Little Flower Child Development Centre
(Under the direction of The Little Flower Child Care Society)
(Under the direction of The Little Flower Child Care Society)
5700 Nickerson Road
Sechelt B.C. V0N3A7
604-740-0778 (Business)
604-885-3428 ( Cell)
[email protected]
Family Handbook
Table of Contents
Welcome Page 1
Withdrawal Page 1
Class Times Page 1
Late Pick Up Page 1
Closures Page 1
Daycare Fees Page 2
Stats Page 2
Affordable Child Care Benefit Page 3
Dress Page 3
Potty Training Page 3
Food Page 3
Parental Access Page 4
Release of Child Page 4
Illness Page 4
When Should a Child Stay Home Page 5
Emergencies Page 5
Goals Page 6
Philosophy Page 7
Guidance Policy Page 7
Active Play Page 7
Movies and Electronics Page 7
Outdoor Play Page 8-9
Celebrations Page 10
Daily Schedule Page 11
Welcome
Dear Families
Welcome to the Little Flower Child Development Centre. We look forward to working with you to provide quality care for your child in a safe and caring environment.
Please take some time to familiarize yourself with our program. The Family Handbook will provide you with an introduction to Little Flower Child Development Centre and basic information about the childcare program.
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please bring them to the attention of the center’s manager.
Withdrawal of Child Care Space
If circumstances make it necessary to withdraw your child from the center for any reason, one month’s notice in writing is required by the 1st of the month. For example, if you wish to withdraw your child as of July 1, then written notice dated no later than June 1st is required. June fees would have to be paid, but postdated cheques for the following months will be returned.
Centre manager will provide each family withdrawing from the center a statement of their account. Payment must be made on any outstanding fees before the last day of attendance. Any outstanding accounts, after this day, will be subject to further collection efforts which can include the involvement of an external collection agency.
Class Times
Effective Sept.5, 2023 due to staffing, childcare will operate Monday-Friday from 8:45 AM-3:15 PM
Our program is licensed for 16 children ages thirty months to 6 years.
We will be closed on all Statutory Holidays. Please visit our web page
http://littleflowerchildcare.weebly.com for more information and closure dates.
Late Pick-Up Police
Late pick-up is stressful and difficult for children and for staff, whose personal commitments after work are equally valued. Please be respectful of our centers closing time of 3:15 PM.
If late pick-up does occur, there will be a Late Pick-Up Charge due upon pick up, unpaid charges will be added to your next month’s fees. The late fee charge is $1.00 per minute.
Closures
We will do everything possible to keep the center open during snowy weather. Our staff may not be able to make it in on a snow day as one comes from Pender Harbor, if this happens and only one teacher can make it we will also close as the center cannot run with more than 6 children and one teacher. When this happens, there will be an email sent out that morning to let you know. If the weather should become worse during the day and the buses stop running, you will be called and expected to arrange pick up for your children ASAP.
1
Fees
Daycare Fees effective September 2023- $45.00 per day for children 3-5 years and $55.00 per day for children 2 ½ -3 years
Fees are calculated on the number of days in a month. The days are added up for each month September - August, therefore fees will differ each month depending on the number of days.
Once registered you must pay for the days you are registered for, no deduction can be made for absences due to family vacations. illness or unplanned daycare closures. Staff, rent and other monthly bills still must be paid so fees are paid not only for when your child is at daycare, but to also hold their spot.
2
Affordable Child Care Benefit
The Affordable Child Care Benefit rates may be available. If you will be applying for The Affordable Child Care Benefit, please do so in advance. If The Affordable Child Care Benefit is not in place when your child starts you must pay the registration fee (The Affordable Child Care Benefit does not cover the registration fee) and your first month of daycare. Once The Affordable Child Care Benefit comes into place the amount you paid will be credited to your account and used for months when The Affordable Child Care Benefit does not cover the full amount. Any credit left on your account when your child has finished daycare will be reimbursed to you at that time.
Child Care Reduction Initiative
We have opted in for the CCRI, this amount varies for the age of each child as well as the number of days they attend. The amount will show on your monthly fee sheet upon registration.
There is a non-refundable registration fee of $50.00 every September, this helps with the cost of registration paperwork and replaces the food in the earthquake bins.
Tax Receipts
Tax receipts are available in February of each New Year. All cheques must be made payable to The Little Flower Child Care Society.
Dress
Please send your child in comfortable play clothes as they sometimes participate in messy activities. We would also ask that your child have a backpack with indoor shoes and a change of clothes to come daily to the daycare with them. It’s a good idea to bring boots and rain gear to the center on rainy days.
Children who are enrolled in our full-time program and who still nap, will need to bring a crib sheet and blanket for quiet time.
Potty Training
If your child is in the process of potty training and you would like us to work on potty training at daycare your child must come in pullups and have extra pull ups in their bag for changing. When they have gotten close to being fully trained, we ask that they come in underwear and you send a few extra changes of clothes in case of an accident. We will not help potty train children that come to daycare in diapers.
Food
With guidance from the Canada Food Guide, we ask that parents provide children with a balanced, healthy morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack. Due to COVID 19 we are unable to put lunch bags in the fridge, due to cross contamination, please make sure lunch bags have an ice pack.
3
Parental Access
Little Flower Child Development Centre has an “open door” policy. We want to ensure that parents feel free to have access to their child at any reasonable time regardless of whether the visit is scheduled or unscheduled. We feel this enables parents to monitor the quality of care being provided throughout the day, not only at times when we are expecting parents to arrive. Due to COVID-19, parents must stay behind the gate at the cubbies.
Release of Child from Child Care Facility
To ensure the safety of the children we will only permit the parent or person who has been authorized in writing or by a phone call by the parent, to pick up children from Little Flower Child Development Centre. Authorized persons can change from time to time in accordance with changes in living arrangements, custody orders etc. please ensure registration form is altered and updated as necessary.
If someone other than the parent or a written authorized person arrives to pick up a child, we will first contact the parent to let them know who has requested the release of their child. Under no circumstance will the child be released to any unauthorized person. The parent will then have to make alternate arrangements for their child’s release. The parent can then decide if they would like us to contact an alternate written authorized person from the registration form or the parent can pick up the child.
If either parent or written authorized person appears to be incapable of providing safe care (example: individual’s behavior could potentially be harmful to the child, such as appearing to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol), we will offer to call another driver, a friend or relative to pick up the individual and the child. If this cannot be arranged, we will offer to call a taxi.
Driving while impaired is breaking the law and endangering the life of the child. If the parent or authorized person insists on driving the child, the police will be called immediately. We will inform police with a description of the vehicle, license plate number and the direction the vehicle is travelling. If we are concerned that the child may be at risk, we will report this to the Ministry of Children and Families. The occurrence will then be documented in the facility daily logbook.
Illness
If your child is absent for any reason, please notify the center. We are under very strict guidelines with regards to disease control; hence there may be times when we are either forced to send an ill child home, or not accept an ill child into care. For that reason, parents, will need to have a plan for alternate care.
Parents will be notified of contagious diseases affecting the children at the center. A child with a communicable disease will NOT be readmitted into care until the period of contamination has passed or until the child has fully recovered from his or her illness. Parents of all children in care are required to complete and submit to the staff a child medical report.
When medication, either prescription or over the counter, is involved in the child’s care, the parent must fill out, sign and date a Permission to Administer Medication Form. These are to be filled out for each medication.
4
When Should a Child Stay Home?
Little Flowers health policies are based on guidelines from the local Public Health Department. If your child becomes ill while at the center, staff will contact you immediately and ask you to pick up your child.
Children should not come to the center when:
•They are too ill to take an active part in the daily program, including going outside.
•They need more individual care than the staff can provide without compromising the needs of the other children.
•There is a risk of infecting other children or staff, as outlined in the guidelines below.
Keep your child at home if he or she has any of the following symptoms:
• Fever (100 F/38.3 C or more) accompanied by general symptoms such as listlessness may be an early indication of illness that requires a physician’s attention. Children must be kept home for 24 hours after fever subsides. Please do not administer Tylenol to lower the fever and then send your child to daycare. This only masks the fever but the child may still be contagious with whatever is causing the fever.
• Diarrhea, children must be kept home for 48 hours after diarrhea has stopped.
• Undiagnosed rash/skin condition
• Vomiting, children must be kept home for 48 hours after vomiting has stopped.
• Communicable disease
• Persistent pain
• Thick, colored discharge from eyes
• Head lice
• Persistent cough
If a child shows signs of ill health, you may be asked to provide the center with a doctor’s note to explain the child’s health. Children with diagnosed communicable diseases are not permitted to attend the program. ALSO SEE COVID 19 POLICY FOR MORE INFORMATION
Emergencies
Emergency telephone numbers and our emergency evacuation plans are posted near the parent sign in area. Once a month the children and staff will practice their fire drills.
In the event of a serious accident or illness, the parent(s) will be notified immediately. If the parent is not available, we will notify the emergency contact person of the situation. Parents must fill out the EMERGENCY CONSENT information in the registration package which will allow Little Flower Child Development Centre to seek emergency aid for their child.
5
Goals
The goals at the center are to facilitate the development of the child in numerous areas such as:
Intellectual Development
. Develop a flexible daily program that responds to the need and interests of the children.
. Provide an environment that facilitates the development of curiosity, reasoning and problem- solving skills.
. Provide age-appropriate activities which encourage development of the following, concept building skills: classifying, ordering, determining direction and perceiving spatial relationships.
. Provide activities and materials that encourage creativity in art, music, movement, imaginative play, storytelling and construction.
. Provide activities and materials that foster a greater understanding of the environment.
Physical Development
. Provide indoor and outdoor activities that encourage large and small muscle skills appropriate to each child’s level of development.
. Promote the development of self-help skills.
. Encourage good health and safety habits.
Language Development
. Model good language and listening skills
. Provide opportunities for children to develop receptive and expressive language skills.
. Encourage communication.
Social Development
. Provide an environment for children to work independently and to share and work co-operatively in small groups
. Provide an environment that fosters positive behavior in children
. Help children appreciate differences and respect the personal feelings and property of others
. Provide opportunities for social interactions that help children develop appropriate skills for social relationships
. Provide experiences that facilitate a child’s feeling of belonging to family and community
Emotional Development
. Help children develop a positive self-concept
. Help children develop an accurate perception of self
. Help children express positive and negative feelings in appropriate ways
6
Philosophy
Little Flower Child Development Centre provides a program that focuses on the intellectual, physical, emotional and language development of each child.
Our belief is that children learn best through play. While staff facilitates and enriches each child’s activities, learning is continually developed and extended. The children experience the joy of discovery-based learning as they explore our enriched environment. Our staff also strives to build nurturing attachments with the children so that each feel valued and loved.
Guidance Policy
Acceptable discipline leads to a positive learning experience that helps the child to learn to control, modify, change and maintain behavior. The objective of discipline is to teach consequences of behavior and lead the child to self-responsibility through choice. Acceptable discipline implies age appropriate expectations and natural consequences: praise and encouragement, modeling, consistent limits and effective communication.
Active Play
Active play is a very important part of the day at Little Flower.
Music- Music is part of our curriculum and activities. The children have a 20-minute circle time in the morning before snack, this circle includes 15 minutes of active music and movement. We have CD’s, downloaded songs and sometimes we use You Tube to interact to musical workouts for children.
Staff will ensure that the songs are age-appropriate, and that the volume is set at an appropriate level.
Movies and Electronics - Any movies shown at the Daycare will be communicated with the families at drop-off and will be G-rated. Children are never required to sit and watch the movie, and tables will be set up with activities for those children. Some curriculum activities might have a video to go along with them and these will not be communicated. Movies are rarely watched by the children as we find this is something done at home. We do have a couple of days during the Christmas Break where children come in their pj’s and bring a blanket and stuffy and we have a short movie and make popcorn. When in use screen time is limited and will not exceed more than 30 minutes.
We do not have electronics at the center for the children to play with and ask that parents refrain from bringing them from home.
7
Outdoor Play
Weather permitting the children are outside for 60 min, from 11:15AM to 12:15PM and then again in the afternoon from 4:00 PM to 5:00PM. When the weather is wet and cold we have access to the church hall, which we call the children’s gym time.
Examples of active free play activities include
Ø Slides and climbers
Ø Bikes, scooters and cars
Ø Teeter Totters
Ø Mini Rebounder
Ø Soccer
Ø Tag
Ø Basketball
Ø Outdoor play cooking
Ø Sandbox activities
Examples of adult -directed games include
Ø What Time is it Mr. Wolf?
Ø Outdoor painting
Ø Parachute games
Ø Ball Skills, teaching throwing, kicking and catching
Ø Balance Skills, teaching children to balance walking around the edge of playground ties, balancing walking along a log.
Staff will post a note on the door of the Daycare, with a contact number for parents, every time they leave the property. It is the parent’s responsibility to make sure the children come to daycare with proper outdoor clothing and shoes and it is the Staff’s responsibility to ensure the children have appropriate attire before they go outside.
Staff will not take the children outdoors when the temperature drops below 0°C and limited time when temperatures are above 30°C. An alternative to outdoor play is using the gymnasium.
On registering your child at the Daycare, parents will be required to sign a Daily Field Trip consent form that will be used to acknowledge the participation of their child in daily outdoor activities. If children are to be taken on a field trip outside the scope of the “Daily Field Trip” consent, parents will receive a “Special Field Trip” consent form. Parents are also welcome to attend as special helpers.
Preparing for Outdoor Play and Field Trips Before going outside, Staff will check the attendance sheet to ensure that they have all children registered for the day. They will then check the daily parent sign-in sheet to ensure that the children have been signed in. If not, Staff will add the child to the sign-in sheet and parents will be reminded to sign their child in. The updated daily sign-in sheet is to be taken outside along with the backpack. A Staff cell phone is to be taken outside for safety reasons. The outside play and field trip procedures are to be followed for outside play, going to the gymnasium and going off property on a Field Trip outing.
8
Preparing to leave the classroom:
Staff will gather the Emergency Backpack and ensure it contains the following:
Daily parent sign-in sheet
Children's emergency cards
First aid kit
Cell phone
Staff will gather children as follows: children will either walk in pairs holding hands or in a line holding on to a walking rope. One Staff will lead the group with additional staff in the middle and one Staff follows behind the last child.
Once outside the Staff will: keep accurate attendance by updating the attendance sheet if some children go back inside with one of the Staff situate themselves in the playground/area so that all children are in view , ensure the safety of children by tracking /counting where all children are in the playground/area .
Celebrations
We are not a religious centre, but we do read stories and do crafts focusing around special times of the year. The following is a list of what things we discuss and do crafts and stories about.
The 4 Seasons of the Year
Birthday Cupcakes for the children on their birthdays.
New Years
Ground Hog Day
Chinese New Years
Valentines Day
Family Day
St. Patrick’s Day
Easter
Mothers Day
Fathers Day
Canada Day
Thanksgiving
Halloween
Remembrance Day
Christmas
None of these will have religion discussed, but we will do crafts, songs/music and stories surrounding these.
During Easter we will talk about Spring and the week prior we will read stories that may involve the Easter Bunny.
During Christmas we will talk about winter, snow and we will be reading stories about Christmas / Santa.
The children make gifts for Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Christmas, as well as Christmas ornaments for the tree. If you would rather your child not make gifts to bring home, please let us know. The daycare also buys gifts for the children for Christmas and if you would rather your child not receive a gift please let the manager know.
If your family has any special celebrations that you would like us to include please let us know as many nationalities celebrate differently and we don’t mind including those as well.
10
Daily Schedule
8:45-9:45 – Morning Free Play
9:45-10:00 – Tidy up
10:00:-10:20 – Book time/ Music and Movement
10:20-10:30 – Handwashing
10:30-11:00 – Morning Snack
11:00-12:00 – Outdoor free play
12:00-12:20 – Calendar
12:20-12:30 – Handwashing
12:30-1:00 – Lunch
1:00-1:15 – Toileting, clean up from lunch
1:15-1:30 – Book time
1:30-3:00- Afternoon free play
3:00-3:15- Clean up/ Home time
11
Sechelt B.C. V0N3A7
604-740-0778 (Business)
604-885-3428 ( Cell)
[email protected]
Family Handbook
Table of Contents
Welcome Page 1
Withdrawal Page 1
Class Times Page 1
Late Pick Up Page 1
Closures Page 1
Daycare Fees Page 2
Stats Page 2
Affordable Child Care Benefit Page 3
Dress Page 3
Potty Training Page 3
Food Page 3
Parental Access Page 4
Release of Child Page 4
Illness Page 4
When Should a Child Stay Home Page 5
Emergencies Page 5
Goals Page 6
Philosophy Page 7
Guidance Policy Page 7
Active Play Page 7
Movies and Electronics Page 7
Outdoor Play Page 8-9
Celebrations Page 10
Daily Schedule Page 11
Welcome
Dear Families
Welcome to the Little Flower Child Development Centre. We look forward to working with you to provide quality care for your child in a safe and caring environment.
Please take some time to familiarize yourself with our program. The Family Handbook will provide you with an introduction to Little Flower Child Development Centre and basic information about the childcare program.
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please bring them to the attention of the center’s manager.
Withdrawal of Child Care Space
If circumstances make it necessary to withdraw your child from the center for any reason, one month’s notice in writing is required by the 1st of the month. For example, if you wish to withdraw your child as of July 1, then written notice dated no later than June 1st is required. June fees would have to be paid, but postdated cheques for the following months will be returned.
Centre manager will provide each family withdrawing from the center a statement of their account. Payment must be made on any outstanding fees before the last day of attendance. Any outstanding accounts, after this day, will be subject to further collection efforts which can include the involvement of an external collection agency.
Class Times
Effective Sept.5, 2023 due to staffing, childcare will operate Monday-Friday from 8:45 AM-3:15 PM
Our program is licensed for 16 children ages thirty months to 6 years.
We will be closed on all Statutory Holidays. Please visit our web page
http://littleflowerchildcare.weebly.com for more information and closure dates.
Late Pick-Up Police
Late pick-up is stressful and difficult for children and for staff, whose personal commitments after work are equally valued. Please be respectful of our centers closing time of 3:15 PM.
If late pick-up does occur, there will be a Late Pick-Up Charge due upon pick up, unpaid charges will be added to your next month’s fees. The late fee charge is $1.00 per minute.
Closures
We will do everything possible to keep the center open during snowy weather. Our staff may not be able to make it in on a snow day as one comes from Pender Harbor, if this happens and only one teacher can make it we will also close as the center cannot run with more than 6 children and one teacher. When this happens, there will be an email sent out that morning to let you know. If the weather should become worse during the day and the buses stop running, you will be called and expected to arrange pick up for your children ASAP.
1
Fees
Daycare Fees effective September 2023- $45.00 per day for children 3-5 years and $55.00 per day for children 2 ½ -3 years
Fees are calculated on the number of days in a month. The days are added up for each month September - August, therefore fees will differ each month depending on the number of days.
Once registered you must pay for the days you are registered for, no deduction can be made for absences due to family vacations. illness or unplanned daycare closures. Staff, rent and other monthly bills still must be paid so fees are paid not only for when your child is at daycare, but to also hold their spot.
2
Affordable Child Care Benefit
The Affordable Child Care Benefit rates may be available. If you will be applying for The Affordable Child Care Benefit, please do so in advance. If The Affordable Child Care Benefit is not in place when your child starts you must pay the registration fee (The Affordable Child Care Benefit does not cover the registration fee) and your first month of daycare. Once The Affordable Child Care Benefit comes into place the amount you paid will be credited to your account and used for months when The Affordable Child Care Benefit does not cover the full amount. Any credit left on your account when your child has finished daycare will be reimbursed to you at that time.
Child Care Reduction Initiative
We have opted in for the CCRI, this amount varies for the age of each child as well as the number of days they attend. The amount will show on your monthly fee sheet upon registration.
There is a non-refundable registration fee of $50.00 every September, this helps with the cost of registration paperwork and replaces the food in the earthquake bins.
Tax Receipts
Tax receipts are available in February of each New Year. All cheques must be made payable to The Little Flower Child Care Society.
Dress
Please send your child in comfortable play clothes as they sometimes participate in messy activities. We would also ask that your child have a backpack with indoor shoes and a change of clothes to come daily to the daycare with them. It’s a good idea to bring boots and rain gear to the center on rainy days.
Children who are enrolled in our full-time program and who still nap, will need to bring a crib sheet and blanket for quiet time.
Potty Training
If your child is in the process of potty training and you would like us to work on potty training at daycare your child must come in pullups and have extra pull ups in their bag for changing. When they have gotten close to being fully trained, we ask that they come in underwear and you send a few extra changes of clothes in case of an accident. We will not help potty train children that come to daycare in diapers.
Food
With guidance from the Canada Food Guide, we ask that parents provide children with a balanced, healthy morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack. Due to COVID 19 we are unable to put lunch bags in the fridge, due to cross contamination, please make sure lunch bags have an ice pack.
3
Parental Access
Little Flower Child Development Centre has an “open door” policy. We want to ensure that parents feel free to have access to their child at any reasonable time regardless of whether the visit is scheduled or unscheduled. We feel this enables parents to monitor the quality of care being provided throughout the day, not only at times when we are expecting parents to arrive. Due to COVID-19, parents must stay behind the gate at the cubbies.
Release of Child from Child Care Facility
To ensure the safety of the children we will only permit the parent or person who has been authorized in writing or by a phone call by the parent, to pick up children from Little Flower Child Development Centre. Authorized persons can change from time to time in accordance with changes in living arrangements, custody orders etc. please ensure registration form is altered and updated as necessary.
If someone other than the parent or a written authorized person arrives to pick up a child, we will first contact the parent to let them know who has requested the release of their child. Under no circumstance will the child be released to any unauthorized person. The parent will then have to make alternate arrangements for their child’s release. The parent can then decide if they would like us to contact an alternate written authorized person from the registration form or the parent can pick up the child.
If either parent or written authorized person appears to be incapable of providing safe care (example: individual’s behavior could potentially be harmful to the child, such as appearing to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol), we will offer to call another driver, a friend or relative to pick up the individual and the child. If this cannot be arranged, we will offer to call a taxi.
Driving while impaired is breaking the law and endangering the life of the child. If the parent or authorized person insists on driving the child, the police will be called immediately. We will inform police with a description of the vehicle, license plate number and the direction the vehicle is travelling. If we are concerned that the child may be at risk, we will report this to the Ministry of Children and Families. The occurrence will then be documented in the facility daily logbook.
Illness
If your child is absent for any reason, please notify the center. We are under very strict guidelines with regards to disease control; hence there may be times when we are either forced to send an ill child home, or not accept an ill child into care. For that reason, parents, will need to have a plan for alternate care.
Parents will be notified of contagious diseases affecting the children at the center. A child with a communicable disease will NOT be readmitted into care until the period of contamination has passed or until the child has fully recovered from his or her illness. Parents of all children in care are required to complete and submit to the staff a child medical report.
When medication, either prescription or over the counter, is involved in the child’s care, the parent must fill out, sign and date a Permission to Administer Medication Form. These are to be filled out for each medication.
4
When Should a Child Stay Home?
Little Flowers health policies are based on guidelines from the local Public Health Department. If your child becomes ill while at the center, staff will contact you immediately and ask you to pick up your child.
Children should not come to the center when:
•They are too ill to take an active part in the daily program, including going outside.
•They need more individual care than the staff can provide without compromising the needs of the other children.
•There is a risk of infecting other children or staff, as outlined in the guidelines below.
Keep your child at home if he or she has any of the following symptoms:
• Fever (100 F/38.3 C or more) accompanied by general symptoms such as listlessness may be an early indication of illness that requires a physician’s attention. Children must be kept home for 24 hours after fever subsides. Please do not administer Tylenol to lower the fever and then send your child to daycare. This only masks the fever but the child may still be contagious with whatever is causing the fever.
• Diarrhea, children must be kept home for 48 hours after diarrhea has stopped.
• Undiagnosed rash/skin condition
• Vomiting, children must be kept home for 48 hours after vomiting has stopped.
• Communicable disease
• Persistent pain
• Thick, colored discharge from eyes
• Head lice
• Persistent cough
If a child shows signs of ill health, you may be asked to provide the center with a doctor’s note to explain the child’s health. Children with diagnosed communicable diseases are not permitted to attend the program. ALSO SEE COVID 19 POLICY FOR MORE INFORMATION
Emergencies
Emergency telephone numbers and our emergency evacuation plans are posted near the parent sign in area. Once a month the children and staff will practice their fire drills.
In the event of a serious accident or illness, the parent(s) will be notified immediately. If the parent is not available, we will notify the emergency contact person of the situation. Parents must fill out the EMERGENCY CONSENT information in the registration package which will allow Little Flower Child Development Centre to seek emergency aid for their child.
5
Goals
The goals at the center are to facilitate the development of the child in numerous areas such as:
Intellectual Development
. Develop a flexible daily program that responds to the need and interests of the children.
. Provide an environment that facilitates the development of curiosity, reasoning and problem- solving skills.
. Provide age-appropriate activities which encourage development of the following, concept building skills: classifying, ordering, determining direction and perceiving spatial relationships.
. Provide activities and materials that encourage creativity in art, music, movement, imaginative play, storytelling and construction.
. Provide activities and materials that foster a greater understanding of the environment.
Physical Development
. Provide indoor and outdoor activities that encourage large and small muscle skills appropriate to each child’s level of development.
. Promote the development of self-help skills.
. Encourage good health and safety habits.
Language Development
. Model good language and listening skills
. Provide opportunities for children to develop receptive and expressive language skills.
. Encourage communication.
Social Development
. Provide an environment for children to work independently and to share and work co-operatively in small groups
. Provide an environment that fosters positive behavior in children
. Help children appreciate differences and respect the personal feelings and property of others
. Provide opportunities for social interactions that help children develop appropriate skills for social relationships
. Provide experiences that facilitate a child’s feeling of belonging to family and community
Emotional Development
. Help children develop a positive self-concept
. Help children develop an accurate perception of self
. Help children express positive and negative feelings in appropriate ways
6
Philosophy
Little Flower Child Development Centre provides a program that focuses on the intellectual, physical, emotional and language development of each child.
Our belief is that children learn best through play. While staff facilitates and enriches each child’s activities, learning is continually developed and extended. The children experience the joy of discovery-based learning as they explore our enriched environment. Our staff also strives to build nurturing attachments with the children so that each feel valued and loved.
Guidance Policy
Acceptable discipline leads to a positive learning experience that helps the child to learn to control, modify, change and maintain behavior. The objective of discipline is to teach consequences of behavior and lead the child to self-responsibility through choice. Acceptable discipline implies age appropriate expectations and natural consequences: praise and encouragement, modeling, consistent limits and effective communication.
Active Play
Active play is a very important part of the day at Little Flower.
Music- Music is part of our curriculum and activities. The children have a 20-minute circle time in the morning before snack, this circle includes 15 minutes of active music and movement. We have CD’s, downloaded songs and sometimes we use You Tube to interact to musical workouts for children.
Staff will ensure that the songs are age-appropriate, and that the volume is set at an appropriate level.
Movies and Electronics - Any movies shown at the Daycare will be communicated with the families at drop-off and will be G-rated. Children are never required to sit and watch the movie, and tables will be set up with activities for those children. Some curriculum activities might have a video to go along with them and these will not be communicated. Movies are rarely watched by the children as we find this is something done at home. We do have a couple of days during the Christmas Break where children come in their pj’s and bring a blanket and stuffy and we have a short movie and make popcorn. When in use screen time is limited and will not exceed more than 30 minutes.
We do not have electronics at the center for the children to play with and ask that parents refrain from bringing them from home.
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Outdoor Play
Weather permitting the children are outside for 60 min, from 11:15AM to 12:15PM and then again in the afternoon from 4:00 PM to 5:00PM. When the weather is wet and cold we have access to the church hall, which we call the children’s gym time.
Examples of active free play activities include
Ø Slides and climbers
Ø Bikes, scooters and cars
Ø Teeter Totters
Ø Mini Rebounder
Ø Soccer
Ø Tag
Ø Basketball
Ø Outdoor play cooking
Ø Sandbox activities
Examples of adult -directed games include
Ø What Time is it Mr. Wolf?
Ø Outdoor painting
Ø Parachute games
Ø Ball Skills, teaching throwing, kicking and catching
Ø Balance Skills, teaching children to balance walking around the edge of playground ties, balancing walking along a log.
Staff will post a note on the door of the Daycare, with a contact number for parents, every time they leave the property. It is the parent’s responsibility to make sure the children come to daycare with proper outdoor clothing and shoes and it is the Staff’s responsibility to ensure the children have appropriate attire before they go outside.
Staff will not take the children outdoors when the temperature drops below 0°C and limited time when temperatures are above 30°C. An alternative to outdoor play is using the gymnasium.
On registering your child at the Daycare, parents will be required to sign a Daily Field Trip consent form that will be used to acknowledge the participation of their child in daily outdoor activities. If children are to be taken on a field trip outside the scope of the “Daily Field Trip” consent, parents will receive a “Special Field Trip” consent form. Parents are also welcome to attend as special helpers.
Preparing for Outdoor Play and Field Trips Before going outside, Staff will check the attendance sheet to ensure that they have all children registered for the day. They will then check the daily parent sign-in sheet to ensure that the children have been signed in. If not, Staff will add the child to the sign-in sheet and parents will be reminded to sign their child in. The updated daily sign-in sheet is to be taken outside along with the backpack. A Staff cell phone is to be taken outside for safety reasons. The outside play and field trip procedures are to be followed for outside play, going to the gymnasium and going off property on a Field Trip outing.
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Preparing to leave the classroom:
Staff will gather the Emergency Backpack and ensure it contains the following:
Daily parent sign-in sheet
Children's emergency cards
First aid kit
Cell phone
Staff will gather children as follows: children will either walk in pairs holding hands or in a line holding on to a walking rope. One Staff will lead the group with additional staff in the middle and one Staff follows behind the last child.
Once outside the Staff will: keep accurate attendance by updating the attendance sheet if some children go back inside with one of the Staff situate themselves in the playground/area so that all children are in view , ensure the safety of children by tracking /counting where all children are in the playground/area .
Celebrations
We are not a religious centre, but we do read stories and do crafts focusing around special times of the year. The following is a list of what things we discuss and do crafts and stories about.
The 4 Seasons of the Year
Birthday Cupcakes for the children on their birthdays.
New Years
Ground Hog Day
Chinese New Years
Valentines Day
Family Day
St. Patrick’s Day
Easter
Mothers Day
Fathers Day
Canada Day
Thanksgiving
Halloween
Remembrance Day
Christmas
None of these will have religion discussed, but we will do crafts, songs/music and stories surrounding these.
During Easter we will talk about Spring and the week prior we will read stories that may involve the Easter Bunny.
During Christmas we will talk about winter, snow and we will be reading stories about Christmas / Santa.
The children make gifts for Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Christmas, as well as Christmas ornaments for the tree. If you would rather your child not make gifts to bring home, please let us know. The daycare also buys gifts for the children for Christmas and if you would rather your child not receive a gift please let the manager know.
If your family has any special celebrations that you would like us to include please let us know as many nationalities celebrate differently and we don’t mind including those as well.
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Daily Schedule
8:45-9:45 – Morning Free Play
9:45-10:00 – Tidy up
10:00:-10:20 – Book time/ Music and Movement
10:20-10:30 – Handwashing
10:30-11:00 – Morning Snack
11:00-12:00 – Outdoor free play
12:00-12:20 – Calendar
12:20-12:30 – Handwashing
12:30-1:00 – Lunch
1:00-1:15 – Toileting, clean up from lunch
1:15-1:30 – Book time
1:30-3:00- Afternoon free play
3:00-3:15- Clean up/ Home time
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