Daily Program
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- The first half hour to 45 minutes is spent in “choosing time” in which the
children choose an activity, such as playing on the horse, playing in the
sand box, playing with the Legos, puzzles, mechanical toys, dolls,
grocery shopping, Brio train, set cars and / or wooden blocks for
example.
- The purpose of that activity is to make the children feel comfortable with
their environment and to guide their play to a variety of learning
situations.
- The next activity is snack time followed by toileting. During this period
we either read a story, do finger plays or sing songs.
- In toileting, we encourage children to eventually make the transition from
diapers to the potty, as we believe toilet training is an important part of
the program for those children who enjoy using the potty.
- For example, in October we generally teach the color orange, the
shape of a triangle, the number 2 and the letter B. Thus, we will make
orange jell-O jigglers using the shapes of circles, and triangles and
certain shapes with the children.
- The purpose of involving children in foods activities is to promote
learning of certain concepts and to have fun using tactile means.
Cutting shapes enhances fine motor skills and improves eye-hand-
coordination.
- In addition, foods activities can be used to relate science, language
and math concepts as they develop an awareness of how ingredients
change, promote discussions on following recipes and in so doing,
measure and count the various ingredients in use, respectively.
- Children work cooperatively in the group as they learn the sequence
of a recipe, taking turns and waiting their turn.
Even art can be related as certain recipes allow for individual
creativity .
- The children, under the supervision of our staff, are encouraged to
explore the natural environment including plants, flowers and insects
as well as use a variety of the equipment.
- The next activity is art, which typically involves painting with
brushes, sponges or pine cones, and pasting such things as leaves,
papers or stickers to papers.
- The purpose of the art activity is to introduce the children to the use
of colors and the creation of visual objects in which they may
choose to create a pattern or use the objects randomly on paper.)
- Art projects may also be seasonal : we will be making Thanksgiving
placemats, and gingerbread houses and Christmas wreaths for the
holidays, for example.
- Following art, there is a second toileting session, before lunch,
which is the next activity.
- Usually we show an instructional video during lunch, such as how
to use the potty, how to care for animals, or how a mechanical
device such as how a tugboat works.
- During lunch we encourage/coax all children to eat, and actually
feed certain children intermittently.
- After lunch is nap time for about two hours (generally around 12:
30 to 3).
- It is our experience that children at this age are tired after a full
morning’s activities and we make every effort to see that each
child takes a nap for the full period.
- After that, the children are toileted again, and then there is snack
time.
- Frequently in the afternoon snack time, the children will eat the
food that was made in the morning.
As in the morning snack time, there is either a story reading,
singing songs or finger games, which are designed to enhance
language development and story sequencing.
- Sometimes we then provide choosing time or, in appropriate
weather, we may go outside again to play.
| DYNAMIC BEGINNINGS Daily Program example |
| SNACK TIME AND TOILETING... |
| NAP TIME |
| ART SESSION |
| LUNCH |
| THE GREAT OUTDOOR |
| WHAT'S NEXT ? |
| THE ARRIVAL |