Daily Schedule
Day to day activities may vary, but below is a general timing breakdown for a day at Dollin-Grice Little Bears Child Care.
We use a combination of a prepared environment, planned activities, as well as time for free creativity to stimulate and promote growth in all areas. We will have the schedule posted daily for the children to be advised as to the activities and timing of the day; attempting to help with time management, learning routines, and creating a stable learning environment.
Morning
8:30 - 9:00 - open ended play / drop off
9:00 - Breakfast
9:30 - potty time / change / open ended play
9:45 - Circle time - weather / day of the week / month of the year / discuss theme of the week
10:00 - Daily Planned Activity
10:30 - bathroom break / change / Get Shoes On
10:45 - Outside Time
11:45 - Come Inside
11:50 - Snack
12:00 - Bathroom / Change
12:15 - Read Aloud
12:30 - Nap
Afternoon
2:30 - Wake up from nap / potty time / change
2:45 - Lunch
3:15 - potty time / change / open ended play
3:30 - Individual Education Plan / Open Ended Play
4:00 - Snack
4:15/4:20 - potty time / change / start getting ready for home time
4:30 - home time
Programs
All of our programs are adjusted
to suit the specific needs of the individual children in our care.
We are equipped and prepared to care
for children from 15 months to 6 years old.
DGLBCC accepts families from all backgrounds.
We also appreciate and are inclusive of children
who are neurodivergent, as well as neurotypicals.
Unless otherwise specified, all programs are included with payments.
Learning Geared
Toys and Equipment
DGLBCC offers top of the line toys and equipment.
These include, but are not limited to a Pikler Triangle,
assorted Melissa and Doug equipment, toys from lovevery, as well as
kitchen helper wooden safety stools, and a variety of outdoor play equipment.
Part of Montessori ideology is limiting the number of toys available at one time,
to attempt to lessen the chances of distraction.
Therefore, the toys and equipment will be introduced intermittently.
Each child will get their turn to use each piece of the equipment at different points. This will also help teach and promote an understanding
around sharing, taking turns and cooperating.
When teaching certain life skills, providing a prepared environment
where the child learns simple tasks independently,
often proves to be a successful teaching/learning strategy.
It also helps children develop their skills at their own pace.
We attempt to empower the children with praise, even with small accomplishments, as this boosts self-esteem and creates and furthers a positive learning space.
The Written Word
DGLBCC recognizes that the written word is still very important,
even in the age of technology.
We offer a variety of physical workbooks depending on the varying ages.
Each child will receive workbooks geared toward their developmental skills,
and their own individual learning journey.
If a child shows interest in older, more advanced learning materials,
we will also openly encourage them, and provide workbooks
and other materials to further this advanced engagement.
We attempt to obtain “Wipe Clean” workbooks,
so that the child is able to practice multiple times,
and not use multiple sheets of paper, helping the environment.
When the child is able to complete the workbook without more than 3 errors,
we will provide a paper copy to create a “final” workbook
that they will be able to keep and bring home as a memory.
Nature Program
DGLBCC believes adventuring in the outdoors, as well as learning how to create and sustain a garden, are essential for human development for multiple reasons. Gardening and working outside helps develop fine and gross motor skills, teaches responsibility, and promotes patience.
The outdoor world also engages all the different senses and helps develop sensory comfortability. Between smelling the difference between flowers, and the smells of strawberries and garlic bulbs, to feeling the dirt between their fingers, and noticing even the smallest bit of growth in a plant, as well as being able to eat something they themselves have grown; children can have an immersive time with their whole selves in the experience.
In the Dollin-Grice Little Bears Child Care nature program, children will learn about seeds, planting, rooting, watering, how some bugs can help our food, the different seasons, as well as an array of other useful information.
There will always be things growing at Dollin-Grice Little Bears Child Care - including the children - but depending on the time of year, there will be either an indoor or outdoor garden to grow their own fruits, vegetables, plants, and flowers.
These may include, but are not limited to sunflowers, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, a variety of lettuce, cauliflower, beans, radishes, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, strawberries, and apples.
Basic Life Skills
At DGLBCC we believe children are small, whole people,
who's basic independent life skills can easily be developed at a very early age.
Doing so has been shown to improve development
and further children in their independent learning journey.
A big belief in Montessori Based Learning is teaching and learning real life, day to day skills. In Dollin-Grice Little Bears Child Care, each child will receive the following personalized place settings labeled with their name, as well as the name of the utensil/item. DGLBCC staff will help them learn how to care for the home, while also keeping up sanitary policies and procedures. Each item will be made of BPA-Free Plastic, with each family having the choice of child friendly silverware.
Placemat, Plate, Bowl, Fork, Spoon, Butter Knife, Cup, Mug, Bento-Style Lunchbox
We also incorporate basic cooking and baking classes weekly to help children recognize how food is made, creating a healthier relationship with different food.
As well, for our younger children, we have gadget and sensory boards
that help stimulate fine and gross motor skills.
Chef of the Week
Every week a different child will be given the title of Chef of the Week, and a second child will be given the title of “SousChef of the Week” (for part time members, two children will be selected for each PT slot). This ensures all little bears are getting time to experience kitchen life skills in a more structured environment. We will try to specifically gear our menu to more kid friendly preparing options - eggs / homemade pizzas / vegetables and fruits / sandwiches etc.
The chef of the week is the designated child(ren) who will assist in the meal prep for the whole week - this includes, but not limited to, mixing ingredients, pouring different components, cracking eggs, peeling fruits / vegetables, helping measure ingredients with measuring cups, and more!
The sous chef of the week is the designated child(ren) who assists in preparing the area to make meals. This includes, but is not limited to, getting items out of cupboards & fridge, opening containers to obtain the necessary ingredients, and laying out all the necessary materials for the chef to prepare the meal / snack.
Monthly Music
Music is everywhere, and there are so many ways to make music.
Once a month at DGLBCC we have a special guest come in
and teach a fun, interactive music class.
Her name is Anat Hector-Brown,
and she is a music teacher who has taught all over the world.
She loves teaching children early so they are better prepared
and equipped musically for later in life.
Feeling Our Feelings
At DGLBCC, we encourage growth in every area - including understanding, developing, and cultivating emotional intelligence. We discuss our daily feelings, read books around emotions, and help children in DGLBCC verbally recognize the different emotions they may be feeling at different moments. Little people often have big feelings, so we try and foster their emotional growth and assist them with identifying the different emotions people experience.
Art Lessons
Our arts and crafts sessions are individualized
to each child's development and general interests.
We attempt to implement arts and crafts, as often as possible;
as we believe providing space for open creativity is often key
in developing strength in the creative arts.
Animal / Dog Friendly Environment
Dollin-Grice Little Bears Child Care’s mascot is based
on our three year old Husky, Bear.
She has been with us since she was 8 weeks old -
we adopted her from Dreamers Dog Sanctuary,
and she has been a huge part of our family ever since.
She is a well behaved dog who loves children,
other animals, and all types of people.
From time to time we also foster puppies who are being rescued
from bad weather/housing conditions.
All interactions between the children and animals will be monitored.
We have a separate area for Bear and our fosters to roam and be free
that won’t overlap with the children’s area.
The only time they will interact is when we are doing a segment around animals,
or if the parents give written consent for the children to have
more interaction with our furry friends.
DGLBCC will also be organizing, from time to time, other animal segments
for the children to participate and interact with.
There will be announcements made prior to the event
in order to insure there are no allergies.
Quiet Time
We believe children do their best when they have a space to call their own.
Each child will receive their own personal sleeping bed setup.
Whether the child takes naps or not, they are welcome to use
the bed set up to get comfortable during quiet time.
We provide sheets, blankets, and a pillow;
but parents/guardians are also encouraged to send a pacifier/security blanket/comfort item with the children
to better adapt to a new sleeping environment.
Depending on the child's development stage, we provide either a foldable floor bed, playpen or crib.
We utilize a white noise machine, coupled with blackout curtains to maximize their ability to get a sound sleep.
We also provide each child with their own cubby and coat hook to keep
their backpack or whatever other belongings they have.
It will have their name and/or picture on it to start/continue the correlation
between their name and their personal possessions.
Bathroom Routine
At Dollin-Grice Little Bear’s Child Care, we attempt to make the experience for both parents and children as easy and straightforward as possible.
We offer potty training to families who are in that stage of development.