Need a Full Time Preschool Option?

Here at Peekadoodle, we have a plethora of services to meet the needs of our particular demographic. Realizing that more and more families in San Francisco are made up of dual earners, we opened our Extended Care program to ease some of the work-family conflict that results.

Extended Care is where kids from all classes in both our Academy and our Prep program come to nap and hang out before being picked up. Since these kids have already been in more structured class before their time in Extended Care, the curriculum for Extended Care takes advantage of this unique situation and extra time.

There are many benefits to staying in consistent care, and we aim to take advantage of them by doing the following things:

Make it personal

We spend a LOT of time really getting to know each other in “the nap room.” We’ve made puzzles that match students to their morning classes, we get to know each other’s schedules, and we talk about our experiences throughout our school day, weeks, and life in general!

give them time

Many kids today are shuffled around from activity to activity without much time to pause, plan, and breathe. For this reason, in Extended Care, our curriculum often repeats so that children have the time to go as deep into exploration as they want. They can also plan ahead, which is hugely empowering! How much control does a two-year-old have over their lives these days?

build independence

Since we have more time (repeating curriculum, varying nap schedules, and a generally slower pace), we take the time to help kids figure out simple self-help skills. This might look like a teacher patiently waiting for a child to buckle their shoe, button their pants, or serve their own snack. Often times, it’s just easier for an adult to do it, but in Extended Care we wait. We cheer on the child as they figure out these necessary life skills!

expand their identities

Extended Care is a community – and family! With a mixed-age group, the children are constantly learning from each other and trying on different roles in their relationships to each other. For example, the child who comes from an Academy class may be the youngest three year old there, but in Extended Care, they might be the oldest child that day. Many children naturally change their behavior, trying on different hats as caregivers, helpers, and role-models. The child may be a younger sibling at home, but as the eldest in Extended Care, they might offer their lap to younger children.

Extended Care is truly unique as we aim to learn through building independence. Our kids will learn their ABCs, but we want to make sure that they also are taking time to learn about themselves and have fun doing it!