Infant Room
Our infant program is designed around the needs and individual differences of each child. We use Creative Curriculum. Every moment of a young child’s day offers opportunities to learn. Routines such as hellos and goodbyes, diapering, eating and mealtimes, sleeping and nap time, are viewed as vital times for communication and self discovery. The staff works with the infants to meet ages and stages of development: lifting their head, rolling over, reaching for objects, sitting, crawling and standing and learning to walk. Our infant program provides opportunities for playing with toys, imitating and pretending, enjoying stories and books, connecting with music and movement, creating with art, tasting food, and going outdoors.
Visit ClassroomOne Year Old Room
All our classes use The Creative Curriculum. This is an important period in the developing of skills. Our one year old children are learning balance and walking, and love the outdoors. At Bright Star Kid Care we have a separate, large play ground just for this age group. They develop and improve upon eye-hand coordination: using a spoon, scribbling and playing with play dough, and how to catch and throw a ball. The staff works with the children on word recognition, and while they teach them basic sign language, they ask them to use their words. These children learn to follow a schedule for playing, eating, and napping along with learning to clean up behind themselves before moving on to the next activity.
Visit ClassroomTwo Year Old Room
We use Creative Curriculum with our two year olds. Like the one year old classroom, they focus on routines and learning through sensory experiences. They begin to put words together making two to three word sentences. Our two year olds play with toys and imitate and pretend in centers. They enjoy stories and book, connect with music and movement, create art, taste food, and enjoy playtime outside. This is a transition period for children from toddler to “big kid” so the two year olds spend a lot of time practicing their routines: when it’s time to sit and when it’s time to run and play. They hone their listening and following instructions skills and they start to form friendships. They become more independent, eating with utensils, and start potty training. They put up their blankets and pillows after nap, in their own cubbies , and work on putting on their coats and shoes. Sharing is a lesson all of its own!
Visit ClassroomThree Year Old Room
Bright Star Kid Care’s 3 year old program is designed around learning centers focused on literacy, math, science, music, art, dramatic play, and large/small motor development. Continuing with The Creative Curriculum, they learn best through a balance of child initiated/teacher directed “hands-on” experiences. The environment is set up to promote language and communication, problem solving, and child centered activities. They spend a lot of time honing their fine motor skill and cognitive development with puzzles, peg boards, lacing cards, and sorting. This group of children begins to learn that letters have sounds and begins to pick out letters that are in their names. Their vocabulary has increased now to 300 to 1000 words, and they get better and better at sentence structure. They love to be read to and love to read to us. We encourage parents to read to their children, no matter what age. Studies show that children that are read to on a regular basis do better in college.
Visit ClassroomVPK and Four Year Old Room
Children who attend high-quality preschools that include the Volunteer Pre-Kindergarten program, do better when they enter kindergarten. They are prepared socially and cognitively. Historically, Bright Star Kid Care students have continued to excel once they enter Kindergarten. The state mandates what is to be taught and the children are tested by The Department of Education at least twice throughout the school year. The curriculum includes print knowledge, phonological awareness, mathematics and oral language/vocabulary aligned with the Standards for Four-Year Olds. We continue to use the Creative Curriculum, as play is a child’s work. We believe that learning is fun, and while they have goals to achieve, they can enjoy learning.
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