PreK & Fall Birthday Preschool

at The Hundred Acre School

Our preschool program is specifically designed for children the year before they go to Kindergarten. It is a true Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) experience for students age 4 (and just about to turn 4 if you are participating in our Fall Birthday Preschool). Our STEM-focused curriculum is taught through play, learning activities, and collaboration with their peers. Why is our focus on STEM? Research indicates that when curriculum is taught with connections to real-life experiences, it strengthens knowledge in all typical learning domains, including literacy, mathematics, social-emotional and cognitive skills. Our high-quality curriculum is taught by talented educators who utilize the unique location of our school in a museum, botanical garden, and natural environment to create experiences your child just can’t get anywhere else.

Communication with families happens throughout the day through a program called Brightwheel. Teachers send notes, pictures and videos so that parents and guardians have a “window” into the classroom and can engage your child in conversation about the experiences at school.

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 included with all enrollments from 8:30-9am
  • Our school day is from 9am – 3pm.
  • Flexible pick up included with all enrollment from 2:50pm-3:20pm
  • 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.

We have a 3 day minimum enrollment.

  • 3, 4 or 5 day programs available
  • At the time of your application, you can select your ideal schedule.

Students are accepted on a rolling basis until the program is full.

  • We typically have 25-35 preschool students each year.
  • We have students from Sandwich and many towns on and off Cape Cod.

Classroom Option for the 2025-2026 School Year

  • PreK Classroom: For children age 4 by September 1.
    • We have a spacious PreK classroom with maximum capacity of 20 students per day.
      • 3, 4, or 5 day options are your choice of days
    • We staff our PreK classroom at a 8:1 ratio well below the State’s 10:1 ratio requirement. This means that typically we have 3 teachers in the classroom.
  • Fall Birthday Preschool Classroom: For children that just miss the cutoff for PreK.
    • Students must turn 4 in September, October, November or December.
    • This option is new for the 2025-2026 school year
    • This classroom will have a maximum capacity of 8 student per day with fixed options.
      • 3-day option: Tuesday-Thursday
      • 4-day option: Tuesday – Friday
      • 5-day option: Monday -Friday

Teachers

Our PreK teachers are licensed and have at least a Bachelors degree in education or a related field, Learn more by clicking here

Tours

If you are interested in a tour. Learn more and sign up by clicking here

Enrollment Process for New Students

Step 1: Submit an Enrollment Request and create a Brightwheel account.

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 will 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.

NEXT School Year 2025-2026

August 25, 2025 – June 25, 2026

Fall Birthday Preschool Program

Students who turn 4 in September, October, November or December of 2025 will be accepted on a rolling basis until the program is full. (8 students)

Full, waitlist available

NEXT School Year 2025-2026

August 25, 2025 – June 25, 2026

PreK Program

Students age 4 by September 1, 2025 will be accepted on a rolling basis until the program is full. (about 24 students) Students are the year before Kindergarten or Kindergarten Prep.

Current openings are:

  • 3-day: T, Th, F
  • 3-day: M, T, F
  • 4-day: M, T, Th, F

Options other than these will be waitlisted. We do expect some shifting in January when tuition deposits are due.

21 out of 24 spots

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 October before the start of the school year.
  • Enrollment stays open until the program is filled.
  • Once the school year starts, we accept students until December 1. From January on, we only accept new students that have recently moved to the area.

  • 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

Open 8:30am-4:30pm for all grades ~ School day is 9am-3pm

Fall Birthday Preschool

2025-2026 Enrollment

  • For students that just miss the cutoff of PreK classroom.
  • Students who turn 4 in September, October, November, December 2025
  • Enrollment is OPEN
Full, waitlist

PreK

2025-2026 Enrollment

  • Age 4 years by 9/1/25
  • We anticipate 20-24 students in this class, dependent on student 3, 4, or 5 day schedules.
  • Enrollment is OPEN
21 out of 24 spots

Kindergarten

2025-2026 Enrollment

  • Age 5 by 9/1/25
  • Two classrooms of 14 students
  • Enrollment opens to the general public January, 16 2025.
  • **If you attend a tour prior to January you will get an invite to enroll now.
18 out of 28 spots

Mixed Grade 1 & 2

2025-2026 Enrollment

  • Grade 1: Age 6 by 9/1/25
  • Grade 2: Age 7 by 9/1/25
  • Enrollment opens to the general public January 16, 2025 if we have openings.
  • **If you attend a tour prior to January you will get an invite to enroll now.
15 out of 18 spots