Ladybug FAQs

Each day at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool consists of free play, circle time, specialty classes, daily outings and outdoor play on the Ladybug patio. At the end of the day we wind down with some stories and quiet activities as we anxiously wait to tell parents all about our day. Check out the sample Ladybug Daily Schedule for details and timing.

At drop-off parents can expect to come into our Ladybug school to join the drop-off routine to help your child get comfortable with their new child care and preschool. You will have an opportunity to see where children take off their shoes, help put their backpack in their cubby and start by washing our hands to keep germs at bay! 

Once hands are clean and we are ready to play, you and your child will join our teachers in the classroom for the first 15 minutes, as other children begin to arrive, to help your child adjust.

Backpack with lunchbox, an extra set of clothing including pants, shirt, underwear (if your child is potty trained), socks and an extra mask. Be sure to label everything with your child’s name on it.

A sleeve of diapers if your child is not fully potty trained. For those children that are potty trained, but need a diaper during nap, please provide diapers.

Child care drop-off for both full day and half day students is at 8:30am – 8:45am Monday through Friday. Ladybug Childcare & Preschool uses the small side door that we use for our morning drop off. There will be a teacher to greet you and your child and bring your child into Ladybug. We ask that parents give their child a hug and a kiss outside. 

As Ladybug Childcare & Preschool is located inside a residential building, we ask that you help to respect our neighbors and do not block driveways or the front entrance with cars and strollers. There is extra parking across the street at Fort Mason for use.

If you will be late to the child care drop-off (arriving after 8:45am), please contact the Ladybug teachers and directors via the HiMama Daycare App with a time when you can be expected to arrive.

Pickup for the half day program is at 1:15pm at the front entrance of the building, just following our lunch time.
Pickup for the full day program is at 5:30pm at the front entrance of the building. Ladybug Childcare & Preschool does not offer after-hours care beyond 5:30pm. Please be sure to be on time in order to avoid incurring late fees. 

Please let the Ladybug teachers and director know if you will be doing an early pickup (before 1:15pm for the half day child care program and before 5:30pm for the full day program). You can contact us via the main Ladybug Childcare & Preschool phone number 415-776-5054 to let us know when you have arrived for pickup.

Ladybug Childcare & Preschool is open Monday through Friday 8:30am – 5:30pm.

Full day child care and preschool programs run from 8:30am – 5:30pm Monday through Friday.

Half day child care and preschool programs run from 8:30am – 1:15pm Monday through Friday. 

The majority of communications between parents and Ladybug Childcare & Preschool will occur within the HiMama Daycare App. You can look to HiMama for daily pictures of our play-based activities, outdoor play and adventures, updates specific to your child’s care and needs, as well as any general updates for Ladybug.

Invoices will be sent via HiMama Daycare App. 
Upcoming events, including child care reunions, in-school celebrations, etc. will also be communicated via the HiMama Daycare App.

At Ladybug Childcare & Preschool, we value outdoor play and believe it is so important to early childhood development and learning. 
We do daily outings from 11:30am-12:15pm where we visit local community gardens, parks, beaches and playgrounds. Fort Mason is one of our favorite parks to visit where we climb on logs and trees, explore various kinds of bugs and birds, and learn about the various plants in the community garden. 

At Ladybug Childcare & Preschool, we understand how critical the first 5 years of a child’s life is to their brain development. We are continually educating ourselves on ways to grow and improve our early childhood education. 

With a focus on Reggio Emilia inspired educational philosophy, our days will consist of lots of creative ways to teach your child all the basics – from fine motor and gross motor skills to pre-kindergarten skills. Our daily activities consist of everything from cooking, music, movement, science experiments, and LOTS of arts and crafts to learning sign language, yoga and your favorite childhood songs like BINGO and the ABCs.

At Ladybug Childcare, we also place a big emphasis on speech development and emotional intelligence, using our daily play-based learning activities as opportunities  to help each child learn to express themselves and self-regulate.

Ladybug Childcare & Preschool provides morning snacks around 10:30am and an afternoon snack after nap time. Lunch is to be provided by the parents. 

Yes! We encourage you to have your child bring a comfort creature, blanket, sleep sack or pacifier for nap time when they first start. Whether this is your child’s first time attending child care or preschool, or they are a veteran to daycare centers, their nap time comfort can help make the transition easier.

We ask that whatever comfort object is brought to school is left. We will wash sleep sacks, blankets and comfort objects as needed during the week and at the end of each week.
If your child no longer uses their comfort object, it will be returned to the family. 

Nap time is from 1:30-3:30pm. Each child is given their own napping mat to sleep on. All children nap in the same room.

Not every child needs a nap, depending on their age. We love quiet time for those that don’t need a nap! During quiet time, your child will have an opportunity to rest their body and mind, read some books, play with toys quietly and restore their energy for the afternoon’s fun activities and play-based learning. 

We kindly ask that all toys and books beyond what will remain on your child’s nap mat remain at home. This helps to mitigate outside germs and also makes it easier on the children. It can be hard to share your favorite toy with your friends! 

No! Every child is different and potty trains at their own pace. When both the family and child are ready to start potty training and using the toilet, the Ladybug team will help to assist your child through the process. We will offer your child an opportunity to use the toilet throughout the day. The Ladybug teachers also bring a portable potty to our daily outdoor activities. 

Please be sure to provide pull-ups, extra underwear and extra clothing during the duration of their potty training transition. 

Even if your child is potty training or recently potty trained, oftentimes a diaper or pull-up is still necessary during nap time. We ask that the parents continue to provide diapers or pull-ups until the child is ready to nap without one. 

We understand that sending your children to a child care, daycare or preschool when they have food allergies can be especially stressful during early childhood. Ladybug Childcare & Preschool takes food and other allergies very seriously. Our food allergy policy is in accordance with the AAFA food allergies in child care settings standards (Food Allergies in Child Care Settings) for the state of California.

Please be sure to let us know prior to your child starting at Ladybug if they have any allergies – food, skin, seasonal, medication, etc. We can discuss our food allergy policy during your tour of the Ladybug child care facilities.

For mild food allergies or food sensitivities and intolerances, we will reach out to confirm that your child can in fact have specific food items before giving them to them. If you would like to provide Ladybug with an allergy-safe alternative to ensure your child does not feel left out, we are happy to provide them with that allergy-safe food or snack.

In the case of severe food allergies, such as a peanut allergy, we will ask all other families to exclude those items from their children’s lunches to avoid potential exposure to the allergen. 

I.e. colds, diarrhea, when to keep them home, for how long, informing school, etc.

In the event of an injury:
Staff will assess the injury. 

If the injury is minor, first aid will be given and parents will be notified at pick up.

If injury is minimal, first aid will be given and an accident report completed. You will receive an update on the accident and injury via the HiMama Daycare App.

If the injury is serious, trained staff will attend to the child and call 911. Families will be contacted and one staff member will accompany the child to the hospital. 

In the event of an illness: 
Runny nose 
Fever of 100 
Vomiting 
Diarrhea 
Red, swollen or discharging from eyes 
Rashes 
Irritability, unusually tired or lethargic 

Children will be sent home and not to return to school for 24 hours after being fever free and/or they have passed a normal bowel movement. If antibiotics are given to  the child, the child cannot return to school for 24 hours after they have  taken the antibiotic.  

Hand, Foot, and Mouth: Cannot return to school until the blisters have  dried.  

Using gloves, hand washing, and disinfecting toys is the best way to  control infectious bugs. 

For all other protocols, please visit our Parent Portal and Parent Handbook.

Although we encourage parents to apply sunscreen prior to dropping your child off at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool, sunscreen is also applied to each child prior to our daily outings. 

The Ladybug Childcare & Preschool contract includes a Sunscreen Utilization Permission Form (link to form) that must be filled out and signed by parents or guardians prior to your child’s first day at Ladybug. The Sunscreen Utilization Permission Form not only gives Ladybug permission to apply sunscreen to your child, but you can specify the types of kid-friendly sunscreen you would like used.

We always use a sunscreen product of SPF 15 or higher! 

Based on current health and safety guidelines, all children and adults over the age of 2 will be required to wear a mask indoors. Masks are not required outdoors. Please be sure to pack an extra mask in your child’s backpack. In the case that you forget a mask, Ladybug Childcare & Preschool will provide your child with a disposable kids mask. 

Yes, we offer monthly Ladybug child care tours and open houses at 9:30am for 30minutes. During this time the Ladybug Director and Owner, Yvonne Hove, will discuss our Reggio Emilia inspired approach to learning, our daily routine, you will meet our wonderful teachers and you will have a chance to observe the current students during their morning free play and circle time. 

Yes! We are always accepting child care applications for new enrollments into our Ladybug Childcare & Preschool program. Children must be 18 months old in order to start, but we encourage parents to apply to our child care program before that date in order to ensure a placement. 

If we do not have any openings during the time that you submit your child care application and would like to be notified when a space opens up, please let us know.

Ladybug Childcare & Preschool offers monthly open house tours. You can visit our facilities and submit a child care application or email us a copy of your application to [email protected]. 

Once we have received your application, the Ladybug team will review the application and be in touch with any final questions you may have. 

If your application has been accepted by Ladybug Childcare & Preschool, you will then be asked to complete the Ladybug contract and provide your deposit to hold your child’s spot at our school. 

Yes, Ladybug Childcare & Preschool remains open all summer, with the exception of a 2 week break at the end of August. View the full 2022-2023 Ladybug holiday, vacation and school closures calendar (link to calendar).

There is no parent involvement required at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool, however, we encourage you to get to know your child’s teachers and interact with other parents! 

Every year Ladybug hosts a reunion for Ladybug families – new and old – to get together and celebrate how much their children have grown up. 

Parent socials are hosted at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool twice a year as a chance for the parents to relax and get to know one another. 

Please fill out the Ladybug Childcare & Preschool contact form (link to form), email us [email protected] or call us 415-776-5054 to get information regarding child care tuition. 

Tuition rates vary depending on whether your child will be attending Ladybug’s full-time or part-time child care program and whether they will be there for full day or half day child care. 

A 1-month deposit for the amount of your tuition will be required to hold a space at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool for your child.

You will be required to pay a 1-month deposit in the amount of your monthly tuition in order to reserve a spot at Ladybug Childcare & Preschool. This deposit will be applied to the last month’s tuition. 

There is a $100 per year fee for field trips, art supplies and music and movement class with Teacher Gayle (link to Gayle). 

If monthly tuition payments are not received by the 5th of the month, we reserve the right to apply a late fee of $25 to the following month’s invoice. 

Ladybug Childcare & Preschool is set up with Venmo for easy payments. You can also pay by check.

Please be sure to pay your monthly childcare tuition by the 1st of the  month in order to avoid incurring late fees. Your monthly child care invoice will be sent via the HiMama Daycare App 

Gift cards for teachers and/or Ladybug Childcare & Preschool is the best way to show your appreciation and contribute to your child’s learning and ECE activities at the end of the year. 

There are a couple ways to get ahold of the Ladybug Childcare & Preschool teachers and director: 

Send a message to our teachers and directors via the HiMama Daycare App

Call the Ladybug Childcare & Preschool main number 415-776-5054

Call or text Ladybug Childcare’s Director and Owner, Yvonne Hove 415-971-1950

The HiMama Daycare App is a wonderful application that you can download right to your phone to view daily photos and videos of what your child is working on. You can download, save and share photos and videos with loved ones!

You can also view daily and weekly play-based learning activities and curricula, send messages to Ladybug teachers, director and staff, and view your monthly tuition invoice.