Category: Preschooler

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Top 12 questions to ask a childcare center

child care worker and child

Finding a childcare center for your son or daughter is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make as a parent. Most importantly, you want your child to feel safe and secure in a stimulating environment that allows him or her to grow and learn.

It is easy to get information about a daycare’s curriculum and credentials online. But a visit to experience it firsthand is the only way to really know if it’s a good fit for you and your child.

Whether you are seeking care for your infant, toddler, or preschooler, the first step is to find a reputable and qualified childcare center.

Prepare some questions to ask yourself during the visit. That way, it will be easier to remember what is important to you as the childcare provider walks you through the facility. Here is a checklist of 12 questions to help you assess if a childcare center is the right place for your son or daughter.

12 questions to ask when visiting a childcare facility

  1. What is the initial smell when you enter the building?
  2. Does the environment feel cheerful and welcoming?
  3. Are there any environmental health or safety concerns?
  4. What sounds do you hear as you walk through the facility?
  5. Do staff members interact with children in a warm, positive manner?
  6. Does the center director engage with staff?
  7. How do staff members interact with you during your visit?
  8. Do the children in the classrooms appear to be stimulated and engaged?
  9. Can you envision your child in the classroom interacting with teachers and playing with peers?
  10. Can you picture walking into that building every morning and every evening with a strong sense of safety and confidence?
  11. Ask about procedures to protect the children from COVID (children under age 3 should not wear masks)
  12. Ask about how they are protecting the teachers from COVID?

Trust Your Instincts

Of course, you’ll have questions that you want to ask the center director, but if you are able to respond positively to the questions above, you may have found childcare that meets your child’s needs. Alternatively, if one of your answers brings up a sense of concern or worry, you may need to ask additional questions, conduct further research, and look at other childcare options. Trust your instincts. The right childcare provider will make this transition to childcare much easier you and your child.

Ultimately, the childcare provider you choose should make you and your child feel safe. Once safety is established, you can find a facility that provides the education for your child to have the best possible start during these critical learning years.

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Child Development: Preschoolers Ages and Stages

preschoolers

Child Development Guide for Preschoolers

Children develop at their own pace, so it’s impossible to tell exactly when yours will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, but don’t be alarmed if your child does not exactly follow the steps as outlined.

Child development by end of 36 months

Social

  • Imitates adults and playmates
  • Spontaneously shows affection for familiar playmates
  • Can take turns in games
  • Understands concept of “mine” and “his/hers”

Emotional

  • Shows affection openly
  • Shows a wide range of emotions
  • By 3, separates easily from parents
  • Objects to major changes in routine

Cognitive

  • Makes mechanical toys work
  • Matches an object in her hand or room to a picture in a book
  • Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people
  • Sorts objects by shape and color
  • Completes puzzles with three or four pieces
  • Understands concept of “two”

Language

  • Follows a two- or three-part command
  • Recognizes and identifies almost all common objects and pictures
  • Understands most sentences
  • Understands placement in space (“on,” “in,” “under”)
  • Uses 4- to 5-word sentences
  • Can say name, age, and sex
  • Uses pronouns (I, you, me, we, they) and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
  • Strangers can understand most of her words

Movement

  • Climbs well
  • Walks up and down stairs, alternating feet (one foot per stair step)
  • Kicks ball
  • Runs easily
  • Pedals tricycle
  • Bends over easily without falling

Hand and Finger Skills

  • Makes up-and-down, side-to-side, and circular lines with pencil or crayon
  • Turns book pages one at a time
  • Builds a tower of more than six blocks
  • Holds a pencil in writing position
  • Screws and unscrews jar lids, nuts, and bolts
  • Turns rotating handles

Developmental Health Watch
Alert your child’s doctor or nurse if your child displays any
of the following signs of possible developmental delay for
this age range.

Frequent falling and difficulty with stairs

Persistent drooling or very unclear speech

Cannot build a tower of more than four blocks

Difficulty manipulating small objects

Cannot copy a circle by age 3

Cannot communicate in short phrases

No involvement in “pretend” play

Does not understand simple instructions

Little interest in other children

Extreme difficulty separating from mother or primary caregiver

Poor eye contact

Limited interest in toys

By the end of 4 years (48 months)

Social

  • Interested in new experiences
  • Cooperates with other children
  • Plays “Mom” or “Dad”
  • Increasingly inventive in fantasy play
  • Dresses and undresses
  • Negotiates solutions to conflicts
  • More independent

Emotional

  • Imagines that many unfamiliar images may be “monsters”
  • Views self as a whole person involving body, mind, and feelings
  • Often cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality

Cognitive

  • Correctly names some colors
  • Understands the concept of counting and may know a few numbers
  • Tries to solve problems from a single point of view
  • Begins to have a clearer sense of time
  • Follows three-part commands
  • Recalls parts of a story
  • Understands the concepts of “same” and “different”
  • Engages in fantasy play

Language

  • Has mastered some basic rules of grammar
  • Speaks in sentences of five to six words
  • Speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand
  • Tells stories

Movement

  • Hops and stands on one foot up to five seconds
  • Goes upstairs and downstairs without support
  • Kicks ball forward
  • Throws ball overhand
  • Catches bounced ball most of the time
  • Moves forward and backward with agility

Hand and Finger Skills

  • Copies square shapes
  • Draws a person with two to four body parts
  • Uses scissors
  • Draws circles and squares
  • Begins to copy some capital letters

Developmental Health Watch
Alert your child’s doctor or nurse if your child displays any
of the following signs of possible developmental delay for
this age range.

  • Cannot throw a ball overhand
  • Cannot jump in place
  • Cannot ride a tricycle
  • Cannot grasp a crayon between thumb and fingers
  • Has difficulty scribbling
  • Cannot stack four blocks
  • Still clings or cries whenever parents leave
  • Shows no interest in interactive games
  • Ignores other children
  • Doesn’t respond to people outside the family
  • Doesn’t engage in fantasy play
  • Resists dressing, sleeping, using the toilet
  • Lashes out without any self-control when angry or upset
  • Cannot copy a circle
  • Doesn’t use sentences of more than three words
  • Doesn’t use “me” and “you” correctly
Child Development: Baby 7-12 Months Old
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Strike Up The Band! Music Means More Than Fun!

preschool bou guitar

by Christina Lorenzen

The Love of Music

We may not all love the ballet, opera or an afternoon at a museum, but you would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like music. With so many kinds to choose from, from classical to hip hop to classic rock, there’s something for every taste. It’s long been said that “music soothes the savage beast” and many of us find ourselves soothed by our car radios on the way home from a long day of work. Music not only has the power to relax or energize us, it also has been shown to make children smarter.

Early Childhood

Early childhood specialists have conducted tests and concluded that preschoolers who received music lessons for several months showed specific advantages over their playmates who did not. Tests showed these children had improved dramatically in their abilities to color patterns of color, draw geometric figures and figure out mazes. These skills reflect spatial intelligence which is the foundation for complex types of reasoning needed in math and science.

BENEFITS of Music for very young children/preschoolers:

1. Promotes large and small motor skills development.
2. Cultivates concentration and focused listening.
3. Fosters early vocal development and enhanced social abilities.
4. Encourages parent/child bonding

It’s been proven that music stimulates all areas of a child’s developing brain.

Early musical exposure has been linked to superior motor abilities. It has even been shown to affect social abilities positively. Hands-on participation in music, especially during the brain’s crucial developing years of ages 3-10, is especially valuable. During the ages of 3-10, the areas of the brain responsible for higher thinking abilities are developing. What does all this really mean? Simply put, music is a healthy and natural opportunity for your child to express him/herself while promoting the positive development of the whole child – socially, physically and emotionally.

Dwindling School Programs

Unfortunately, with school funding dwindling each year, many schools have small music programs with limited room for children to participate. Many schools have cut their music programs altogether, taking away more than just the fun of playing from their students. If your child’s school does not offer a music program, check with a local music store/school and reap these rewards from your investment:

BENEFITS of Music for older, school-age children:

1. aids academic aptitudes in mathematics, science and the arts.
2. increases scholastic participation.
3. teaches the value of achieving goals
4. bolsters self-image and self-assurance.
5. inspires self-sufficiency and appreciation for teamwork.
 

Educational Toys Toddlers love

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Pear Nog a Healthy Snack Toddlers are Sure to Enjoy

toddler drinking pear nog

By Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers

Homemade Toddler Snack

A fruit treat the whole family will love but made for toddlers.

Make this festive toddler snack anytime but for sure at Christmas holiday time. Nutrients and hydrations from this fruit and milk based snack that toddler will actually drink.

Healthy Toddler Snack: Pear Nog
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Healthy Toddler Snack: Pear Nog

Recipe by Cheryl TallmanCourse: toddler snack, preschool snackDifficulty: Easy
Servings

3

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking timeminutes
Calorieskcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pear peeled, cored and cut in chunks

  • 1 cup of egg nog (dairy or soy)

  • Dash of cinnamon2 ice cubes cracked

Directions

  • Place all ingredients in blender. Blend at high speed for 15 seconds.

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