DYNAMIC BEGINNINGS Daily Program For example THE ARRIVAL SNACK TIME AND TOILETING... WHAT'S NEXT THE GREAT OUTDOOR ART SESSION LUNCH NAP TIME |
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.