Under 5 at 2026 Sessions
Welcome
We look forward to meeting and supporting the youngest members of our Yearly Meeting and their families. Our staff, many of whom return year after year, care deeply about young children and delight in forming relationships through playing with, listening to, and caring for them. In our program, we play indoors and out (with a water table, so no swimming, but plenty of cooling water in the heat), make art, make messes, clean up, sing songs, do puzzles, play, play, play, snack, and rest. Babies, and others who prefer to sleep enclosed, have their own dedicated pack-n-plays; others do yoga to unwind and rest on mats.
Family Responsibilities: What we need from you
Every time your child comes to the Under 5 Program, you must bring a bag labeled with your child’s name and containing the following items:
- sun hat
- full change of clothing
- swim suit or swimmy diaper (if not potty trained)
- towel
- diapers and wipes (if needed); we are happy to accommodate cloth diapering.
Anything you bring must be labeled with your child’s name. The Under 5 Program is a busy place; taking the time to label everything will help to smooth transitions and allow us to more easily care for your child’s needs.
Sunscreen directions
If you would like your child to wear sunscreen during outside play at the program, please apply it before you arrive for the morning or afternoon. Because of the volume of children, it is not feasible to apply sunscreen individually to each child before we go outside.
Snacks
Water, fruit, wheat-based crackers with sunflower butter and oat-based cereal will be provided as snacks; if your child is unable to eat these, please bring special snacks for her/him. We are happy to handle frozen/fresh breast milk and have a bottle-warmer for bottles of all sorts.
Schedule
We will be available to care for your children during the morning and afternoon program times, which are tentatively scheduled as 8:00 to 12:00 noon, and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Please note: We can try to help parents find care for children during evening programs, but will not have traditional Under 5 support. Do know that because all business sessions will be hybrid, there will be the option to join via Zoom from your family’s dorm.
Please respect the opening and closing times of our program so that our staff can be fully ready for your children and finish when their shifts are over.
Covid and Other Illnesses
The NEYM staff and other Friends planning Sessions are taking everyone’s health and safety very seriously. We are asking everyone who attends to comply with this year’s Illness and Covid Policy. The Under 5 staff may discern additional measures as well.
In addition to COVID, we are not equipped to care for children with common childhood illnesses, including colds, flu, ear infections, etc. If your child has new or unexplainable symptoms not attributed to a known condition (e.g., teething or allergies), please do not bring them to the Under 5s Program. These symptoms may indicate a COVID infection:
- New loss of taste or smell
- New severe cough
- Severe sore throat
- Shortness of breath
- Rapid or difficulty breathing, without physical exertion
- Fever of 100.4 or higher
- Vomiting, diarrhea
- Severe fatigue or body aches
Come to the Open House!
We hope many of you are able to join us at the Open House on Friday from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. in our Under 5 space in the Campus Center!
Please do feel free to be in touch
If you would like to tell us more about your child, we would be delighted to hear from you! The more we know ahead of time, the more we can be prepared to give them the best possible care and experience.
Kara Price, Children and Family Ministries Coordinator
[email protected]