I personally thrive on working with, and educating children. Through play we learn, as children and as adults too.
I insure several opportunities to learn and grow each day. I think that children require structured learning time each day, as well as several chances to just go free.
We have a circle time each day which consists of a 5 - 10 minute yoga session (and stretches) led by Rebekkah. I think a shorter daily yoga session is best for the younger children as they have a shorter attention span, and the idea is to have fun !!
We follow with a series of books and action songs. I find several books in a row can seem tedious for an 18 month old. We keep the songs and books in tune with our weekly theme, and take this as an opportunity for some repetitive reinforcement of the ideas of our theme.
The children enjoy mastering a story through the week, and so I tend to pick one or two that I will keep for the week, and add a few new ones each day. Reading is a very large part of my programing.
We also have new songs each week. Some the kids are familiar with, and some are new to them ( and sometimes me !)
We often add a game of sorting, and or some kind of counting and organizing during circle time. (ex. during farm week we had a very large bag of assorted plastic animals. We took turns pulling them from the bag, if it was an animal you would find on a farm, we would place it in the barn and if it was not it went in a separate pile. ) These games teach not only the particular skill we are working on (counting, color recognition etc. ) but a great way to work on sharing, cooperation, and patience.
We do modules for learning and have a lesson plan. This plan will include section like cooking and food, music, art, games and , poems, puppets, on and on. I do themes like seeds, butterflies, farm animals, ocean week etc. but I always keep on working on the basics too. ABC's and 123's are always being taught. I do try to work on incorporating the theme into these basic skills.
I have both a kindergarten readiness checklist, and a baby developmental milestones chart. This helps me keep in mind things our little people need before going to school and helps me establish reasonable goals for each age group.
I often use puppets as a tool to have fun with the kids and often use them to lead circle time. We have a few faves that have developed real personalities !! Puppets are a great way for me to be super silly with the group (I feel it is important for the children in our lives to see us be silly at least once a day ) I know the parents appreciate my ability to let loose with my gang.
Music is very important to me. I feel that children's moods are altered by the kind of music they are listening to. There for when it is free dance the louder and crazier the better, when it is craft time it has to be jazz, when we are eating lunch or having free time is is some fun but mellow tunes & we sleep to lullabies. Music makes brains grow !!
We (Rebekkah and I) have a weekly music circle as well as our regular daily singing. We have several interesting instruments that we use with the children and we explore rhythms etc with them. Drumming is one of our favourites and we have several types of exotic drums to play with. This music time is for the whole group young and old.
We have a wonderful piano teacher come into the home once a week to do lessons with the 3+ group. The parents do pay for these lessons and it is of course optional. So far all of the 3+ families have jumped at the chance for the lessons, and see it as a wonderful addition to the program.
I always make sure to put aside time for free play. Sometimes I set out props to encourage a game to develop and sometimes we just plain old play. I love sitting back and watching a few little ones come up with the neatest ideas. Blankets become boats, and chairs become choo-choo trains right before your eyes like magic !!
In the afternoon while nap aged children are resting we have a preschool activity time. This is where we will do some pre reading, early math and older crafts. A focused time for the older group. Rebekkah will have a daily yoga session with this group and work on some poses that are geared towards older children. She uses stories to encourage the kids to learn each movement. This is great in the winter because the older children may not get as long to play outside at school or daycare and need to learn how to channel that energy in a positive manner. And in the summer this can be done outside....is there anything as lovely as seeing several children doing yoga in the grass, basking in the sun ?
Also If your child is of the age where he/she is receiving homework then we are able to set aside time after school to complete it here. When you have to work and be apart from your child, it is so great not to have to use the little evening family time you have doing homework (or fighting about it !!) We are here to support in this area and give time and guidance. My own child will be at the table completing hers so it will be a great study group for them all !
