| My Philosophy |
When a parent looks for child care I feel they are looking for an extension of their
family. They're looking for someone that has like minded goals and thinks on the same
wave length as they do. While we all have our opinions when it comes to religion and
politics, I feel we all have the same thoughts when it comes to our children, and that
is providing them with a love and nurturing them to become upstanding citizens later
in life.
I think it's important for parents to know my philosophy on teaching, discipline and
the way I interact with the children.
Environment:
I feel it's important that children have a balance in their day, a structured learning
time where were "playing" for a purpose and learning a new skill. A time for making
choices on what to play with and who, and a time to release the energy that is pent
up in their bodies, and we all know children have A LOT of energy. Children also need
healthy meals and snacks, all of these are important for each child.
Character Development:
I feel it's important for children to develop a moral code and ethics. With that being
said these are the following points I make to children on a daily basis:
Discipline:
With discipline I rarely have a child in time out and use time out when children are having moments
when they need time away from the group. Time out is used for a moment away from playing and the
interaction with other children. With the character development points I stated above I use realistic
explanations to help guide children in their decision making skills and how to make better choices for
the next time. We all make choices on how to handle situations when they are dealt to us, and we
don't always make a good choice, or the right choice, but without making a choice we're never able to
learn how to make better choices for the next time.
For better understanding here's a situation that happened between 2, 4 year old children and how I
handled it - Child A hit child B in the stomach. Child B bit child A on the arm in retaliation. Child A told
me that Child B bit him. Now, the one thing I know is that most altercations happen because a child
said something to one and the other retaliated and the other decided to get them back and that is this
situation.
With both boys standing in Front of me and I'm at their level, I ask the following questions: Child A, did
you hit Child B in the Stomach? Child B did you bite Child A on the arm?
Child A is that how we treat our friends when we don't like something that they said to us?
Child B is that how we treat our friends when we don't like something they said to us?
Child A, what is a better way to resolve the issue?
Child B, what is a better way to resolve the issue?
Once I have asked all my questions and I receive their answers I will model the correct way to solve
the issue that was happening. Teaching children to resolve their issue in a reasonable manner allows
them to think through the process and solve it a better way for the next time a situation arises and is a
life long skill they will use for the rest of their lives.
Education:
Education begins at birth; from the moment you child emerges into the world they begin to learn.
They learn their cry brings their parent or care taker to their side and they care for them. They learn
that this person comforts them and interacts with them. The bond a child develops between their
parent and caretaker is vital to the infants development.
Language Development begins by me talking to your infant and explaining to them what we're doing
next, what time of day is it, and what they will be doing next. Infants want their care taker to
acknowledge their needs and needs met. An infant communicates with me and their parents by crying,
babbling and cooing. Crying indicates discomfort or hunger, while cooing and babbling indicates
happiness and excitement.
While redressing your infant and placing each foot into their pant leg or sleeper and counting one....
two....I'm developing language development and early math skills, one-to-one correspondence.
As a child moved through infancy they gain better mobility and I make that possible by moving the
child around their environment, providing them with different activities and types of furniture to help
them develop. For instance, at 2 months of age I begin with the Bumbo seat, placed on the floor with
the other children during group reading time and sit in the bouncy seat during meals and watch the
other child. When the infant is 4 months old we begin in the Rain forest Jumper and the Walker to
help strengthen the back and leg muscles. By 6 months old your infant is then able to sit up on their
own and begin sitting on the floor with the Boppy pillow behind them, and still use the
Walker/Exercauser as well. By the time your infant is 8 and 9 months old they can either get to their
hands and knees and start crawling, crawl, and/or pull to a standing position. Our next milestone is to
begin walking and that is dependant on them. At this point I have provided them every opportunity to
develop each milestone and reach this point and now it's up to them.
Once the infant reaches 1 year of age they discover they're independent now that they can accomplish
anything. From 1 year to two years is a little difficult, their at the in between stage, leaving infancy
behind and moving towards preschool. During this age children start looking back on the Language
Development they have stored in their brains for later use and start recalling on this information and
how it can be applied to use it as communication. I begin with two-word phrases: Cup Please, More
Please, Up Please, Down Please and reiterate the word with the action.
By the time your child reaches the age of two years old they should be able to communicate fairly
well. They should be able to say two - three word sentences at a time and communicate their needs.
By the time children are three years old they're ready to begin to learn Academic Skills that will help
them when they reach Kindergarten. Children learn best through play; however, there's only so many
skills that can be gained by playing with the Fire Truck and learn to use Scissors will not be learned by
playing with a Fire Truck. However, sitting at the table with a piece of paper and a pair of scissors
cutting paper will, and that alone is a fun as playing with a Fire Truck. I feel it's important to provide
children with a firm foundation of learning skills and opportunities, while in my care.
In-Home Childcare brings a different element then a preschool environment does. With an in-home
care environment an infant and toddler are around children a lot older then them and is exposed to
the learning we do on a daily basis so, while your infant may be 16 months and developmentally
doesn't sit down and read a book with us, it doesn't mean they're not listening and comprehending
what is going on. What it does mean is the brain is taking in all the information and processing it, and
storing it a file for later use. Child Development shows that while something presented in front of the
child may not be able to be used at their current age and development doesn't mean they won't call on
it later when they're older and have developed more.
For Children 3 years - 5 years, we begin our Academic Learning. Children are taught through Child-led
activities and teacher instruction. Children are taught with a theme in mind on information that
provides them the necessary skills for when they enter Kindergarten - they work we do now, will help
them when they enter Kindergarten.
I use two different Curricula in my home childcare; One is Creative Curriculum, which is a base, it says
this is where we are and this is how we need to get there; much like a road map - with out the roads
on the map the destination and roads to take cannot be determined. This is much the same for
children and learning. For me to teach a child, I need to know what they know to determine where
they need to go from where they're at now. Creative Curriculum is taught by using themes, for
instance, for April and May our theme is "April Showers, bring May Flowers." We're going to talk about
what makes flowers and grass grow, how do flowers help us, what do flowers feed and who eats Nectar
from the flowers. What are the parts of a flower and their names. This will lead us into planting seeds
and caring for them and helping them grow. With any luck, we will be able to give these flowers to our
Mommies for Mother's Day and how they help us grow, they children have made a flower grow with the
same type of love and care. While we study about Flowers, Rain, Bees, Caterpillars, and Butterflies we
will learn a new skill in each one of the following Content Areas:
And the second is Zoo-Phonics. Zoo-Phonics is a Multi-Sensory Language Arts program. Zoo-Phonics
teaches in a way that is fun for children and uses their natural wiggling movements and applies that to
learning hand signals and body movements. Zoo-Phonics has essences that need to be implemented
when teaching the letters of the Alphabet. And they are:
The Following Letters are our Zoo-Phonics Friends:
Zoo-Phonics Animal friends:
a b c d e f g h i j k
l m n o p q r s t u
v w x y z
Merged Zoo-Phonics Animals
a b c d e f g h i j k
l m n o p q r s t u
v w x y z
family. They're looking for someone that has like minded goals and thinks on the same
wave length as they do. While we all have our opinions when it comes to religion and
politics, I feel we all have the same thoughts when it comes to our children, and that
is providing them with a love and nurturing them to become upstanding citizens later
in life.
I think it's important for parents to know my philosophy on teaching, discipline and
the way I interact with the children.
Environment:
I feel it's important that children have a balance in their day, a structured learning
time where were "playing" for a purpose and learning a new skill. A time for making
choices on what to play with and who, and a time to release the energy that is pent
up in their bodies, and we all know children have A LOT of energy. Children also need
healthy meals and snacks, all of these are important for each child.
Character Development:
I feel it's important for children to develop a moral code and ethics. With that being
said these are the following points I make to children on a daily basis:
- Treat others as you want to be treated
- Use our words when communicating what you're feeling when something is bothering you
- Be helpful and respectful to your neighbor
- Be the best person you can be
- Be a good leader
- Make good choices
Discipline:
With discipline I rarely have a child in time out and use time out when children are having moments
when they need time away from the group. Time out is used for a moment away from playing and the
interaction with other children. With the character development points I stated above I use realistic
explanations to help guide children in their decision making skills and how to make better choices for
the next time. We all make choices on how to handle situations when they are dealt to us, and we
don't always make a good choice, or the right choice, but without making a choice we're never able to
learn how to make better choices for the next time.
For better understanding here's a situation that happened between 2, 4 year old children and how I
handled it - Child A hit child B in the stomach. Child B bit child A on the arm in retaliation. Child A told
me that Child B bit him. Now, the one thing I know is that most altercations happen because a child
said something to one and the other retaliated and the other decided to get them back and that is this
situation.
With both boys standing in Front of me and I'm at their level, I ask the following questions: Child A, did
you hit Child B in the Stomach? Child B did you bite Child A on the arm?
Child A is that how we treat our friends when we don't like something that they said to us?
Child B is that how we treat our friends when we don't like something they said to us?
Child A, what is a better way to resolve the issue?
Child B, what is a better way to resolve the issue?
Once I have asked all my questions and I receive their answers I will model the correct way to solve
the issue that was happening. Teaching children to resolve their issue in a reasonable manner allows
them to think through the process and solve it a better way for the next time a situation arises and is a
life long skill they will use for the rest of their lives.
Education:
Education begins at birth; from the moment you child emerges into the world they begin to learn.
They learn their cry brings their parent or care taker to their side and they care for them. They learn
that this person comforts them and interacts with them. The bond a child develops between their
parent and caretaker is vital to the infants development.
Language Development begins by me talking to your infant and explaining to them what we're doing
next, what time of day is it, and what they will be doing next. Infants want their care taker to
acknowledge their needs and needs met. An infant communicates with me and their parents by crying,
babbling and cooing. Crying indicates discomfort or hunger, while cooing and babbling indicates
happiness and excitement.
While redressing your infant and placing each foot into their pant leg or sleeper and counting one....
two....I'm developing language development and early math skills, one-to-one correspondence.
As a child moved through infancy they gain better mobility and I make that possible by moving the
child around their environment, providing them with different activities and types of furniture to help
them develop. For instance, at 2 months of age I begin with the Bumbo seat, placed on the floor with
the other children during group reading time and sit in the bouncy seat during meals and watch the
other child. When the infant is 4 months old we begin in the Rain forest Jumper and the Walker to
help strengthen the back and leg muscles. By 6 months old your infant is then able to sit up on their
own and begin sitting on the floor with the Boppy pillow behind them, and still use the
Walker/Exercauser as well. By the time your infant is 8 and 9 months old they can either get to their
hands and knees and start crawling, crawl, and/or pull to a standing position. Our next milestone is to
begin walking and that is dependant on them. At this point I have provided them every opportunity to
develop each milestone and reach this point and now it's up to them.
Once the infant reaches 1 year of age they discover they're independent now that they can accomplish
anything. From 1 year to two years is a little difficult, their at the in between stage, leaving infancy
behind and moving towards preschool. During this age children start looking back on the Language
Development they have stored in their brains for later use and start recalling on this information and
how it can be applied to use it as communication. I begin with two-word phrases: Cup Please, More
Please, Up Please, Down Please and reiterate the word with the action.
By the time your child reaches the age of two years old they should be able to communicate fairly
well. They should be able to say two - three word sentences at a time and communicate their needs.
By the time children are three years old they're ready to begin to learn Academic Skills that will help
them when they reach Kindergarten. Children learn best through play; however, there's only so many
skills that can be gained by playing with the Fire Truck and learn to use Scissors will not be learned by
playing with a Fire Truck. However, sitting at the table with a piece of paper and a pair of scissors
cutting paper will, and that alone is a fun as playing with a Fire Truck. I feel it's important to provide
children with a firm foundation of learning skills and opportunities, while in my care.
In-Home Childcare brings a different element then a preschool environment does. With an in-home
care environment an infant and toddler are around children a lot older then them and is exposed to
the learning we do on a daily basis so, while your infant may be 16 months and developmentally
doesn't sit down and read a book with us, it doesn't mean they're not listening and comprehending
what is going on. What it does mean is the brain is taking in all the information and processing it, and
storing it a file for later use. Child Development shows that while something presented in front of the
child may not be able to be used at their current age and development doesn't mean they won't call on
it later when they're older and have developed more.
For Children 3 years - 5 years, we begin our Academic Learning. Children are taught through Child-led
activities and teacher instruction. Children are taught with a theme in mind on information that
provides them the necessary skills for when they enter Kindergarten - they work we do now, will help
them when they enter Kindergarten.
I use two different Curricula in my home childcare; One is Creative Curriculum, which is a base, it says
this is where we are and this is how we need to get there; much like a road map - with out the roads
on the map the destination and roads to take cannot be determined. This is much the same for
children and learning. For me to teach a child, I need to know what they know to determine where
they need to go from where they're at now. Creative Curriculum is taught by using themes, for
instance, for April and May our theme is "April Showers, bring May Flowers." We're going to talk about
what makes flowers and grass grow, how do flowers help us, what do flowers feed and who eats Nectar
from the flowers. What are the parts of a flower and their names. This will lead us into planting seeds
and caring for them and helping them grow. With any luck, we will be able to give these flowers to our
Mommies for Mother's Day and how they help us grow, they children have made a flower grow with the
same type of love and care. While we study about Flowers, Rain, Bees, Caterpillars, and Butterflies we
will learn a new skill in each one of the following Content Areas:
- Math
- Science
- Social Studies
- Language Arts
- Literacy
And the second is Zoo-Phonics. Zoo-Phonics is a Multi-Sensory Language Arts program. Zoo-Phonics
teaches in a way that is fun for children and uses their natural wiggling movements and applies that to
learning hand signals and body movements. Zoo-Phonics has essences that need to be implemented
when teaching the letters of the Alphabet. And they are:
- Letter Sounds before Letter Names
- Lowercase Letters before Uppercase Letters
- Letters are taught Sequentially
- Letters and Numbers are taught together. Each Letter corresponds with a Number
- Each Letter of the Alphabet corresponds a hand a signal and body movement
- Each Number Has a Number Rhyme.
The Following Letters are our Zoo-Phonics Friends:
Zoo-Phonics Animal friends:
a b c d e f g h i j k
l m n o p q r s t u
v w x y z
Merged Zoo-Phonics Animals
a b c d e f g h i j k
l m n o p q r s t u
v w x y z
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