Child care in Plainsboro, New Jersey
Dumpling is a family-run child care center for children from 6 weeks to 5 years. Four rooms, a kitchen we cook in, and teachers who tell you about your child's day at pickup.
What you can check
Dumpling is licensed by the state of New Jersey. Ask to see our license at the front desk.
Licensed by DCF, Office of Licensing
Child care center · NJ License # 000000Verify
1 adult to 4 children
Infants and toddlers, 6 weeks to 2 years
1 adult to 6 children
Twos, 2 to 3 years
1 adult to 10 children
Threes, 3 to 4 years
1 adult to 12 children
Fours, 4 to 5 years
Capacity
55
Ages 6 weeks to 5 years
A teacher hands each child to you at the room door. We release a child only to the people on your pickup list, and we ask for ID from anyone we don't know.
Tell us about any allergy at the tour. Once you enroll, we ask again in private, and the cooks and teachers each have the list for their room.
Infants sleep on their backs, in their own cribs, with nothing else in the crib.
Every room washes hands on arrival, before meals and after outdoor play.
Each room practices fire and weather drills with the teacher who leads it.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
Four rooms
Choose a schedule for your child's room.
| Ages | Adults to children | Full day7:00 am–6:30 pm5 days a week | Half day7:00 am–12:30 pm5 days a week | Three days8:00 am–3:00 pmMonday, Wednesday and Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infants and toddlers6 weeks to 2 yearsTheir own crib, floor play and songs, with naps and bottles on your child's rhythm. | 1 adult to 4 children | Offered | Not offered | Not offered |
| Twos2 to 3 yearsA play kitchen, blocks and the first art table. | 1 adult to 6 children | Offered | Offered | Waitlist |
| Threes3 to 4 yearsCircle time, paint and a reading corner. | 1 adult to 10 children | Offered | Offered | Full |
| Fours4 to 5 yearsLonger stories, counting games and the Friday dumpling table. | 1 adult to 12 children | Offered | Offered | Offered |
Places in each room change through the year. Ask at the tour.
Sample programs.
Our team
Every room has a lead teacher you'll meet at the tour.
Director and owner
Xiaoling opened Dumpling so that lunch at child care would taste like lunch at home. She is at the front door most mornings, speaks English and Mandarin with families, and walks every family through the license and the ratios at the tour.
Twos and Threes lead
Jingyi leads the Twos and the Threes. At story time she reads a picture book in English and then one in Mandarin, and she speaks Mandarin with any family that prefers it.
Infants and toddlers lead
Lujain cares for our youngest children. She keeps a note for each family at pickup: feedings, naps and what your baby tried today.
From families
“I come off a hospital shift at six, and pickup is never a rush. Jingyi tells me about the afternoon while my daughter finishes her shoes.”
“My mother reads to my son in Mandarin at home, and he gets a Mandarin story at school too. The two halves of his day feel like the same family.”
“We started in the infant room. Lujain wrote down every feeding, and the director walked us through the license at the tour before we asked.”
Sample reviews.
Through the year
The days we're closed are on this calendar from the first day, so you can plan your own work around them.
Early January · Closed for the day.
Late January · Closed for the day. The holiday falls in January or February, and we tell you the day in the fall.
February · Applications for fall places open to every family on the same day.
March · Walk through every room, meet the teachers and see lunch being made.
Late May · Closed for the day.
Early July · Closed for the day.
Early September · Closed for the day. Fall classes begin the same week.
October · See the rooms again and meet the teachers your child will have.
Late November · Closed Thursday and Friday.
Late December · Closed the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.
Sample dates.
Lunch comes first
Meals are the first thing most families ask about, so they come first here.
Breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack are cooked in our own kitchen. Lunch is usually rice or noodles with a vegetable and eggs, tofu, fish or chicken, then fruit. Children serve themselves at low tables, family style, and the Fours can use training chopsticks if they want to.
On Fridays the Fours fold dumplings with a teacher, and every room has them for lunch.
Tell us at the tour. Once you enroll, we ask again in private, and we write down what your child needs with you. Our kitchen and our teachers each have the list for their room.
Tell us at the tour, whatever the reason: religion, health or what your family likes. We go through the weekly menu with you and talk about what we can do.
Families of infants bring the milk or formula and tell us how and when your baby eats. Solid foods start when you say. Teachers write down every feeding and tell you at pickup.
Call the front desk, write to us or use the form. Xiaoling or the front desk answers within a day.
Come see the rooms and the kitchen with your child. A tour takes about forty minutes, and you can ask anything, including about tuition and allergies.
Fill in the application and tell us which room and schedule you're hoping for. If the room is full, we put your family on the waitlist.
Once there's a place, you complete the enrollment forms in private: your child's details, health and the people allowed to pick up.
Bring a change of clothes and what your child sleeps with. A teacher meets you at the room door, and you're welcome to stay a while.
From 6 weeks to 5 years, in four rooms: Infants and toddlers, Twos, Threes and Fours.
Yes. Book a tour and come with your child. You see the room your child would be in, the yard and the kitchen, and you ask whatever you like.
New Jersey licenses child care centers through the Department of Children and Families. A licensed center follows the state's rules for staffing, space, health and safety. Our license and the number of children each teacher cares for are on the safety page, and we keep our license at the front desk.
Write or call, and we'll tell you whether your child's room has a place. If it's full, we put your family on the waitlist and call when one opens.
Ask us whether assistance is open this month, and we'll tell you what we can take for your family.
Xiaoling and Jingyi both do. Jingyi reads a picture book in English and then in Mandarin at story time, and either of them speaks Mandarin with a family that prefers it. Every other part of the day is in English.
We welcome children with different needs. Tell us about your child at the tour and we'll talk it through.