About Us

Manito Cooperative (Co-op) Preschool is a “Parent Cooperative Preschool” which means that our activities, decisions and classroom time are centered around family involvement. You will attend school with your child and work as a team with the program facilitator (teacher) and other families to provide stimulating learning experiences for the children in your classroom.

Because our facilitators are our only “staff,” we rely on parents/caregivers to fulfill the other roles and obligations that go into running a school. Manito Co-op is also affiliated with the Spokane Falls Community College Parent Education program.

Classes

We offer four classes for our families:

Infant: There is no minimum age for our infant class. Families can attend with their infant as soon as they feel safe and ready to do so. It is left up to the families discretion if they choose to bring a newborn infant, under 28 days of age to co-op (please consult with your pediatrician if you have concerns).
Toddler 1: For Toddler 1, a child must be one year old by August 31st before the school year starts. In some instances children may need to take the infant class twice before they can move on to Toddler 1.
Toddler 2: For Toddler 2, children must be two years old by August 31st before the school year starts.
Preschool: Preschool children must be three years old by August 31st before the school year starts.

Children who have turned six on or before the first day of Co-op are not eligible for any Co-op class.

Click to learn more about our programs

Classroom Learning

The facilitator will provide age-appropriate activities for each class. This can include arts/crafts, sensory exploration, reading, math concepts, developing fine and gross motor skills, music and movement. A typical day also involves free play, snack time and circle time with reading, songs and movement.

Caregivers of children in Co-op can also expect to share ideas, interests and resources with other Co-op families that can enhance their parenting skills and help form lasting family friendships. Most importantly, parents are a support group for each other, sharing experiences, frustrations, solutions, and successes.

Family Commitment

Co-op is an opportunity for families to connect with their child’s educational experience and environment, and we rely on our families to help things run smoothly.

When you register your child for Manito Co-op preschool, you are committing to attending class with them at least one day/week. For our infant and toddler classes an adult must attend each class with their child.

Each family will sign up to bring snacks for their class at least once each quarter. Manito Co-op is a nut-free facility. Let your facilitator know about any allergies when you register for class.
You will also have day-to-day cleaning duties like sweeping, vacuuming, and taking out the trash at the end of class.
As part of our commitment to parent/caregiver education, and our partnership with Spokane Colleges, an adult from each family must attend one, one-hour long seminar each month.
An adult from each family must participate in one monthly cleaning night, once per school year. Cleaning nights are two hours long, and families sign up for the month of their choosing.
In addition to the monthly cleaning night, all families enrolled for spring quarter must participate in the end of the year cleaning night.
Each family signs up for a job at the beginning of the school year. Examples of past and current jobs include filling a role on the executive board, winter/spring fundraising committees and overseeing the clothing drive. You may be asked to join additional committees or to fill additional roles as needed.

Family Seminars

As part of our commitment to parent and family education, we ask that an adult from your family attend a once-monthly educational seminar, typically presented by a guest speaker. Examples of previous seminar topics include CPR, early literacy, speech and language development, and mental health.

Seminars are in-person, usually at Co-op.
If your family misses two or more seminars before the February enrollment period, your family will lose your priority enrollment as a currently enrolled Co-op family for the following year. This means you could lose your spot at Co-op.
Make-up seminars are offered at least once per year.

Spokane Colleges Affiliation

Through our relationship with the Spokane Falls Community College Parent Education program we receive our insurance, administrative and marketing support, executive training, a portion of our teacher salary, and most importantly, parent education.

As part of your quarterly Co-op tuition, you pay a registration fee to Spokane Colleges to be enrolled in a non-graded, three-credit parent education program.
All families are required to register with Spokane Colleges during Fall, Winter and Spring quarters. This ensures our school's funding from the College.