbell Playground, Alta Plaza Playground) or use public transportation for further distances (e.g. Rossi, Mountain Lake, Pan Handle). At these different locations, we’ll play and explore, and sometimes the teachers will bring a special project to do.

We will walk or bus back to school for 1pm pick-up for those who are not staying for the afternoon program. The children who stay for the afternoon program will be walked upstairs by teachers to classroom 5.

TLS Adventures is such a fun program for your child to explore this beautiful city. Hopefully, by the end, they can show you some spots that you’ve never been!

Afternoon program: The afternoon program will take place in classroom 5. There will be a short cozy time when children return from their morning adventures. The teachers keep the room quiet to support rest. Some children may fall asleep, especially when getting used to a big morning hiking outdoors. Children who don’t fall asleep will be given books or other quiet activities to do on their resting spot.

After about 20 minutes, the teachers will begin to open up the room for open choice. After some time playing in the classroom, the children will go outside to the yard and play.

ProCare App: We will be using the ProCare app for sign-in and sign-out, and some daily information sharing, such as any changes in drop-off or pick-up information, forgotten lunch/water bottle, issues that may impact your child's emotional state on a given day, etc. Please make sure anyone you have as an authorized pick-up person is indicated on your child’s list in the app. More info here.

What to Wear and What to Bring: Please dress your child in comfortable layers: pants (no shorts unless it is hot), T-shirt, shirt, sweatshirt, and even a jacket (if necessary) and close-toed shoes. Historically, we have found that the weather changes quickly and jackets are often needed in sudden mist or fog; please keep this in mind when getting your child ready in the morning.

Before arriving, please be sure to apply sunscreen on your child at home, as it (ideally) should go on before exposure to the sun.

Your child will bring a backpack that they will carry every day. This backpack should contain a set of labeled extra clothes (no extra shoes), lunch (see below), and a small bottle of water. Fit of the backpack is important for best handling and hiking. The pack should not be so large that it covers your child’s entire back and buttocks. Shoulder strap fit should be tested before use. Experience has shown that it can be uncomfortable for children to walk with a backpack that will not stay in position on their back.

Lunch: We ask that instead of packing your child’s lunch in a lunchbox, you put it into a soft bag or directly into the backpack. It makes the backpack lighter and easier to carry. Teachers will bring a mid-morning snack of fruit/veggie, a grain, and a protein like cheese, seeds, or dried chickpeas for the group, but please feel free to include a separately labeled mid-morning snack that provides energy for hiking too, especially if your child is particular about food. We are a no nut school, so any packed food items need to be tree nut and peanut-free. Please pack a water bottle every day.

Rainy Days: We plan to be very hardy and miss out on scheduled adventures only in the event of heavy, persistent rain. Please remember to dress your child appropriately. Layers! Layers! Layers! Don’t forget a raincoat and rain boots if rain is a possibility, and we recommend a rain suit or rain pants as well. The Little School has rain gear for any families for whom this is a hardship, or if the forecast changes unexpectedly.

If there are any days when we cannot go on our adventure, we will enjoy a day at The Little School, maybe going for a short walk, weather permitting.

Separation and Saying Goodbye: If you think separation and saying goodbye might be tricky for your child, please let the teachers know ahead of time, and we can make individual plans. These things may be helpful:

Talk about school a few times
Give specific information – teachers’ names, routines of the day
Read the Summer social story a few times before your child’s first day
Emphasize that you will always come back
Acknowledge any feelings your child may show.
Remind your child that, even with the above feelings, you know they will learn to say goodbye
Remind your child that the teacher will keep them safe and help them feel better
Try to remain confident yourself
Make a clear, definite departure even if your child resists

Looking forward to a great summer!

The TLS Adventures Teachers