Special Needs, IEP's, etc..: We work with IEP's if your child has one. This is a valuable resource to our center, and we greatly appreciate when parents share these with us. It allows us to try and follow the same guidelines as those set in the IEP providing consistency for the child. Our staff are trained in child development and have the resources needed to spot red flags that may stand out which could indicate a delay, behavioral issue, or other cause for concern. We are with your child sometimes a large portion of the day, and are able to observe them in a different environment than parents observe at home, allowing us to be more conscientious of anything that stands out. We are not doctors and are not diagnosing anything. We are simply letting you know of anything we have observed here, so that you can speak with your doctor about it should you decide. We can also provide you with additional resources in the community to get an assessment completed to further determine if there is any additional support needed with speech, physical therapy, or other areas.
**Please do not be offended if we bring something to your attention. We are in no way shaming the parent or child, saying your child is a bad child, or going to treat your child differently. Getting a proper diagnosis or additional help when needed is beneficial to your child and in the long run the parent and the center, as we can then have the information needed to know how to properly care for your child. A child who does not receive the support and assistance they need early on in life can fall even further behind, creating a vicious cycle going into grade school.
Our Teachers are trained in WMELS (Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards) and apply these to teaching and caring for the children. "The WI Model Early Learning Standards specify developmental expectations for children from birth through entrance to 1st grade. The standards reflect the domains of a child's learning and development. The domains include: Health & Physical Development; Social and Emotional Development: Language Development & Communication; Approaches to Learning: Cognition & General Knowledge."
Developmental Assessments and Learning Objectives: Throughout the month teachers make observational notes of the children, these are used to complete assessments of the children, which then provide the staff with the knowledge of where each child is at developmentally in order to plan activities for each individual child and the group as a whole to help them meet their developmental and educational goals.
Building early learning skills and Kindergarten readiness skills by teaching color, shape, number, and letter recognition, pre-reading skills, word wall words, pre-writing skills, opportunities to practice writing, beginning math skills, and so much more!
Safe, friendly environment for children to learn and play. Computerized fingerprint operated computer system locking the door to the children's areas with a closed circuit camera system throughout.
Parent Teacher Conferences are offered twice per year for families to meet with their child's teacher and review their child's growth and progress. Parents are welcome to speak with staff at anytime regarding their child's growth and development.
Less transitions per day for the child: Transitions can be a very difficult thing, especially for young children. By our center offering a FULL day 3K & 4K program, children are not shuffled around to other places missing valuable learning time on buses and causing added stress. This also allows them to continue on during the day within our center allowing for more accurate observations and assessments of the children.
Social Emotional Skill Development and Problem Solving Skill Building: We help to facilitate language development and social/ emotional skills while in care. As the children are in care, there are opportunities throughout the entire day to interact with peers and develop friendship skills along with crucial problem solving skills. We do not automatically resolve issues for the kids, instead we encourage them to talk things out and try to figure out a way to solve any problems amongst themselves that may arise before we intervene; staff act more as a mediator to help build these skills in these situations. Teachers play alongside the children to model for them the desirable ways to play and interact with their friends. By doing this it helps the children to see these skills in action and to develop healthy, positive friendship skills, thus preventing many issues that can arise.
Bully Free Zone: We are more than willing to work with children to help them to develop the social emotional, friendship building, and problem solving skills they need to continue on into higher grades of school. However, we are a bully free zone and while we will encourage the children to talk through any issues, we will also not tolerate bullying of any kind. If this occurs, we will speak with the children involved and the parents as well to determine the best course of action. We are all created equal and will be treated as such while in care. Please let us know of any concerns you have about your child being a bully or aggressive to others or being bullied whether here or somewhere else. We will definitely be more mindful of this and plan activities to further stress social emotional, language development, and problem solving skills.
Our 4K program is FULL day program from 8:00am to 5:00pm and is offered YEAR ROUND! We offer educational activities throughout the day to the children enrolled at our center, so no matter what time of day your child attends they will get to take advantage of our 4K (and our 3K) educational programs. It is available to all children enrolled at our center regardless of where you live or income. It is taught by trained and certified Teachers.
Important aspects of our program include:
- No two children learn the same. With this in mind, our center uses a combined education approach to meet all children's needs and interest. Play-based, Creative Curriculum, Bank Street, High Scope, and Montessori are some of the educational curriculums that we incorporate when we are teaching the children.
- Hands on learning experiences. We have an onsite garden where the children help plant, grow, and harvest fruits and vegetables. We have a flower garden as well for the children. Within the classroom the children participate in cooking activities, arts and crafts, and other activities, which actively involves the children exploring the world around them. We also participate in field trips to the apple orchard, pumpkin farm, parks, dance studios, Museums, and other places, so the children's knowledge and learning is expanded beyond just the classroom environment and they are able to make the connection with what they are learning here to the outside world around them.
- Developmentally Age Appropriate (DAP): Developmentally Appropriate activities based off of developmental assessments completed at enrollment and then regularly throughout the year.
Proving the fun, loving, educational care your child deserves!