Friday, January 18, 2013

Benefits of Child Care

One of the most important decisions a parent makes is choosing a childcare for their child. Not only do parents want somewhere that is safe and comfortable for their child, but also somewhere that fosters a good foundation of learning.  


Here is a short list of questions to get you going in the right direction. You will want to add questions that will help you find the best fit for your family:
      •    Would I prefer my child in a center or home care environment?
     •     What hours do I need care?
     •     What opportunities with learning and play do I want my child to have?
     •      How does my child learn best?
Once you've found a childcare, here are a few more questions you can ask to ensure you have all of the answers you need:
     •       What are the child to teacher ratios?
     •         What are the qualifications of the staff?
     •       What are the meal plans?
     •      What is the nap schedule?
     •        What is the daily curriculum schedule?

There are so many important benefits of early education. Beth Letzsch, Owner of three Primrose Schools in the Denver metro area, shared with us her thoughts when investigating the benefits of child care when she found out she was having twins more than a decade ago.  It was after visiting several child care providers and learning about Primrose Schools that she decided to become a Primrose owner herself.  She decided to leave her law practice, and become a preschool owner.

“When looking at child care offerings, it's important to determine your priorities to help guide you to what is best for your child.  Are you looking for basic socialization skills or elementary school readiness?  Do you want your child exposed to foreign languages, or to find the joy in reading?  For my family, we knew that we wanted to help instill a thirst for learning in a positive, balanced educational environment with a proven curriculum.  We found that in Primrose. 

We know that children thrive on structure and routine, however too much structure can stifle exploration and creativity.  High quality preschools find a unique way to maintain a healthy balance of structured, teacher-directed activities, alongside unstructured time to play, explore and be creative.  Primrose offers a balanced curriculum where each day is specially planned to offer both large and small group times, as well as individualized learning instruction to help a child grow emotionally as well as mentally.  This balanced approach fosters both mental development as well as social development, as children learn both from adults and other students in their class.

There have been many articles and news reports lately discussing the merits and challenges of group centered care.  In a private preschool setting, the evidence has been uncontroverted that high quality early learning programs which offer developmentally appropriate curriculum that is designed to create building blocks for future academic success.  Look for a program that is carefully planned, so that at each crucial learning stage, your child is exposed to challenges alongside reinforcement of learned concepts.  Does each classroom have a defined standard of core skills that each child should master at a given age or stage?  Will the student have these skills reinforced in the next classroom, so that these skills are further solidified and merged into opportunities to learn new concepts?  

These days, children are exposed to new ways of learning that were not in existence just ten years ago.  The dawn of the electronic era has accelerated the avenues through which teachers can introduce concepts to children.  At Primrose, we've had computer stations in our classrooms since the beginning, and we are introducing smart boards, ipads and other electronic platforms in our classrooms so that when children graduate from Primrose, they are prepared for forward-thinking learning approaches being introduced in many elementary schools.  We know that electronic devices don't mimic the love and nurturing that is so important in early development, so we make sure to spend lots of time allowing our youngest students to share with one another, and feel supported by our loving teachers as they embark on their adventure of learning.”

Once last question I encourage you to ask is, are there childcare benefit programs the facility offers or that are offered in your area? There are many programs out there that families do not take advantage of that can help with the costs of childcare. Don’t let cost be a deciding factor in your decision for quality childcare.
For example, in the city of Denver, there is an amazing program called DPP (Denver Preschool Program). This program helps support parents in being able to afford the costs of high quality childcare. You only need to be a Denver resident and choose one of the schools that participate in the DPP program. All of the facilities in this programs are accredited programs to ensure high quality care.  PrimroseSchool at Stapleton is a preferred preschool for DPP, so all of you Denver residents are eligible to participate!

Here is a great video  about what the program offers and how to get started! 

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