Our facility is located in McKee Elementary School. We have one main classroom area that is connected to McKee Elementary School. Our daily routine for the school year (September-June) is similar on a day-to-day basis. PD days, winter/spring break and the summer program are different from our school year program.
Our programming goal is to provide children with a rich learning environment through various opportunities for play. Our program will help your child to develop fundamental movement skills, literacy, and numeracy skills through STEAM, loose parts play, and outdoor education. Our program is scaffolded to ensure children at all age levels (6-11) are reaching developmental success. We differentiate the program to meet the various needs of all of the children attending our center. We believe that it is essential to have children engage in the programming process. Therefore, the staff members are always observing and asking the children about their interests and what they would like to contribute to the programming at the center. Furthermore, activities are derived from School-Age Care Theory and Practice by Steve Musson and An Introduction to School Age Care in Canada by Kevin Bisback and Leslie Kopf-Johnson.
Our school daily routine remains the same (other than interchangeable daily activities) for the children's understanding and benefit.
Every week/month we introduce new themes to give the children new learning opportunities. Our staff observe the children’s interests and introduce these as weekly themes. Some themes may include:
Fall/winter/spring/summer
Friendship and family
Animals
Holidays
Our summer program has unique weekly themes with different activities to participate in. Some of these activities include:
Lose parts play
Puppet shows
Plays
Scavenger hunts
STEAM activities that foster the unique interests of the children
Dramatic centers
Water balloon fights
Bingo
Trivia
Just Dance
Circle Games
Individual and group read alouds
Daily walks to the park
Group and individual outdoor actvities
Movie Day
Electronic Day
PJ Day
Pizza Party
Weekly field trips. Some of the field trips we have gone on include spray parks, the Ukrainian Village, the library, the Kids Fringe, the Street Performers, and the Zoo.