PreK & Fall Birthday Preschool

at The Hundred Acre School

A Pre-Kindergarten Program Designed for Future-Ready Learners: Our preschool program is intentionally designed for children in the year before Kindergarten, a true Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) experience for students age 4, including children who are turning 4 in the fall through our Fall Birthday Preschool option. This program prepares children academically, socially, and emotionally for a successful transition into Kindergarten and beyond.

A STEM-Focused Approach to Early Learning: We take pride in offering a STEM-focused early childhood curriculum where science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are woven into every part of the school day. Through play-based learning, hands-on exploration, and collaborative activities, children investigate real-world questions, solve problems, explore their creativity, and develop critical thinking skills.

Why STEM in early childhood? Research shows that when young children learn through meaningful, real-life connections, they build stronger foundations across all developmental domains, including literacy, language, mathematical reasoning, creativity, social-emotional skills, and cognitive development. Early exposure to STEM also nurtures persistence, curiosity, collaboration, and a positive attitude toward learning new challenges.

Learning in a Truly Unique Environment: Our location offers learning opportunities unlike anywhere else. Classrooms extend into:

  • Museums full of art, history, culture, innovation, and exploration
  • A botanical garden that immerses children in nature and hands-on science
  • An incredible outdoor environment full of discovery, investigation, and movement

Our talented early childhood educators thoughtfully design experiences that make learning come alive. Whether students are observing plants grow, building bridges with natural materials, exploring simple machines, creating art inspired by nature, or engaging in story-rich science play, every day sparks wonder and excitement. Grounding learning in STEM supports social-emotional development through collaboration, problem solving, perseverance, and the confidence that comes from trying new things and learning through exploration. Children learn to share ideas, listen to others, take turns, and celebrate both mistakes and successes as part of the learning journey, building the foundational habits and skills that set them up for school and life.

Strong School-Home Partnerships: We believe that families are essential partners in a child’s learning journey. Communication happens throughout the day via Brightwheel, where teachers share photos, videos, updates, and messages. This gives families a real-time “window into the classroom” and supports rich conversations at home about the day’s discoveries, friendships, and learning adventures. Parents and guardians feel informed, connected, and confident in their child’s preschool experience, always knowing that their child is not only cared for, but inspired.

Enjoy this slideshow of photos from our PreK classroom 2024-2025

Our program is a full-day which allows for care from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

  • Flexible drop off: 8:30-9am (included with all enrollments)
  • Our school day is from 9am – 3pm.
  • Flexible pick up 2:45pm-3:05pm (included with all enrollments)
  • Add optional after care 3pm-4:30pm
  • For tuition information, select the tuition menu option

Please note:

  • We are open for a regular week of school during what is typically February public school vacation week.

  • We are closed for April vacation week.
  • We follow Sandwich Public for weather-related closures. If there is a weather delay, we open at 10am.

Enrollment Options.

  • Families may choose a 3-, 4-, or 5-day schedule.
  • Beginning in the 2026–2027 school year, families will be able to choose from the day combinations listed below. We are excited to offer these consistent options to support scheduling clarity and help us continue providing a high-quality learning environment for all students.
  • At the time of your application, you should select your ideal schedule from the following options:
    • 5 days
    • 4 days
      • Monday -Thursday
      • Tuesday – Friday
      • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
    • 3 days
      • Monday, Wednesday, Friday
      • Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Students are admitted on a rolling basis until the program is full. We typically enroll 25–30 preschool students each year, representing families from Sandwich and surrounding Cape Cod communities and beyond.

Early Childhood Classroom Options for the 2026-2027 School Year

  • Fall Birthday Preschool Classroom: For children who miss the cutoff for PreK and turn 4 in September, October, November, or December.
    • This cozy classroom will have a maximum capacity of 8 students per day.
    • We staff our Preschool classroom at an 8:1 ratio, well below the State’s 10:1 ratio requirement.

      • This means that we have one teacher in this classroom.

  • PreK Classroom: For children age 4 by September 1.

    • We have a spacious PreK classroom with a maximum capacity of 20 students per day.
    • We staff our PreK classroom at a 7:1 ratio, well below the State’s 10:1 ratio requirement.
      • This means that we typically have three teachers in the classroom.

Teachers

  • Our Preschool and PreK teachers are licensed and have at least a Bachelor’s degree in education or a related field. Learn more by clicking here

2026-2027 School Year Tours begin in November 2025.

Enrollment Process for New Students

Step 1: Submit an Enrollment Request in Brightwheel.

Clicking the enrollment link automatically creates an account. DO NOT CREATE an account separate from clicking the link.

Make sure to turn on all notifications in your account, as we will only communicate with you about your enrollment through Brightwheel.

Step 2: Fill out the Application and Pay the Application Fee

You will be notified in your Brightwheel account of the $150 application fee invoice and 3 additional online forms gathering information about your child. You must complete this step before your child can be reviewed for acceptance.

Step 3: Accepted, Waitlisted or Declined

The School Director will reply within 1 week after the final item in step 2 is submitted. Please note that applications will be reviewed in the order that step 2 is completed. If we have openings, an acceptance letter and tuition deposit invoice will be sent via Brightwheel. If we have a waitlist, you will be notified of your status and contacted when space is available.

Step 4: $300 Non-Refundable Tuition Deposit due within 7 days

Learn more about our 4-payment tuition deposit schedule by clicking here

Enrollment for the NEXT school year, 2026-2027, will open ….

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NEXT School Year 2026-2027

Anticipated: August 31, 2026 – June 30, 2027

Fall Birthday Preschool Program

Students who turn 4 in September, October, November, or December of 2026 are eligible for this program and will be accepted on a rolling basis until we reach our enrollment capacity of 8 students.

Thank you!

NEXT School Year 2026-2027

Anticipated: August 31, 2026 – June 30, 2027

PreK Program

Students must be 4 years old by September 1, 2026, to enroll in this program and will be accepted on a rolling basis until we reach our capacity of approximately 20–22 students. Please know we have a maximum of 20 students per day.

Thank you!

Enrollment Status for 2026-2027

Priority Enrollment opens December 1 for current students and families

General Public Enrollment opens January 6, 2026 at 10am

Fall Birthday Preschool: 0 out of 8 spots filled
PreK: 0 out of 22 spots filled
Kindergarten: 0 out of 15 spots filled
Grade 1 : 0 out of 15 spots filled
Grade 2: 0 out of 15 spots filled

Frequently Asked Questions

  • PreK Classroom: All students need to be age 4 by September 1 of the school year.
  • Fall Birthday Preschool Classroom: All students need to turn 4 in September – December of that school year. (New for the 2025-2026 school year)

  • No we do not have a specific program for 3 year old students.
  • Our only offering is the Fall Birthday Preschool Classroom: All students need to turn 4 in September – December of that school year. (New for the 2025-2026 school year)

  • We do have a strict age 4 requirement for our PreK or Fall Birthday Preschool classroom.

  • No, our age requirement for our PreK is age 4 by September 1.
  • Our age requirement for the fall birthday preschool program is turning 4 in September – December of the school year.

  • Enrollment opens the January before the start of the school year.
  • Enrollment stays open until the program is filled.

  • Yes our regular school day goes until 3pm and you can add after care until 4:30pm.

  • No parents or caregivers pack these daily.

We follow these procedures for all students to keep them healthy:

  1. Snack and lunch are provided by the family
  2. Students do not share or trade food.
  3. Students with food allergies sit at a table with children that do not have those food items in their snack or lunch.
  4. Tables are cleaned before and after food consumption.
  5. Placemats are washed after each use
  6. Educators are CPR and First Aid certified
  7. The Heritage Security Team is also trained to respond to emergencies and will be able to assist staff with emergencies as needed.

We do not limit what children choose to bring for snack or lunch. We do not limit environmental allergens from our classrooms/interactions on the grounds. Children could be exposed to a variety of allergens either in the classroom, on the grounds or in the museums. If your child has a severe allergy (breathing or touching an item), we probably are not a good fit. If your child has an ingestion allergy to a certain medication or food, we probably are a good fit. You are encouraged and welcome to contact the us to discuss the specifics of your child.

  • We require medical forms for any student with an allergy.
  • You provide us with any medications needed to keep him/her safe (i.e. epi-pen).
  • These medications will be kept in the classroom backpack that is taken with the class anytime they leave the school.

  • No, but potty training should be well underway. Our program spends long periods of time outside far away from bathrooms.
  • At age 4, students are expected to be dressing and undressing to use the bathroom with minimal adult support.
  • Teachers will verbally support your child to wipe themselves when done using the bathroom.
  • We do not accept students in diapers as this prohibits students from attending to their own bathroom needs. PreK is such a special time to build independence and confidence! Students that are still training often wear thicker training underwear or pullups.
  • We expect and understand that bathroom accidents happen so all children are asked to bring an extra clothes to remain here at school.

The school has its own entrance and parking lot so it is very convenient for drop off and pick up. Use Google Maps as we have a pin on the school and its the easiest way to find us.

Our program uses the gardens and galleries of Heritage Museums & Gardens daily so we already feel like we go on a field trip everyday. We don’t typically go on additional field trips off the grounds of Heritage Museums & Gardens.

  • Yes, we have a financial assistance fund. You must be an accepted student to apply. Click here for more information on our tuition page.
  • We do not accept state vouchers.
  • We are an approved provider for Child Care Aware® of America Fee Assistance for the United States Military and Department of Defense.
  • We are an approved provider for Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) fee assistance which is a DoD- and U.S. Coast Guard-funded program.
  • We coordinate with Cape Cod Children’s Place for the Brewster Child Scholarship Program and Wellfleet Childcare Subsidy Program
  • We coordinate with the Town of Orleans with their Universal PreK program

Read more about our curriculum