Happy New Year! We hope your holidays and winter breaks have been joyful for you and your families; we are excited to see everyone again next week and hearing all about your time together. At Pilgrim Community Preschool, 2026 will be a special year as we celebrate our 60th Anniversary! We look forward to planning a celebration with our vast community built through six decades of joyous playful education. As we are starting our planning, we would love your input and ideas as well: please fill out the planning committee form below with how you can help us in our celebration!

Though with winter upon us and the natural world is resting in hibernation, January is often a unique time of growth in the preschool year. At our mid-point of the year, children have gained trust the classroom routines and expectations and have developed rich and caring relationships with their peers and teachers; both of which bolsters self-esteem and confidence in young children. As such, we often see children return to school with more confidence to engage in classroom exploration including more complex learning ideas and concepts. They return ready to bloom and grow! However ready children may be, sometimes the first few days returning from a long break can still be a bit tricky. In our classrooms, teachers are ready to welcome your child back with open arms to play filled days with group time dedicated to revisiting routines and rhythms to get back into the groove. Families can help support the transition back to school by:

• making sure bedtime and mealtimes have returned to regular schedule

• plan for a bit of extra time to get out the door and to school

• prepping backpacks and weather appropriate clothes the night before to reduce the morning rush

• by discussing your daily routine for drop off and pickup with your child so they are empowered with understanding the back to school plan

We look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday, January 6th again!

Priority registration for current families will begin January 9 at 10 am.

A link to complete the enrollment application will be shared to all current families via brightwheel. Registration is on a first come, first serve basis. Families may be placed in second class choices or on waitlists if classrooms are full. Some FAQ’s about enrollment options are below. If you have more questions, please reach out anytime.

Can I use the link to enroll a younger sibling? Of course!

Can I enroll in AM, lunch and PM classes to create an 8:30-3:30 schedule? Yes and No. You can register for both morning and afternoon classes, however as we are licensed for up to 5 hours of care only: someone must pickup your child between these classes, lunch is not an option to bridge between these classes.

What are the differences between Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten for my 4 year old? As we use play-based emergent curriculum aligning with Illinois Early Learning Guidelines and Standards in all our classes, children in every room will be encouraged to create, explore, investigate, experiment and build confidence in competence in ways which support your child’s healthy development and unique learning needs. Our Preschool classrooms are multi-age classrooms with a combination of children 3 to 5 years of age for 3-hour school day options. Benefits of a multi-age preschool classroom include increased leadership and role modeling opportunities for older children while deepening play experiences in the classroom. Pre-Kindergarten is a 5 hour class for children who are 4 years old by September 1, and entering Kindergarten in the following school year. Learning through play, the longer Pre-Kindergarten class encourages children to fully explore concepts with expanded projects while increasing stamina and independence.

What are the differences between Typical Preschool and Nature Preschool classes? As shared above, each preschool classroom uses play-based emergent curriculum to support learning and development across Illinois Early Learning Guidelines and Standards. Science, nature and outdoor exploration are part of every classroom experience at Pilgrim Community Preschool, however Nature Preschool’s curricular focus is fully rooted in environmental, nature, outdoor scientific exploration. Nature Preschool children will spend up to half of their classroom time outside in ALL weather (except severe weather alerts) with time spent in the outdoor classroom, playground and on daily nature walks.

Is there any flexibility in the schedule? Maybe! We understand our schedule may differ from your family’s needs - please reach out and let us know as there MAY be some wiggle room to accommodate a different schedule. However as space is limited, enrollment aligning to the schedule will take priority.

What are the Extended Day options? Families can sign up children for before or after school care with Extended Day Classes: Early Day 7:30-8:30 am OR Stay & Play 12:30-1:30 pm and Lunch 11:30-12:30. Extended Day classes are a regrouping of children across classrooms and available to all enrolled children except Pre-Kindergarten classroom. Flexible registration of one to five days per week for the school year are available. More information including monthly tuition based on number of days per week is available on our website.

Can I share the Priority Registration link with interested friends or family? On or after January 24th when Open Enrollment begins, feel free to share the link with anyone who may like to join our community, but not before. We will not process non-current family registrations before then.

Does my child need to be potty trained? Our 2 year old classrooms are equipped with changing tables to support the full range of potty training. As our Preschool classrooms do not have dedicated changing tables, children are encouraged to be well on their potty training journey before school starts in September. Each child’s potty training journey is unique and we are here to support in this skill as well, a potty training workshop will be offered again in Spring. Children enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten must be consistently independent in their toileting needs.

Is there financial aid available? Yes. If your family is seeking financial assistance, indicate so on the application and we will share the Financial Aid Application to identify which type of aid is the best fit for your family. We provide sibling discounts, scholarships and partner with Illinois Action for Children for additional Child Care Assistance Program.

What schedule and class size is each classroom?

2 Year Old:

Circle Room: 10 spaces Monday-Friday including 2-day Tuesday/Thursday, 3-day Monday/Wednesday/Friday or 5-day Monday-Friday options.

Star Room: 9 spaces Monday-Thursday including 2-day Monday/Wednesday, Tuesday/Thursday or 4-day Monday-Thursday options.

3-5 Year-Old:

Hexagon Nature Preschool Room: 16 spaces Monday-Thursday or Monday-Friday 8:30-11:30. Monday- Thursday 12:30-3:30.

Square Room: 16 spaces Monday-Thursday or Monday-Friday 8:30-11:30.

Triangle Room: 16 spaces Monday-Thursday or Monday-Friday 8:30-11:30.

Rainbow Pre-Kindergarten Room: 11 spaces Monday-Friday 8:30-1:30 with catered lunch included.

Still have questions? Reach out anytime or attend our Virtual Open House January 22nd 7 PM or In-Person Open House January 24th 10 AM-12 PM

Summer Camp Priority Registration opens February 2nd

Save The Date! Pilgrim Community Preschool Pizza Party Friday February 6th 5 PM - 7 PM

All families are invited for a fun evening of music, dancing, and pizza tasting from a variety of local pizza parlors! This free family event will also include Silent Auction Fundraiser featuring Themed Baskets, One of a Kind collaborative artwork and Teacher Outings. Sign up to Volunteer today!