When you are searching for child care, you want more than just someone who will watch your children. You want someone to help them prepare for kindergarten and to teach them the things they need to be ready to start school. Here are some things to look for in a child care center to make sure you get educators, not babysitters.
- Look for a center that teaches the students skills that they need for kindergarten. Kids should be using safety scissors to cut paper and play-dough, coloring with markers and crayons, holding a pencil properly, and using glue or glue sticks. The kids should also be learning how to follow directions, how to sit still and listen to a story, and how to share and play nicely with other kids.
- Find a curriculum that reinforces the basics kids need to know for kindergarten. They should be learning colors, shapes, letters, numbers, patterns, and concepts like similarity, difference, and opposition. The teachers’ lesson plans should include more than just story time, play time, and art-the teachers should set goals for children and help them reach these goals.
- Check to see what enrichment and extracurricular activities are offered. Field trips, special speakers, and themed learning units can help your kids acquire more knowledge and skills that will get them ready for the learning environment they’ll face in kindergarten. Even simple things like parties can help kids learn-for example, teachers can have an “A” party, featuring apples, apricots, aardvarks and armadillos.
At Lightbridge Academy, we want your child to be prepared for kindergarten, so we offer child care and preschool designed to give our students the skills and education they need to succeed. Call us at (732) 564-4317 to learn more about our day care and pre-K classes.
