Our belief is to create healthy, safety and proper nutritional and productive environment for our children whereby they can grow as an individual through hands-on learning with experiments and activities to support them in group education. In this preschool, we join hands with parents to help our children build the right foundation for future learning and life. Our goal is to help our children have fun while building active minds, healthy bodies and happy hearts in a friendly stimulating environment whereby your child will grow as an independent, confident and caring individual. Parents and teacher will play a vital role bringing out the best in our children.
Parents of our preschool will highly be encouraged to be a community in raising children with good ethics and morals. The preschool students are maximum 60 children of age 3-5 years, the ratio of 20 kids per teacher and teacher’s assistant and a staff member will be with them in a class. An ideal location for the daycare, there are many factors to consider before deciding on a location, the centre needs to look for health and safety issues in the indoor and outdoor space. The one who is responsible for the centre chooses an ideal location considering all the above needs, a home base structured house with large rooms that can be converted into a child care centre.
That the house at relatively low cost, many of this structure is easily made suitable for a child care as the child feel safe as its foundation is similar to home, it should be convenient for parents to easily get in and out of the parking lot, or access main roads and interstates, so as to make drop off and pick up easy. The centre should reflect on a number of things securities, exit route that can be used on an emergency basis, fire prevention and safety, lighting, ventilation, plumbing etc. when done with the location child care provider is required to have a child care license in order to legally provide child care. A child care license is separate from a business license. When all above is done the childcare provider needs to be careful with space, it is a very important aspect in a centre, too little space or poorly designed free space creates risk for injury and diseases. An early educational professional should have 35sq feet of free space per child; more space for a special need is needed. Outdoor play area must have ample of space for age 3-5 year old and the playground should be designed with fences and activities such as sand play area, racing track, slides, and swings. Keeping all the aspect in the mind of safety a security guard should be at gate entrance all the time, staff/teachers should be at the play area playground when children are around, we do understand injuries occurs during active play but supervision should be there to ensure safety.
Additional outdoor play space should be planned for children with special needs or disabilities. Maintenances is an essential part so that the centre can keep up with maintaining it, therefore the centre can be presented in a more appealing way to the parents. The centre should have a routine cleaning and the methods are scheduled for cleaning and sanitizing, a schedule for the staffs should be made on who is responsible for supervising and monitoring with the cleaning and other maintenance activities with cleaning, sanitizing and disinfected schedule and keeping up with the equipment and cleaning supplies, a checklist should be prepared for all the above routine to keep up with the staff. When child care provider is done with the above survey and site his next step ought to be is the indoor planning. When planning our indoor child care environment, our main concerns should be the health and safety of the children in our care. Our centre will need to look for potential hazards in our child care space and take steps to prevent injury and unsafe conditions.
We should also think about how our space will promote safe play and learning for the children in our care. Select which areas of our facility will be used for the child care and which will be off-limits to children in care (such as rooms for staff to rest or eat lunch, cleaning closets, staff restrooms, etc.). Rooms that are used for child care must be well-lighted, have good airflow and be kept at a comfortable temperature and humidity. Setting an indoor space for our centre, space should be well-organized and have separate areas. Children should know where things are and where to put them away. Consider creating “centre’s” for each kind of play, such as Circle time, with a rug for sitting and a place to display children’s names and pictures of children and their families, a calendar, pictures illustrating their daily schedule, program rules, etc. A quiet reading area with comfortable pillows or armchairs and low shelving or baskets for access to age-appropriate books, Sensory activities area, dramatic play, with dress-up clothes, dolls and stuffed animals, and other props, Arts and crafts area with a variety of art supplies, Writing area, with writing materials, notepads and paper and a small table with a couple of chairs. The centre’s best step is creating a safe environment for children are to see space from a child’s point of view. Getting down on our hands and knees and looking around.
Thinking about the children we will have our care. Our centre will have a 3-5-year-old so according to this age, we need to think what aspects of our environment could be dangerous for our children? Some common childcare hazards and their fixes can include: Hanging cords and curtains, drawer/cupboard openings should be installed finger pinch protection devices or dampers to doors, cupboards, cabinets, and gates that could pinch a child’s fingers, Electrical outlets should be securely cover all outlets, not in use. To make sure that children cannot reach cords and outlets that are being used. Hazardous substances and objects should be stored all hazardous materials in a locked cabinet out of children’s reach. This includes cleaning materials, aerosol cans, medications, toiletries, room sprays, and other potentially toxic materials. Dangerous items such as sharp objects and plastic bags should also be secured out of reach. Floor- windows ensure that any windows above the first floor cannot be opened fully. It is possible to install barriers or locking devices that allow the window to be opened only partially. To evaluate our child care areas for these and other safety hazards. To ensure our space meets state regulations for safe and healthy child care, we should talk with a child care licensor as well to be on a save side It’s sometimes helpful to portray the part of lessons to families in efforts to demonstrate how children are engaged in learning at our centre. Making a connection with parents has always helped a school/ centre to progress and developed.
This age group that is mentioned in this article they know there basic numbers and sounds, with this group of children there a lot of things that a teacher/parent can carry out in an educational and active play activities such as, mystery bag, treasure box math/English, reading, role play, pretend play, art ;craft and many more to make learning fun for our little ones. Parent’s teacher meeting is the best way to have a conversation with the parents, once in a year it should be conducted by the centre to share ideas with the parents. The two indoor lessons that our centre would like to conduct that are age- and developmentally-appro¬priate, play-based, hands-on, fun, and engaging while also teaching children about any topic related to health, safety, or nutrition. The first lesson will be “comfy caterpillar”. The preparation for this lesson, that an adult should do prior when starting the lesson is to wash hands and vegetable that are carrots, celery, and cucumbers then cut all the veggies into small pieces, set all vegetables on a separate plates, place whipped cream cheese in a bowl and write children’s names on the edge of a paper plate with a permanent marker.
When all the above is done now the following steps will be completed by the children. The first procedure is to wash hand, select plate with his/her name, count and place three pieces of carrots, celery, and cucumber on their plate, take a spoonful of whipped cream cheese on the plate, pattern the vegetables on the plate (carrot, celery, cucumber, carrot, celery, cucumber, carrot, celery, and then cucumber), use a plastic knife to place whipped cream cheese between each vegetable, press the vegetable into the cream cheese. The cheese will hold the caterpillar pieces together. Then an adult will place the plates in the refrigerator until needed for lunch or snack. When all the above activity is done have a discussion with the class/group on vegetables are needed to help the body grow and approximately 1–2 cups of vegetables a day is needed, how nutrition is important for our body, learning pattern than read them a storybook. The Very Hungry Caterpillar ,by Eric Carle.
The caterpillar eats through many foods until he spins a cocoon and turns in a beautiful butterfly. The second indoor lesson is “Comb and Brush Art”. The teacher needs to prepare all things that is suppose to be done prior, tracing the head pattern onto construction paper and cutting one for each child then prepare paint blotter for each color of paint by using a plate or pan to put all paint (mixed with dish soap) in the plate or pan, fold a paper towel to fit the pan, lay it in the paint, and then flip the paper towel over and then cover the table with newspaper. Once done children will complete the following steps.
The first step is to put on a smock then press the comb or brush into the paint and run the comb or brush across the paper. NOTE: Soap is mixed with the tempera paint for easier cleanup. When done discuss with children that people often say, “Hair is your crowning glory.” Hair should be brushed or combed daily. The development goal is to encourage children good hygiene and develop fine motor skill. Read them a book “Uncle Jed’s Barbershop”.Although he has many setbacks, he never lets go of his dream. Finally, at the age of 79, his dream comes to fulfilment. There are lessons that are organized once in a year in our daycare, it’s a field trip. Field trips are an essential part of a daycare that allows children explore, it provides unique opportunities for learning that are not available within the four walls of a classroom. A trip to the supermarket can turn into a real learning experience for our preschooler. They can roll their cart with the group and a teacher and purchase healthy food and can differentiate between healthy and unhealthy.
A field trip is one of the lessons that should be conducted once in a year to let the child explorer and learn the real world. Children love to play outdoors. It is a wonderful place to test one’s physical abilities and to just have fun. Keeping children safe outdoors requires some special precautions such as: Never leave children alone outside, teach children not to play near the street, explain that children must ask for help when needed, Check the outdoor play area routinely, remove trash, sharp branches, tools, lawn equipment, and animal feces anything just danger to the children. Outdoor lessons can be enjoyed; the first lesson is “Tin can stilts” we will need two large cans, two pieces of rope same length. In each coffee can drill two holes approximately one inch from the bottom, opposite of each other. If you are worried about sharp edges on the insides of the cans, you can use a file to smooth them out. Next, thread a piece of rope in one hole of the coffee can, through the can, and out the hole on the opposite side. Tie the loose ends of the rope in a knot then you could get out paint and decorate your cans, children will have much fun decorating.
To use the stilts, simply stand on the cans, holding the ropes in each hand. While pulling on one can’s rope, lift your foot and take a step. The coffee cans stilts are a fun way to work on balance, coordination, and motor skills. Plus, children will love seeing the world from a new perspective! The second outdoor lesson is “Shadow drawing” it’s a perfect way to teach children all about shadows and how they change throughout the day. Most children think that the sun moves across our sky throughout the day. Conducting this experiment helps children understand that it is really the Earth that is rotating! For this lesson children need to observe and work as a team, to conduct this activity you require, open space with no shadows and no clouds overhead, sidewalk, camera, tape measure, scientific notebook and pen or pencil to record observations.
Now once all the requirements is been fulfilled find a sunny day for this lesson to be conducted then place an ‘x’ on the spot where a child stand each time they will have their shadow traced, use sidewalk chalk to trace your child’s shadow at least 3 times throughout the day, if you are working with a class have them trace each other’s shadows. Children should note the time and the location of the sun in the sky in your notebook when you make each tracing when done use sidewalk chalk to write the time next to each tracing. Have children describe their shadows each time they take it, is it thin or fat, have them record this observation in their notebook, lastly measure the length of your child’s shadow each time you trace it and record it in your notebook and take photos. Children never forget what they learned as a result of our human shadow lesson. That’s the power of hands-on learning activities for kids. We can discuss with the children the importance of the sun in our daily life, how it helps us in getting vitamin D for our body.
The lesson that will be taught once in a year is “Suminagashi”. It ancient Japanese technique of decorating the paper with inks which means literally “ink-floating”. Children will experience a new and exciting form of printing, for this lesson we will need Marbling tray, large baking tray, plastic bin, or similar container that is at least two inches deep, marble ink, tap water, small containers for inks, newspapers to keep work area clean and to skim away dust or color that remains after each print, eyedropper, brushes–bamboo watercolor brushes #2 or #4 work well and absorbent paper. When all the material for the lesson has been put together the lesson can be started.
Now tell the children about the Japanese art form of Suminagashi where colours are floated on water to make prints. Explain that this is a form of monoprinting and no two prints will be the same. In this session, the children will be taking turns making their own Suminagashi prints. Demonstrate how to do Suminagashi. Fill a tray with one to two inches of water. With a newspaper strip, skim the surface of the water to remove any dust and to help still any movement in the water. Dip one brush into a colour and one brush into the dispersant which is used to drive the colour into a ring. Tap off any drips against the edges of the containers. With one brush in each hand, rest the arms on the sides of the tray and touch the surface of the water delicately with the colour-loaded brush.
Do not submerge the whole brush–just touch the tip onto the water surface. Then touch the centre of the circle with the dispersant brush. The dispersant solution will propel the circle of colour into a large ring. Alternately apply colour and dispersant to create concentric circles. If desired, move to another area in the tray to make new circles with the same colour or another colour. To make a print, hold the paper on opposite corners. Lay one edge carefully onto the water surface and continue holding it as you slowly drop the paper onto the coloured inks. Dropping the paper too quickly will disturb the design and cause air pockets to form, leaving voids in the prints. Let the paper sit for ten seconds and then carefully lift it. Only paper which did not absorb enough of the colour will need rinsing.
Lay the print on newspaper to absorb some of the water and then put it on fresh newspaper to dry. Drag a newspaper strip across the surface of the water to clean it for the next print, have the children take turns observing and making Suminagashi prints. When done talk to children about all experience and compare the patterns, made by them. One of the roles that we, as an early childhood provider, will face is identifying children who might be experiencing a developmental the growth and development of children in the program. The earlier the supports that will help them grow and learn with their peers.
We understand that each child is different and develop according to special time some are unique and according to the world some are normal as this is how the world is, but in our daycare all children are the same but only some children that require more assistants with their basic development are special and as a daycare provider will care for to shape a child’s life in a special way, one of lesson that we teach all children and also our special child is “Suminagashi experiment” to modify it little bit will add soap to it and non-toxic color and let the children explorer mixing of color and water play. They add fish and achieve fishing activity that will help with their hand-eye coordination skills. Lastly, it is very important that a caregiver should emphasize healthy, nutritional and safety centre so that the young ones can grow in a disinfected and clean environment with ample of physical exercise that leads them with advanced lifestyle. The daycare should appear educational, fun and healthy atmosphere so that parents are safe and pleased to enrol their children in the centre. The bond between the caregiver and parents should be well-built.
