program

My day care is geared to families who need care for their child during the school year, but who plan to have other care during the summer months. I am closed for 8 weeks every summer. See the calendar at right for exact dates for the school year. I provide a comfortable home environment where your child can interact with a small group of children and receive specialized attention from me.

I use the PA Learning Standards for Early Childhood as the framework for teaching the children in my care. These standards help to create a well rounded program including language skills, math and science, social studies, social emotional skills, creative arts, and movement. This framework helps to prepare the children to enter a formal school setting with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful.

In addition to these important standards, I use an emergent curriculum approach which simply means I pay close attention to the interests and needs of the children and provide activities and toys that the children quickly become involved in and actively explore.

Some of the topics that have emerged this past year have been:

• cars and ramps
• balls
• Lids and bottles
• spiders
• caring for dolls and stuffed animals
• scooping, filling bottles, and spinners
• collecting sticks, fall leaves, pine cones
• playing with water (in warmer weather)

Every day includes singing, listening to music, reading together, and lots of free play. I believe that free play is where children learn about their world, practice getting along with others, and develop new ideas and skills.

I see it as my job to create a safe and engaging environment where children can explore and learn through their play. I am committed to continuing my education to make sure this happens.