The things you were going to ask on the phone

We take babies from six weeks old and children up to five, in four rooms: Infants, Toddlers, Preschool and Pre-K. A child moves up when they are ready for the next room, not on their birthday.

It depends on the room and the month. Infant spaces are the tightest and usually need the most notice. Tell us your child's age and roughly when you need to start and we will tell you honestly whether we can take you, put you on the list, or point you somewhere else.

Visit first. Come and see the rooms, meet the teachers your child would actually be with, and ask everything. After the visit there is paperwork to read and complete, a registration fee to pay, and then we agree a start date. The space is held once the forms and fee are in.

Yes, and we would rather you did. You are welcome to bring your child, which also tells us something useful about how they settle. Call ahead so somebody who can answer your questions properly is free when you arrive.

Tuition is all-inclusive, which means meals, snacks and classroom materials are in the fee rather than added on later. Rates depend on the room and the schedule, so we quote them when we know your child's age and the days you need. Ask on the tour or call (631) 650-0564.

Each room publishes its real schedule, hour by hour, on this site. Broadly: arrival and breakfast, a morning meeting, learning centers, outside time, lunch, rest, a second block of centers and outside time, and a closing circle before pick-up. Infants run on their own sleep and feed rhythm inside that frame.

Frog Street, which is a research-based early childhood curriculum running from infancy upward, paired with Conscious Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey for the social and emotional side. Conscious Discipline is the part that shapes how an adult responds when a child is upset, which is the thing that matters most in a room of two-year-olds.

Yes, weather permitting, and in most rooms twice: once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Outdoor time is on the written schedule rather than being whatever is left at the end.

Meals and snacks are included and are catered by Lessing's, prepared fresh that day in the kitchen of the Sunrise Business Center, the building we are in. Teachers sit and eat with the children rather than supervising from the side.

We use a phone app that keeps you up to date on your child's day rather than saving it all for pick-up. We will set you up with it before the first day. You can of course still just ask us at the door.

Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM. We are closed on weekends.

3500 Sunrise Highway, Great River, NY 11739, inside the Sunrise Business Center. The building is in Great River, on the Islip side, a few minutes from East Islip, Islip Terrace and Oakdale.

Ask us. Whether we can hold a part-time space depends on the room and on how the rest of the week fills, so it is a real conversation rather than a yes or no on a webpage.

Less than you might expect, because meals, snacks and classroom materials are all included in tuition rather than being sent in. We go through the full list with you before the first day so nothing is a surprise on the morning.

No. Diapering and potty time are written into the daily schedule in every room below Pre-K, several times a day. We work on it with you rather than setting a deadline.

Yes. We are licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Any licensed program in New York can be looked up in the state's public register, including its inspection history, and we would encourage you to look up any center you are considering, including ours.

Qualified, trained early childhood staff, and the same faces day to day, which matters more in an infant room than almost anything else. You will meet the teachers in your child's room on the tour, not just the director.

With Conscious Discipline, which starts from the adult rather than the child: a calm grown-up, a named feeling, and connection before correction. For toddlers that means helping them find words for a big feeling. For preschoolers it moves toward solving the problem themselves. Nobody is shamed and nobody sits in a corner.

We call you, and we tell you what we saw rather than only what we concluded. Our illness policy is part of the enrollment paperwork so that the rules are clear before you need them, not during.