A Day in the Life

Preschool in our beautiful light filled classroom

Children who are already potty trained

Drop off -  Being dropped off at preschool can be easy for some children, and hard for others. Here are some tips to help make it a little smoother:

Make it routine. Wake your child up at the same time every school day. Talk about going to school and talk about what it will be like to be dropped off as you are getting ready to leave the house. Try to drop them off around the same time every day, so that they will know what to expect coming into the classroom. In our preschool classroom, we have a sign in binder for the children to sign in (as well as a clipboard to for the parents to sign). Parents can help or watch their child sign in so that the child can feel a part of the process of coming to school and show off their growing writing skills. We also have a “goodbye window” for the children to wave to their parents as they drive out of the parking lot.

 Morning circle -  Morning circle serves as a chance for the teachers and children to greet each other, share about events at home, or talk about the upcoming school day. We review the rules of the classroom, talk about the calendar, days of the week, and the weather. We also pay tribute to those that were helpers during clean up time by passing out stickers for their helping hands charts. Morning circle usually ends by reading a story, then excusing the children for snack time.

Snack time - Snack is provided by the preschool and consists of two food groups. Examples: Cheese and crackers, fruit and pretzels, yogurt and animal crackers. Please notify the teachers if your child has any food allergies so we may accommodate their needs.

Play time – Part of our philosophy at Children’s Cottage is encouraging play based learning. Children learn essential social, motor, cognitive, and problem solving skills during play. Therefore, we administer a balance of play based and academic learning to foster the whole development of every child.

Lunchtime – Lunch time is a routine that consists of hand washing, waiting for all children to be seated before the group begins to eat (we sing a little song together once everyone is seated), practicing manners as the teachers and children help each other open packages and warm up food in the microwave, and then encouraging the children to be responsible for cleaning up their places at the table when they are through eating. Finally, each child takes a trip to the restroom in preparation for naptime.

Naptime – Each child may take three books from the library to look at quietly on their mats for the first 15 minutes of naptime. This encourages positive experiences with books as they wind down to take their naps. At 1:00, we ask all of the children to keep their books under their mats. The books are then used as motivation for the children to rest quietly. Most of the children fall asleep during naptime, but some children do not.  The children are allowed 3 chances to be “quiet resters” before their books may be taken away (see the page titled “1 2 3 Magic”). At 1:45, children who have been resting quietly are allowed to take their books back out to look at for the last 15 minutes of naptime.

Table/quiet activity time – We do not wake the sleeping children up from naptime at 2:00. A child does a lot of growing, and their brains make many neuro-connections as they sleep. At 2:00, we simply allow the children who are awake to get up and engage in quiet activities while the rest of their friends finish their naps. The teachers begin waking the children who are still sleeping between 2:30 and 2:45.

Stretches/yoga/exercises – This is time to get hearts pumping, blood flowing and to build gross motor skills. We turn many of the exercises and such into games or dances to make it fun for the children.

Art/Music/Other special activities – This is time for the children to engage in creative expression. We set up painting, sing songs, play instruments, do art projects, or have special sharing circles for the children to show something unique about themselves. This is a great time for parents to help out or participate to encourage the expression of their child.

Math lesson/activity -  We practice counting, number writing, pattern building, shape identifying,  identifying similarities or differences and other math concepts as a group at circle time, or individually with worksheets or small activities.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Ideas? – Talk to Miss Katie or our Director Miss Yasmin

 

Honeybees & Caterpillars (infants) Typical Daily Schedule

7:00     Miss Yasmin opens the school and are there to feed brreakfast to the infants

8:00     Next teacher arrives and interacts individually with each child

8:30     Next teacher arrives, interacts with each child, and starts serving snack provided by parents

8:45     Next teacher arrives and greets each individual child in her care

9:30     Songs and finger play for fine motor skill and brain development

10:00    Milk and formula for a nutrition break

10:15    Outside play for half an hour, weather permitting

11:00    Lunch as provided by the parents for daily nutrition

11:30    Napping until infants are rested according to each infant's individual needs

3:00     Snack as provided by parents for nutrition

3:30     Outside play for half an hour, weather permitting

4:00     Free play until 5:30 to stimulate fine and gross motor skills

Diapers are frequently changed throughout the day as needed (See posted Diaper chart)

Spanish and English are spoken throughout the day to encourage language development

 

Ladybugs (2-3 year olds who are potty training) Typical Daily Schedule

LADYBUG  DAILY  SCHEDULE

7:00   Children start arriving and are warmly greeted

8:15   Teacher arrives and interacts with each individual child in her care

9:00   Healthy snack provided by the school is served

9:15   Table activities (art, sorting, puzzles, beading) Diapering done at this time

9:30   Circle time

9:40   Music and movement

9:55   Clean up, Potty, Get ready to go outside

10:15 Outside play time

11:00 Go inside and wash hands before lunch

11:15  Children eat lunch that is provided by parents

11:45  Diapering, Potty, and Hand Washing

12:00  Nap time

2:30   Art, Free play

3:00   Healthy snack provided by the school is served

3:30   Inside Free Play

3:45   Circle  Read books, review colors, shapes, our feelings

4:10   Outside free play, weather permitting

During outside play, potty training children get a diaper change if needed

Sunscreen is put on the children as needed

Schedule is subject to change based on the needs of the children

Spanish and English are spoken during the day to encourage language development