Child care in Putney, Vermont
Nibble is a licensed child care center for children from 6 weeks to 5 years. The older children garden in the morning, and our cook turns what they pick into lunch in the kitchen next door.
What you can check
Ask us about any of it at a tour.
Licensed by DCF, Child Development Division
Child care center · VT License # 000000Verify
36
Ages 6 weeks to 5 years
A teacher meets each child at the door and hands them back at the door. We release a child only to the people you list in writing, and we ask for ID from anyone we don't know.
Babies sleep on their backs, in their own cot, with nothing in the cot, and a teacher is in the room the whole time. Older children rest on their own mats.
Tell us about any allergy at the tour. Once you enroll, we ask again in private, and the cook and your child's teachers get the list.
Hands are washed before the kitchen, before every meal and after the garden. Produce from the beds is washed in the kitchen before it is served.
We count the children every time a group changes places: out to the garden, along the trail and back indoors.
Each morning we look at the forecast and decide how long each room stays outdoors. Hot, cold or wet days mean shorter blocks outside and more time in the warm rooms.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
Three rooms
Babies, twos and the oldest children each have a room of their own. Pick a schedule for your child's room.
Infants, 6 weeks to 2 years
Floor time, the porch and a shaded corner of the garden, with meals on each child's own schedule.
Twos, 2 to 3 years
Herb planters, the water table and a hand in the kitchen at lunch.
Threes and fours, 3 to 5 years
Their own beds to water and pick, trail walks and setting the table.
Places in each room change through the year; ask at the tour.
Sample programs.
Our team
Sumi is at the door most mornings, Petronila is with the youngest rooms and Regis is in the kitchen or the beds.
Director
Sumi started Nibble with a garden first and a kitchen second. She meets families at the door, walks every tour and answers the phone.
Lead teacher, Sprouts and Seedlings
Petronila leads the two youngest rooms. She is on the porch with the babies in the morning and at the herb planters with the twos by midday.
Cook and garden teacher
Regis cooks lunch in our kitchen and runs the beds with the children. He plans the week's menu around what the garden is giving and gets each child's allergy list from the family.
The year
When to visit, when places open, and when we close.
Most Wednesdays
Come in the morning, when the garden is in use, and stay for lunch in the kitchen.
February
Families on the waitlist hear first.
March
We call each family and hold the place until you answer.
May
Plant a bed with the children and meet the teachers.
September
Families join the children for a lunch made from the beds.
The last week of December
We close for the week; other closing days are posted at the start of the year.
Sample dates.
Call, text or use the form with your child's age and the schedule you have in mind. We answer within a day.
Come in the morning, when the garden is in use, and stay for lunch in the kitchen. A tour takes about an hour, and you can bring your child.
Send the application and tell us which room and schedule you want. If a place is open, we hold it. If not, we put your family on the waitlist and tell you where you stand.
When you accept a place, you finish enrollment with the forms and records the state asks for, completed in private.
Bring a spare set of clothes, boots and a water bottle. Sumi or your child's lead teacher meets you at the door, and you can stay as long as your child needs.
Children from 6 weeks to 5 years, in three rooms: Sprouts for babies and young toddlers, Seedlings for twos, and the Garden room for threes and fours.
Yes. Book a tour and come in the morning, when the garden is in use. You can bring your child, and we'll walk the beds, the rooms and the kitchen together.
Arrival at the door, time in the garden or on the trail, snack, lunch from our kitchen, rest, and a quieter afternoon before pickup. The weather decides how long each stretch outdoors lasts.
Nibble is licensed by the state of Vermont as a child care center. The state sets the minimum for staff checks, training, space and the number of children for each adult, and we follow it.
Regis cooks morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack in our kitchen, from a weekly menu planned around what the garden is giving. The menu is posted at the door.
Tell us at the tour. Once you enroll, we ask again in private, and the cook and your child's teachers get the list.