Tender Care Daycare & Preschool

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Explorers

Welcome to our Explorer Class!

We are so excited to have you join our Tender Care Family!

The goal of our Explorer class is Kindergarten readiness, and to have the children leave our care with a boldness to try new things, the desire to uncover more, and the knowledge that even failure is an opportunity to learn.

The classroom is set up in “centers” where children are encouraged to interact and discover on their own, or with friends. Circle Time is our chance to learn as a class about basic educational models such as letters, numbers, and shapes. These concepts are also linked into other areas of learning happening daily. Frequent group projects and experiments are taking place to expand the understanding of the children every week. All topics are open to investigate and lead by the interests of the class. Creative expression and thinking are highly supported in all areas of our class, and we like to share them in our artwork, group projects, and group experiments we display around the classroom.

We promote kindness and communication to our children. The use of words is encouraged to convey a child’s wants and needs to the other children in the class as well as with the teachers. Respect for yourself and others is displayed in how we connect with the children and how we, as teachers, connect with our fellow adults.

Three times a year, usually in February, May, and October, you will get assessments showing the progress of your child and where they are in their development. These assessments also help us develop our weekly curriculum. Please ask if you have any questions about your child’s progress.

To help with the learning environment of our classroom, we ask that toys from home ONLY be brought on FRIDAY. On Fridays children are given the chance to “Show & Tell” about an item from home with the class.

We ask that you bring bedding from home for your child on their first scheduled attendance day each week. Slumber bags are highly encouraged, but any type bedding is fine. On your child’s last scheduled attendance day of each week the bedding will be sent home to be laundered. Please remember to bring bedding BACK the following week.

Our hope is that your child’s day goes as smoothly as possible, and that you are comfortable with leaving your child in our care. Anytime you wish to call and check on your child is highly encouraged! We love creating great relationships with our parents as well as our kids.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask at any time!

Preschool Room Policies and Procedures

  1. Each child must arrive dressed in a full outfit appropriate for the weather, complete with shoes.
  2. Children go outside for fresh air and exercise EVERYDAY with exception only on days it is below 32°, above 95° or when it is raining. The children have recess indoors on these instances.
    1. Light jackets are encouraged for morning Spring/Fall recess - it is still chilly!
    2. BOOTS, WINTER COAT, HAT - if no hood on coat, and GLOVES/MITTENS are REQUIRED for Winter recess - An extra change
      of clothes, especially socks, is also a great idea to have for when clothes get wet/dirty in the snow
  3. Each child must have a change of clothes to be kept at daycare - if your child has an accident, please bring REPLACENT clothes at your next scheduled attendance day.
  1. Breakfast Is only served between /:00AM and 8:00AM - Please be sure to feed your child breakfast at home if he/she arrives at 7:50AM or later
  2. AM Snack is served at 9:30AM
  3. Lunch is 11:30AM to 12:00PM for the Preschool class. If your child is coming later than 11:30AM, please call by 11:00AM so we can save your child a lunch. If your child needs to eat earlier than their scheduled mealtime due to an early pickup for an appointment, let the office know so they can inform the cook of the change in meal counts - the EARLIEST your child can eat lunch is 10:30AM at the start of lunch rotation. THE KITCHEN STOPS SERVING AT 12:20PM - if your child comes in after 12:20PM, please make sure you feed them lunch.
  4. PM Snack is served between 2:30PM - 3:00PM, when children wake from nap.
  5. Evening snack is served at 5:00pM
  6. Parents provide a no spill cup or water bottle for their child that stays at the daycare in their classroom for water - the cup is labeled with your child's name or initials. All cups/bottles are put in the dishwasher every night to be sanitized and refilled every morning and as needed throughout day.
  1. ALL medication must come in original packaging
    1. Prescriptions MUST have the child's first and last name AND dosage.
    2. A doctor's note is required for us to administer any OTC medicine that does not have the child's age/weight dosage ratio on the label
    3. We cannot exceed or change dosage on packaging/prescription
  2. A legal parent/guardian must sign a medication authorization/permission form BEFORE any medicine can be given to their child at daycare - if we do not have one, we CANNOT administer the medicine
  3. ALL medication is stored (unless refrigeration is needed) in our internal medicine locked box located in the church nursery
    1. If medication needs refrigeration, it is stored in kitchen fridge
    2. All rescue medicine is kept in the classroom, or on the teacher's person (when outside) in a fanny pack. Each child has their own specific bag with their medication(s).
  1. Rest time is from 12:00PM to 2:15PM - any child who wishes not to rest is given the opportunity to read quietly on their mat or to engage in rotating "quite activities" at a table. We cannot force children to nap if they do not want to.
  2. All children are provided a rest mat to sleep on that is labeled with their name - NO other child sleers on their mat
  3. Parents/guardians provide ALL bedding for their child - sleep sacks are highly encouraged, but any type of bedding is allowed. The children are allowed ONE stuffed comfort toy to sleep with during rest time. ON FRIDAYS BEDDING IS SENT HOME TO BE LAUNDERD- it is the parent/guardian's responsibility to bring it BACK ON MONDAYS
  1. FRIDAYS are "show & tell" day - this is the only day of the week toys from home are encouraged.
  2. The "show & tell" item MUST be able to be stored safely INSIDE their cubby.
  3. ONLY ONE "show & tell" ITEM PER CHILD - please discourage the brining of back-packs full of multiple items or toys with lots of moving/small parts
  4. All toys from home are the responsibility of the child. Teachers are not held responsible for broken OR lost items
  5. Children are NEVER forced to share TOYS FROM HOME to try and reduce the opportunity for broken or lost pieces - they are encouraged to share with others
  6. Stuffed/comfort toys for rest time do not have to count as a child's "show & tell" item.