Faith Based

Our program is based on the belief that all children are a gift from God with unique God-given talents. We believe that God has an active part in all aspects of our lives. Children and families of all faiths are accepted and loved unconditionally.

In our daycare, a general schedule may be followed, such as morning routine, nap time, or seasonal activities such as growing a vegetable garden every year-- but each day's activities and field trips remain flexible, to allow for the ever-changing delights and surprises.

1.     Physical needs are met through activities that involve both large and small muscles. Children are also taught the importance of good health habits and safety guidelines.

2.    Emotional needs are met by recognizing the importance of daily praise both verbally and through hugs. Children are encouraged to express their feelings and cope with them in acceptable ways.

3.     Social needs are met by stressing good manners, consideration for others, and respect for adults as well as peers. These are encouraged through behavioral guidelines and examples by adults.

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We do not discriminate based on religion but your child will be exposed to Christian and Biblical teachings in our care. We believe one of the best ways to teach is by example. We will display and encourage love, sharing, respect, morality, responsibility, faith and patience. We are not affiliated with any denomination.

We have quotes about God and scriptures that are visible throughout the house. Some things we may do are read books and listen to music based on any of the above characteristics and faith building.

We do not discourage any child from expressing their beliefs at any time and will encourage everyone's respect for other beliefs.

Nature Play 

Nature:

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Let me ask you something. What do you remember about your childhood play? If you are like me, you will remember doing things like building treehouses; catching frogs and fireflies; splashing in creeks; spending hours in a special hiding place; or digging holes “to China.” This was probably unstructured play in “wild” areas, whether it’s the vacant lot next door, the local neighborhood park, or the woods near your house.  Meaghann and I grew up with woods behind our house that we would go exploring in. We would find places to build forts and spend all summer exploring the neighborhood with our friends. Those are some of my favorite memories as a child.

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Across America, several factors have added to nature play becoming rare including fewer children's access to green spaces where they can freely play; growing parental fears of letting children play outdoors without close supervision; the growing addiction and availability of screen time; longer school days and more homework; and overscheduling children in structured, adult-led activities. Many children no longer enjoy regular nature play.  On average children in America spend just 30 minutes per week in unstructured outdoor play.

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In our childcare program, we spend at least 20-30 hours outdoors throughout the week on average. We are outside daily as long as the weather isn’t dangerous. In the colder months we do take trips to more indoor play areas and museums in the area but still strive for outdoor time daily.

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In natural settings children will be involved in habitat monitoring. By dressing appropriately, children can enjoy outdoor play in most types of weather. To make this affordable for parents, we provide waterproof clothing and boots for children to spare them the expense of purchasing high quality outerwear. This enables children to play in wet weather and to enjoy puddles without inconvenience to the parent. We have rain suits, snowsuits, and swimsuits available and are ready for whatever Ohio weather throws our way.

The role of the adult is to observe their play, notice their interests, emerging ideas and developmental needs, plan and offer experiences accordingly, find ways to extend the learning and therefore optimize the child’s development.

At times the adult may role model a new experience, inviting the child to join in and supporting their learning through the process which encourages ongoing learning. Our goal is for children to be self-motivated learners. The emphasis is on process rather than an end result and healthy play is observed, valued, encouraged and supported by the providers.

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Engaging in

Risky Play

When we have kids engage in play, it’s really a fundamental way for them to figure out the world — how the world works, how their body works.” Risky play in early childhood can help develop a child’s self-confidence, resilience, executive functioning abilities, and even risk-management skills.

Research shows that engaging in risky play can actually reduce the risk of injury, too. We do not hover or helicopter. When children are immersed in their play, we let them be and only interfere if someone or something is in danger.

When we act as a confident cheerleader, children receive the message that:

·       The adults in my life trust me

·       The adults in my life will stand by me with unwavering support and gentle guidance while I try new things

·       Challenging myself is ultimately rewarding

·       I can achieve things and overcome obstacles if I try hard and don't give up.

These messages may be rooted in play, but your child will carry them well into adulthood. The way you react to your child facing age-appropriate obstacles today will affect your relationship forever.

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We consider all aspects of the child’s safety including research which shows that “no risk” environments have a detrimental effect on children.

We believe in “safe as necessary, not as safe as possible.” “There are two types of accidents: one you need a hug and some cold water, while the other you need an ambulance.”

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A child’s play shouldn’t be scheduled, planned, led by adults, or confined by grown-up rules.  Instead, play should be open-ended, free-time exploration and recreation, without close adult supervision.  For me, this sort of play is what defined my life growing up and you may relate to something similar.

Children live in a world where adults are always dictating what they are doing. Somehow, we have become a society that believes learning must be controlled with pre-planned, adult-directed outcomes and picture-perfect results to hang on a wall or mark in a grade book.

In our program, we believe that young children are wired to learn through child-led play. They learn the best by actively doing, not sitting and observing, or completing worksheets. There are many skills that a child can accomplish unknowingly through play that will help them succeed socially through their adulthood.

Some of these skills include:

Perseverance:

Children will learn that this is a feeling you get when you work hard and don’t give up then you can accomplish hard things.

Problem Solving:

As perseverance and ability to work through struggles grow, so does your understanding about the value of solving problems. Children will learn that you solve a lot of little problems every single day.

Empowerment, Social Skills, and Patience:

The act of empowering children is a process of guiding them to feel and believe that they are powerful now as well as creating optimum conditions that mirror back to them these concepts.

Sometimes a child will have to do a lot of defending and standing up for themselves and their creations as other children would be tempted to come over and knock it down or mess it up. If a younger child wants to play with an older child, that child must learn to use their words and be patient while the younger child is learning certain skills.

Children are empowered to solve problems, try new things, collaborate with others, and test wonders in a safe and loving environment that fosters curiosity and positive relationships with their peers and with adults.

Walldorf and Montessori

Walldorf:

Our goal is to raise children into balanced, well rounded, confident people who are innovators and free thinkers, not anxious followers desperate to fit in.  We seek to develop the “whole child” -- i.e., cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and creative development.  We believe a child’s moral, spiritual, and creative sides need as much attention as their intellectual sides.

We encourage hands-on and sensory exploration. We provide activities for the children to be able to imitate what they see the adults around them doing, like baking, woodworking, and gardening. Music, art, games, role play, writing, and storytelling are also important to us.

“Woodworking is a wonderful resource to include in your classroom to support whole-child development. If implemented and supervised correctly, woodworking provides enormous benefits for the children, while outweighing any potential problems. Woodworking creates a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, builds children's self-image, self-esteem, self-confidence, encourages creativity and problem-solving skills, fosters imagination, and encourages relationships.”

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Montessori:

One thing that the Montessori approach believes in that we too agree with is that we must share a respect for self, others, our world and our environment. 

Children often have the freedom to choose work partners and topics for study, thereby becoming responsible for their own activities. We want our children to have a growth mindset and to find ways to show gratitude as well as finding ways that they can give back to the community. 

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We have children in our care who are bilingual which introduces children to other cultures that they may not have the opportunity to have. We also teach baby sign language to our nonverbal children.

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While in our care, school-aged children will continue to engage their skills in reading, writing, and math. This may include reading to the younger children, researching topics that they want to know more about, and teaching their friends what they have learned or by doing math and science by measuring, and experiments with non-traditional, low-tech (limited screen time for the most part), high-think, and open-ended play-material.

Child Led

Play is where adults do not dictate.

Play is where ideas are owned by children.

Play is where failing is welcome.

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Play is where problems and solutions are owned by children.

Play isn’t always happy: sometimes it’s frustrating, sometimes it’s super hard but in the end, it is always a great learning experience.

Child-led play is good because you find something that interests your child and you follow their lead and help them build on that interest with activities. When your child leads, they are able to reach their full potential in mind, body, and spirit, and we strive to provide the individual attention an environment to reach that potential.

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We provide an environment with typical toys and playground equipment but also lots of loose materials such as logs, rocks, mud, tarps, crates, sticks, planks, ropes and even water to play with. We also provide ingredients such as shaving cream, cornstarch, liquid watercolor, vinegar, tempera paint, water beads, sand, dish soap, and baking soda that children can use in whatever way they desire.

This child-centered approach is a very good fit with current understandings of how young children best grow and develop, despite American society’s apparent obsession with moving formal academic instruction into earlier and earlier ages. The whole child approach is also excellent preparation for school readiness.