We are a cooperative school. The success of our programs depend upon you, the parents and families of our students. We need your time, talents, and enthusiasm to make our school a happy and rewarding experience for your children.
Parents are asked to drive on field-trips, bring in snacks, help with fund-raisers, and assist in the classroom on a scheduled, rotating basis. Your participation enhances the quality of our programs and gives you an opportunity to play an active role in your children's early learning experiences.
A co-op, short for cooperative, is defined as an organization that is owned or managed by the members of the group.
The first co-op preschool in the United States was founded in 1916 at the University of Chicago. The founding mothers' goal was to pool their resources to create a child care program that would allow them to participate in the war effort.
For Your Child:

For You:
Classroom Participation - Your Child's "Special Day"
When it is your day to assist in the classroom, your child gets to have his/her special day. This means that he/she gets to be first to do certain things (such as being line leader), and has special duties in the class that day(such as helping serve the snack, and helping with the weather report). Your children really look forward to having their special days, both to introduce you to their friends, and also to show you the classroom.
In the 3s program, parents must assist in the classroom a minimum of 3 days over the course of the school year. In the 4s program, parents must assist 4 days. Parents act as teacher's aides - supervising, reading, writing, interacting, and playing with the children as is needed during the course of each school day. Parent helpers arrive at 5-10 minutes early. In the 4s class, the parent helper has the option of staying for lunch, or leaving after snack (at approximately 10:45 am). In the 3s class, the parent helper stays to the end of the day at 11:30 am.
Keep in mind that the special helper doesn't always have to be the child's parent. We have had grandparents, aunts, uncles, and special friends spend the day in the classroom.
The parent helper calendar is set in advance by the Parent Liason, but we work with you to avoid days you are unable to help. Most parents are also willing to swap days if something comes up in your schedule. The calendar schedule is posted in the classroom above the mailboxes.
Providing Snacks
The "special helper" parent is responsible for the snacks and drinks on that day. Your children love to be the ones who bring snack for their classmates! The State of Connecticut Department of Health provides specific guidelines regarding nursery school snacks. Two of the following four food groups need to be included in the snack:
*If you are baking something at home, enriched flour must be the major ingredient! *For birthdays, MINI CUPCAKES are fine as long as they are accompanied by two of the four food groups. Board Meetings All currently enrolled families are invited to the monthly board meeting, which is USUALLY held on the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 at the school (please see the large calendar in the classroom for exact dates, times, and locations). The Board meetings are important vehicles for setting school policies, planning special school activities and events, and for communicating about the current classroom climate. If you have a subject you'd like discussed at the meeting, please send it to CantonCNS@comcast.net and it will be added to the agenda. There are 13 parents who volunteer their time to serve on the Board of Directors. If you are interested in serving on the board, please speak to Debbie Lane, the director. Work Days If you have a special talent, please let Debbie know and she will put your talents to use!
Each family is required to volunteer once a year for a work day. The jobs include ground maintenance, cleaning school equipment, painting, etc. The jobs are widely varied and change from year to year depending upon what is needed, as we are required to maintain the grounds and Grange building.
If you are unable to assist, we require that you contribute $75 to be used throughout the year to help defray the cost of maintenance at the school.