Program

My program focuses on integrating the various aspects of a child's development into a structured routine that allows time for:

• Development of critical thinking/problem solving skills
• Gross motor & fine motor activities
• Outdoor play and exploration*
• Music from a variety of sources
• Math & Science Inquiry
• Dramatic play and social opportunities
• Early Literacy focus
• Sensory play
• Art and crafts
• Regular outings to the public library, playground, spray park & community activities

*We go outside every day of the year, come sun/snow/rain/wind, unless the weather is inclement to the extent that it is dangerous or unhealthy for the children to be out of doors (such as during a severe storm, or in temperatures below -20 C), in which case outdoor play is substituted for appropriate indoor physical activity, such as dancing to music, or large group movement games.  As such, children in care need to be appropriately dressed for any change of weather.  Having a small bag with extra layers/gloves/hats, etc is acceptable, and I can store it at the day home for the child.

A typical day in care might look like the following (and activities will be posted daily on our message board, as well as discussed at drop-off and pick-up time):

• Arrival & Breakfast
• Walk to school for school drop-off
• Independent free play
• Story/Song time
• Snack time
• Art or Craft activity
• Sensory play
• Lunch time
• Nap/Quiet time*
• Walk to school for school pick-up & play at the park
• Snack time
• Fine motor activity
• Guided dramatic play
• Story/Song time
• Departure

*All children in care are required to participate in a quiet time each afternoon.  Each child is provided with a personal rest space (either individually designated playpen or mattress & clean, individual linens - this means no one but that child uses the bed/bedding) and access to dolls/books for quiet time use.  The child is then given about an hour to quietly read, rest or sleep and refresh their energy.  I do not make children nap, though we are very busy and active in our daily activities, and most children will sleep during this time.

To get a feel for the type and range of activities I plan and implement in my day home, I encourage you to visit the main page of the blog and glimpse briefly over the archived posts, or search among the labels.  You may also visit our resources page, which will give you ideas of the type of activities and books I employ for literacy development, which is an area in which I have extensive training and experience, and for which I am passionate.

Here is a summary of some of the activities we use for each area of development.  Obviously some of the activities below assist a child in many different areas of development.   I am always looking for new ideas and/or materials to supplement and expand upon these activities:

Critical thinking:

• wooden and jigsaw puzzles
• file folder games - matching, creating, switching, counting, etc.
• board games and card games - memory, uno, candyland, go fish, etc.

Gross motor & Outdoor play:

• ride-on toys - little tyke's car and motorcycle, tricycle, bicycles, slide
• outdoor sandbox and water table
• digging and gardening toys
• outdoor balls, hula hoops, Frisbees
• playground, grassy field outing, spray park, school park

Fine motor:

• tracing and threading activities
• Lego blocks
• sticker activities
• counting/sorting activities
• colander/pipe cleaner center (see blog post)

Music:

• small play instruments
• children's music CD's
• electric piano
• group song time
• Library sing and sign program

Math & Science:

• math shape block center (tangram puzzles)
• file folder activities
• math game box (with early childhood based math skill building games)
• magnet activities
• theme based science activities (such as in our butterfly unit - coming soon)

Dramatic play:

• dress-up center
• dolls and large variety of toys
• three different types of tent centers
• puppets and puppet theatre
• dollhouse
• Kitchen center

Sensory:

• playdoh, moon dough & oobleck (cornstarch goop)
• water table - use water, snow, ice, sand, rice, dried beans, pasta - depending on unit
• discovery bottles (see blog post)

Literacy:

• unlimited easy access to over one hundred children's books, including:
• board books
• lift-the-flap books
• rebus books
• touch & feel books
• picture books
• story books
• fiction & non-fiction
• library books

Arts & Crafts:

• stamps & non-toxic ink pads
• coloring books, crayons, pencil crayons, markers
• crafting supplies - paper, construction paper, child safe scissors, glue
• open ended crafts - from natural and recyclable materials - cardboard tubes, pipe cleaners, glitter, bottle caps, boxes, cotton balls, leaves, craft feathers, googly eyes, etc.
• stickers
• painting activities - with fingerpaints, paintbrushes
• chalk and bubbles

TV & Electronic Access Policy:  I do not allow the children access to television or computer activities for more than 30 cumulative minutes / day as per day home agency policy.  However, I do not personally prefer the use of these media for young children, and as such have typically only allowed the children access to TV program once to twice a month for 20-30 minutes.  This has been in support of program planning (for instance, we watched a child's signing video rented from the library that was 27 minutes in length and taught the children the ASL signs for different colors).  If I do plan to show the children a television show, I will always post it on the daily schedule, and it will meet the following requirements:

• less than thirty minutes in length
• of educational value
• appropriate for young children
• no commercial advertisements

Some examples of shows that may be watched include: Curious George, Super Why, Care Bears.

Thematic Planning:  I like to plan my program around center themes, usually based on the children's current interests and curiosities, and sometimes based upon special occasions/times of the year.  Here are some examples of units I have planned and implemented in my day home:

• I have a body
• Firefighters
• Winter and Snow
• Christmas
• Space & the stars
• Cars & Trucks
• Dinosaurs
• Shapes
• Colors
• Boats
• Trees

For more details about these units, feel free to contact me, or refer back to the main page of this blog and see my posts.  Thanks!