We all have our FIRSTS. 1st birthday, 1st day of school, 1st job, 1st love, and the list continues..... Welcome to my 1st blog post! I define myself as a Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister and Friend by nature and as a Teacher, Behaviour Analyst, and Entrepreneur by nurture. With never enough hours in a day to conquer the world, I feel blessed that these roles don't exist independent of one another. As a "new-ish" mother to a daughter of a 1 year-old, I recently took my 1st step down the path to setting her up for a enriched education. I SIGNED HER UP FOR DAYCARE!!! OMG!! I feel sick about it, but nonetheless, I know it's what's best for her (at least that's what I tell myself 5 times a day). Being so immersed in the world of education, I have always been asked where I would send my kids to school. Public? Private? Religious? Home School? always followed by the $1,000,000 question- What's the best school out there? Now having taken my first step to planning my daughter's education- I still have the same answer I did before being a mom- "There is not 1 best school out there. My child will attend the school that has the best suited learning environment for her developmental and learning needs". This does require a little leg work because you have to take the time to understand exactly what your child's needs are and then do your research on what's out there to suit those needs. By doing research I don't mean hanging out on Google searching to see what daycare is closest to home and/or work- I mean setting up appointments with different daycares for a visit (during operating hours) to see if they actually practice what they preach in their online-ads and brochures. When choosing your child's first formal learning environment you want to feel confident that you have made the best possible decision. As I went through the process of visiting different learning environments for my daughter I walked in with list of 10 things that were are MUST for me. Here (in no particular order) is my list. I hope this helps ease the process for you :)
Goodluck!
Cori
Security
Safety and security is always my #1 priority with my little one. When I went to visit daycares I looked for answers to the following questions; Do the doors that lead outside automatically lock behind you? If a non-regular person is picking up my child, does the daycare require to see identification? Are the grounds monitored by any surveillance? What does the drop off and pick up process look like?
Nurturing Staff
When visiting daycares, I try to make myself as invisible as possible to get a true picture of how the staff interact with the children. I find extreme comfort in knowing my child will be under the care of nurturing people. Here are things I look for; Do the staff bend down to the children's eye levels when communicating with them. What tone of voice do the staff use when communicating with the kids? Do the staff offer the kids choice with activities, toys, and snacks throughout the day?
Registered and Regulated
Before making any appointments to visit daycares my first question was "are you registered with the Ministry of Education?" When a daycare is registered with the Ministry- they are required to meet specific Provincial standards that are in place to support the health, safety, and developmental needs of all children. For more information click here
Accessible Curriculum
What will my child be learning all day? Great question, right?!? During my visits I made a point to look around the classrooms to see if the staff's lesson plans, weekly goals, and objectives were posted anywhere. If they weren't, then I made sure to ask for a sample copy so I can get an idea of what a day in the life of a daycare child looks like. I needed to know that my child was being put in a goal oriented- structured environment, despite how unstructured a daycare classroom can look at times.
Proactive or Reactive
This is where the Behaviour Analyst in me kicks into high gear! While observing the different classrooms, I tried to get a sense of whether the staff in the room took a proactive or reactive approach to negative behaviours. I always crossed my fingers for bad behaviour from the kids during my visits- this way I could see how the staff dealt with them. I personally do not believe in punishment at such a young age and wanted to make sure that I am not putting my child in an environment where punishment is used as a consequence strategy.
The Learning Environment
... and the Behaviour Analyst in me stays in high gear. Science tells us that we all learn from our environment. This is my exact reason for booking visits to check out what can potentially be my daughter's day-time digs for the next few years. Is the place clean? Is there natural light in the classrooms? Is the furniture in the classrooms and bathrooms kiddie height? What kind of visual stimulation is on the walls? Are the classroom toys and cubbies organized? How much space do the kids have to play outside? Is this a place where I would want to spend my day time hours? HECK YA!
Drop Ins
Any good daycare will welcome parents to drop in early before pick up to observe what's happening in the class. A good daycare will usually advise you that it's not wise to drop in mid-day unless you plan on taking your child home with you when you leave- no kid that young wants to stay at school once they see mama or dada. If the daycare is ok with the parent dropping in unannounced early before pick up- than you know they have nothing to hide.
Daily Physical Activity
For me, Daily Physical Activity (DPA) is a MUST! It promotes good health, it teaches motor skills and helps develop social skills. It also allows kids to be kids- young kiddies have itsy bitsy attention spans. What better way to break up focused activities, than with DPA. Whether it's through a structured gym or sports program, cooperative games, or outdoor time- I need to know my daughter is getting the optimal amount of exercise her brain needs for her overall growth and development.
Health & Safety
If you are visiting a daycare that is registered with the Ministry of Education, than likely you are visiting a daycare that makes health and safety their #1 priority. But... just to make sure, here are some important things to observe. Make note of the staff:child ratio in the class-does it follow Provincial standards. How many kids are in the class, total- does it follow Provincial standards. What is the daycare's policy for sickness and injury- how strictly is this enforced? Will my child get sick at daycare- 100% YES! Will it be because the daycare isn't healthy and safe- 100% NO! (if it's a registered daycare that passes it's yearly inspections).
Staff Training
Who are these people that will be taking care of my child? I can't help but wonder! Towards the end of my visits, I made a point to ask about the staff's education and training backgrounds. Are any of them parents themselves? Are they certified Early Childhood Educators? Ontario Registered Teachers? How recent is their CPR training? How many years have they been working at this daycare? I need to know that I am leaving my child in the hands of someone who is educated on child development and has experience working with young children.