Full day kindergarten
8:30am to 3pm, five days a week, includes snack, field trips and all materials.
Enrolling for fall
Nine children per teacher, all day, every day
Full day kindergarten with two hours outdoors, phonics based reading and no screens in the classroom. Before care opens at 7am.
1 to 9teacher ratio
22 yrsin Ann Arbor
2 hrsoutdoors daily
36seats per year
Programs and tuition
Full day, half day, and the hours around them
Tuition is billed in ten monthly installments from August through May.
Half day kindergarten
8:30am to 12:15pm, five days, same curriculum with the afternoon project block dropped.
Before care
Doors open 7am with breakfast, quiet reading and free play until class starts.
After care
3pm to 6pm with outdoor time, homework help for siblings and a hot snack.
Summer bridge program
June and July half days for rising first graders, focused on reading fluency and swim.
Tuition assistance
Need based awards cover 20 to 60 percent, funded by our endowment, applications due in March.
Our approach
Play heavy mornings, structured reading daily
Meadowlark opened in 2003 as a single classroom in a church basement and now runs three classrooms with twelve children each. Every day includes a 40 minute systematic phonics block and two hours outside in the fenced woodlot behind the building, in every season short of lightning. We are licensed by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
•Twelve children and two adults in every classroom
•Outdoors in all weather, with school provided rain and snow gear
•No screens in the classroom at any point in the day
Reviews
What families tell us
“Our son could not sit still anywhere. Two hours outside every morning turned out to be the whole answer, and he reads now.”
Nadia B., Parent, class of 2024
“The teachers text a photo and one sentence about the day. That small thing made the transition from preschool painless.”
Colin W., Current parent
“Tuition assistance covered 45 percent for us. The process was dignified and quick.”
Renata J., Parent of two graduates
FAQ
Enrollment questions
What is the age cutoff?
Children must turn five by September 1 of the enrollment year, matching Michigan's public school cutoff. We occasionally admit a child who turns five by December 1 after a classroom visit, when the teachers and family agree the child is ready.
When should we apply?
Tours run September through January and applications are due February 1 for the following fall. We admit siblings first, then run a lottery for remaining seats among the 36 available. A waitlist moves most years, usually in May and again in August.
How do you handle a child who is not ready to read?
Roughly a third of our students are not reading at the start of the year and that is entirely normal. The daily phonics block is taught in small groups by level, so a child who needs more letter sound work gets it without being pulled out or labeled.
Is lunch provided?
Families pack lunch. We provide a morning and afternoon snack, both nut free, and the school is a nut free building. We have a shared refrigerator and can warm food. Tuition assistance families can request lunch through our partner program at no cost.
Contact
Come see a morning in progress
Tours happen while class is running, not after hours, so you see the real thing. They take about 45 minutes.
Phone(734) 555-0142
Address2905 Packard St, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, Ann Arbor, Michigan
HoursMon to Fri 7am to 6pm, class 8:30am to 3pm
AreaAnn Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Dexter, Pittsfield Township