God's Wonderful World - continued

This week we were a little off schedule  as we had a friend switch to part time and another friend drop in for just two days.  New schedules always take some adjusting time!

We continued to explore God's awesome animals this week with lots of fun books and several games of animal charades and songs and dances.  We also moved into exploring the beautiful season of Fall.  Today, we played outside in the leaves, kicking them around and listening to the noises they made!  We threw them high and watched them fall on our heads!  We listened to the wind blow through the trees and talked about how it gets louder when the wind blows harder.  The kids really enjoyed our outside time today.

We also picked out some favorite leaves and glued them to paper to make a collage!  This worked very well for the preschooler in my group, but not so well for the littler ones.  They had fun just picking up and dropping the leaves over and over again!  They just giggled with delight!

Tomorrow, is Field Trip Friday!!!  We will be traveling to the Pumpkin Patch where we will get to jump in the hay, ride the mini train, possibly a hay-rack ride, and picking out a pumpkin to take home.  This will be a great opportunity for pictures!  I hope all our parents can join us on this wonderful fall tradition!

God Made A Wonderful World

In October, we're talking about God's creation and how good it is!  Even though the kids are all very young, they can still appreciate the wonders of God's magnificent creation.  In fact, the way young children view the simplest things can renew a sense of wonder in those of us who are older.

We'll start on Monday with the Creation Story from a toddler story Bible.  We'll learn an action rhyme and dance and sing!

On Tuesday, we'll take a field trip to the zoo and take lots of pictures of all the animals we see.  Then next week, we'll make a class board book with the pictures we took!

Wednesday, we'll play animal charades, play with animal figures, stuffed animals, and talk about what sounds  the animals make!  We'll also eat animal crackers for a snack and talk about how awesome each animal is that God made.

Thursday, we'll go on a nature walk and take our story time outside!

Friday we will explore our findings from our nature walk with our five senses!

I'm excited to be teaching the kids about animals this week!  I will post each day with details on how the kids liked each activity!

Preschool Program

God's Garden is many things, and like most gardens, still growing!

We offer a morning half-day Christian preschool curriculum for children 18 months to school age.  This is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 11:30am.

We also offer full-time and part-time care for children ages 18 months to 10 years in a Christian home environment.
Our hours are:
Monday through Friday 6:30 am to 10:30 pm.
Saturdays as a drop in, as needed basis.  Just call to reserve a spot!


For more info, please email: GodsGardenHomePreK@yahoo.com

Messy Yard Art

Today was an amazingly fun-filled day at God's Garden!!

We enrolled our first boy this morning, so now we've evened the scale!  My lil pinkalicious princess now has someone to play with who can expand her thinking to more than just princesses and pink!  What a joy to watch them play together!  Jay enjoys having another boy around too.  They get to play a little louder, faster, and rougher than when there was just a sweet-as-pie princess!

This morning, Jay had a friend from school come over with her two little sisters.  So, we had six kids in all and they all had a blast!  After a fun, singing/dancing/story time with my two pre-K kids, we headed outside to expand our thoughts about circles!  They're not all flat!!  (and, they're not all perfectly round!)  I gave the kids plates of paint and many different sizes of balls.  They got to dip the balls into the paint and toss it at a big piece of paper that I had clothes-pinned to the fence.  Oh what fun they had!!!  Some of them had trouble - just at first - getting used to the idea that they really could get as messy as they wanted!  Go ahead!! THROW THAT PAINT! I encouraged them all until they had as much paint on them as they did on the paper!  Then, forget the balls, we want to finger paint!  Starting out with hand-prints, the kids got into painting with their fingers, then sticks they found on the ground, even some rocks, and then Jay (OH JAY) took the bottles of paint and just started tossing it at his paper!  At that point - as beautiful as his creation was - I had to put a stop to it or I'd run out of paint (which I think I came close to doing anyway)!!!

Stay tuned for the rest of the week!  I've got several more art projects in mind as we explore circles, ovals and crescents with various materials!

God's Garden Handbook Highlights

god’s Garden home child care & Preschool
HANDBOOK (highlights)

Who we are and what we do

            God’s Garden Home Child Care and Preschool (GG) is a licensed home child care program, and we follow the rules and guidelines of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Shawnee County Health Agency (SCHA) and run our business according to such guidelines.

We strive to provide your child a happy and safe home environment rich with fun learning opportunities.  Our program gives special emphasis to helping children grow and develop socially, emotionally, physically, cognitively and above all else, spiritually.  We believe that in order for educational learning to take place and positive, healthy relationships to build, children must feel safe and comfortable with their surroundings. We show children the love of God in every area of our program.

            We also believe that parents/guardians and caregivers need to work together in order to provide the most positive experience for the children.  We offer many opportunities for parents to get involved in what goes on at GG as well as provide daily communication to parents about your child’s activities.  It is very important for us to have open communication at all times.  We will let you know if we have concerns about your child.  I ask that you also keep me informed of any changes in routine, difficult sleep nights, changes in eating, etc that may affect your child’s day at GG.  If you have concerns that you wish to discuss outside of your child’s hearing range, feel free to call at your earliest convenience.  I respect your privacy and will not share information with other families about your child or family.  In return, I expect you to respect my family’s privacy and our time together after business hours.

Curriculum & Activities

            We use a broad monthly theme accompanied by more specific emphasis in weekly themes (example, the monthly theme may be “God made people” and a weekly theme would be “God made families” where we’d talk about all the different kinds of families and what makes ours special.)  Themes and lessons will be planned and posted on our white board for parents to stay informed of our activities.

            Two lessons per day are presented in a variety of ways including, but not limited to: music, finger plays, creative dramatics, stories, fitness and movement, arts and craft activities with a variety of materials.

            All of our lessons are Biblically based, while incorporating preschool and Kindergarten readiness skills. We teach children how God and the Bible are active in our everyday world.  Most of our lessons come from Boz the Bear’s Preschool book.  For more info on Boz, check out: www.bozthebear.com

            GG also maintains an online blog for parents to keep up-to-date on our activities. We would love for you to follow our blog and participate in all that is going on here at GG!  

 GG follows a daily routine to assist children in regulating themselves and to foster security that a regular schedule can provide.  In general, our day typically looks like this:

                        6:30am             Welcome & Free Play

                        8:00am             BREAKFAST, brush teeth

                        8:45am             Lesson Time

                        9:30am             AM Activity

                        10:15am            Outside/Social Time

                        11:30am            come in, clean up, play in kitchen while lunch is being prepared

                        12:00pm           LUNCH, brush teeth, set out cots

                        12:45pm           NAP

                        3:15pm             SNACK

                        4:00pm             PM Activity/Homework time for school aged kids

                        4:45pm             Outside/Social time until parents come

                       

Vacation & Holidays   

            GG will be closed the following holidays which are paid holidays (IF they fall on a regular business day):

New Year’s Day,  4^th and 5^th of July,  Thanksgiving Day and the following day,  Dec 24^th, 25^th and 26^th.

If any of these holidays fall on a Sunday, GG will not close an extra day and your regular weekly rate will be the same.
            The provider is entitled to four (4) unpaid personal days each calendar year to be used at her discretion to cover provider illness, family crisis, professional development, or various other instances when a substitute is unavailable and the provider may need to close the facility for a day.  It is the parents’, grandparents’, or legal guardian’s responsibility to have a “back up” plan if the facility is closed.  All substitutes will be called first, and as much notice as possible will be given in any of these instances if a sub cannot be available.
            The facility will be closed one full week per year for the provider’s paid vacation – usually the first full week of August.  The provider will give a minimum of two months written notice of the exact dates.
            When your child is absent for any reason (vacation, illness, etc) the regular weekly fee is still due. 

            If you think you will have trouble finding alternate care during these times, I can offer a few referrals of church friends who do home daycare or my substitutes who may be willing to care for your child(ren) individually, or you can call Child Care Aware at 785-357-5171 to assist you. 

Meals

            GG participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) which means that we provide nutritionally balanced meals and receive three visits a year from Food Program staff.  The menus are posted in the kitchen on the refrigerator.

            We are sensitive to the nutritional needs of everyone who eats here at the center.  We follow an all-natural diet and do not serve any processed foods with artificial ingredients, food colorings/dyes, or preservatives.  Also, if your child has an allergy or intolerance to any food, please be sure to tell Jessica as well as writing it down in our sign up paperwork to keep on file.  We will be sure not to serve your child those foods and let you know when those foods are served to others here at the center.  Because of these sensitivities, I ask that you do not bring food to child care unless prior arrangements have been made.  (For more info on what we serve or why we are all natural, please visit: www.feingold.org)

Guidance

            GG follows Love and Logic techniques for discipline.  We believe modeling is the best teaching tool, and we strive to model kind, thoughtful and caring behavior at all times. All children will be treated with love and respect in my home.  Starting when they are very young, we begin teaching them how to ask for help and problem-solve with their peers. We encourage the children to think for themselves by offering two safe and appropriate choices in any situation.  Most discipline issues can be managed by the environment, such as making sure there are enough hands-on activities for everyone.  I will never withhold food, use shame, intimidation or physical punishment to manage behaviors.  I also do not use a reward system, but I do use language that teaches independence, encouragement, negotiation skills and empathy. 

            *For more info on Love and Logic, please read “Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood” by Jim Fay and Dr. Charles Fay.  Or you can check them out online at: www.loveandlogic.com

Birthdays and Celebrations

            We celebrate most holidays with a party in the afternoon.  I encourage you to join us for celebrations, but please let me know ahead of time if you want to bring treats.  We are very sensitive to the nutritional needs of everyone who will be participating in the celebration. 

          

Thank you for your time and consideration in reading and abiding by the policies stated in this handbook.