CURRICULUM
We use The Creative Curriculum as the framework for our early care and education program. Precious Bundles and Busy Bees follow The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos , while Curious Corner and Magic Moments follow The Creative Curriculum for Preschool . The Creative Curriculum is founded on years of research in the field of early care and education. It provides guidance for setting up the learning environment, the teacher’s role, the family’s role, and of course, children’s learning and development.

The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum is the tool we use to assess children’s learning in all areas of development: physical, cognitive, social/emotional, and language. Assessment is accomplished through the ongoing collection of observations, work samples, and information from families to determine each child’s progress over time. We recognize that each child develops and learns at his/her own pace, and therefore, each child’s progress is assessed individually.

ONLINE ASSESSMENT and COMMUNICATION TOOL
The Creative Curriculum also offers an online assessment and communication tool, cc.net, which we will be implementing by September 2009. This program will enable us to track each child’s development and learning online and help us streamline the process of looking at each child’s interests and abilities to determine upcoming activities and experiences for individual children and the classroom as a whole. Teachers will be able to post observations, photos, and artwork online for families to have access to through a secure, password protected website. Teachers and families will have the opportunity to engage in ongoing communication via the website as well.

PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT
We strive to provide the highest quality care and early education for your family and recognize that this is an ongoing rather than a finite goal of any program. We are continually looking for opportunities to improve our policies and practices and welcome any comments or suggestions you may have on this matter. Additionally, we participate annually in a formal program improvement process whereby we survey both families and staff about various aspects of our program, and then develop a written plan for improvement and goals for the upcoming year. We encourage all families to participate in this important process to help improve the quality of care and education for all children.

ADVANCEMENT TO THE NEXT CLASS
A majority of the children move to new classrooms in September. Children must meet the minimum age requirements for advancement. Busy Bees toddlers must be at least 12 months old, Curious Corner preschoolers are two-and-a-half-years old, and Magic Moments preschoolers are three-and-a-half. In addition to the age requirements, the Busy Bee room requires steady walking and the elimination of the morning nap. Children’s individual development is also considered by both teachers and parents to determine if each is ready for the challenges and expectations of the new classroom.

FAMILY COMMUNICATION
Good communication between teachers and families is essential to the care we provide your children. It is our intention to build positive, effective relationships with all families. This relationship begins during enrollment and orientation, and continues to grow during your child’s time with us. We recognize that individual families prefer different types of communication, so we attempt to provide a wide variety of options for you to communicate with us.

Upon enrollment, you will be asked to complete a family and child questionnaire. The intent of this is to get to know your child and your family so that we can provide appropriate, high-quality care for your child right from the start. We can offer toys and activities that your child is interested in and start making connections with your child if we know a bit about his/her family life and past experiences.

Parents are encouraged to speak with their child’s teachers daily at drop-off and pick-up times. Should any questions or concerns arise during the day, parents are welcome to call the classrooms at anytime.

Teachers provide written daily notes to help inform you about your child’s day. These are completed for each child in Precious Bundles, Busy Bees, and Curious Corner. In Magic Moments, they will be provided for the families who would like to continue to receive this type of written communication.

Twice each year, in the fall and spring, we offer family-teacher conferences. These give families and teachers a chance to sit down together to discuss each child’s progress and experience here at school. It’s a great opportunity to get to know each other better and share valuable information about your child, which serves to enhance the quality of care and education we can offer. All families are encouraged to participate in these conferences.

A centerwide parent information board in the front hall is provided for you to check periodically. Each classroom has a parent bulletin board for announcements specific to their classroom. The Center also has access to a great deal of information that pertains to parenting, child development, and early care and education. Please feel free to ask us for information on a topic you may be interested in.

We also use email and online tools to communicate with families. The office can be emailed at:
Amy Boynton, director aboynton@penbayhealthcare.org
Kim Appleby, business manager kappleby@penbayhealthcare.org

In September, we will also be implementing cc.net, our online assessment and communication program, which parents will be able to access to view their child’s information and communicate with teachers.

The Breakfast Club is from 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. for students arriving with a prepared breakfast. Children over 12 months old, arriving after 7:30 a.m. need to be fed and ready for the day.

In order to provide a safe environment for all children, we are a peanut-free facility. Food allergies can be severe. Therefore, we ask all parents to send in peanut-free products for snacks and lunch. Please read the ingredient labels of all food you pack for your child to insure it does not contain any peanut product.

REST TIME
Children play hard at the Center and most need a rest time. Rest time begins around 12:00 in the toddler and preschool classes. Most children nap during quiet time. Children who do not nap are given quiet activities on their rest mats or at the table after a time of rest and relaxation. Children are welcome to bring one stuffed animal daily and/or a special blanket. Blankets must be taken home on Fridays to be laundered and returned on Mondays. Due to limited storage we ask that you do not bring pillows or sleeping bags. Children under 18 months are placed in a crib. Older children are provided with resting mats.

TOYS FROM HOME
With the exception of a special stuffed animal to sleep with, we ask that you not bring any toys from home. The preschool classrooms will occasionally hold a "Show and Share" day when children will be invited to bring an item from home to share with their classmates.

SWIMMING and WADING
We do not use pools for water play, as they can be unsanitary and dangerous for young children. In the summer months, we offer water play with sprinklers and water tables. Please provide appropriate attire, a towel, and a complete change of clothing for your child.

CHILD GUIDANCE
We use positive, constructive methods of child guidance, which encourage self-control, self-direction, self-esteem and cooperation that meet the individual needs of each child. This may include, but is not limited to encouraging the use of language skills, redirecting, providing choices, using praise or positive reinforcement, recognizing a child’s strengths and allowing individual differences, conflict resolution, and time out. Consistent rules, expectations and limits are carried out in a manner compatible with the child’s developmental ability.

In very rare circumstances, after multiple, and prolonged attempts to redirect their behavior, a child is dismissed from the program. Should such an eventuality occur, we believe that parents would want to know beforehand, specifically what constitutes suspendable or dismissable behavior:

• biting episodes that are daily or near-daily over a three-month period
• physical aggression that may injure another child
• sustained refusal to follow adult directives. The objectionable behavior will be documented daily for parents (a period of three months of intensive work with parents will precede such action)

These unpleasant outcomes happen very infrequently, however, we believe clarity from the beginning is very important, so we have elected to be very specific about the three behavioral situations above. You will note on the enrollment contract, a paragraph requiring your reading and understanding of these behavioral standards.

BIRTHDAY and HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS
A child’s birthday is their special day. We are happy to help celebrate with a simple snack to share with the class at morning or afternoon snacktime. We encourage healthy, peanut-free treats such fruit salad, cheese and crackers, yogurt (such as "go-gurts"), cheese curls, and popcorn for the older classrooms. If you are planning a birthday party at home, please do not bring birthday party invitations to the Center. The office can provide a list of your child’s classmates for you to mail invitations.

We celebrate various holidays as appropriate and of interest to the children in each classroom. Activities may include holiday themed art supplies, music, books, and cooking projects. As our activities are based on the culture and traditions of the families we serve, please be open with us about how your family celebrates various holidays and feel free to offer suggestions for activities we could incorporate into our classroom celebrations. Also, please don’t hesitate to let us know if your family does not choose to celebrate a particular holiday or if you don’t wish for your child to participate in a particular celebration at school.

FAMILY EVENTS
Throughout the year, we host various family events at the Center. These include a fall Open House, a holiday/winter sing-along, and an end-of-the-school-year celebration/graduation in the spring. We also may offer parent education and information events depending on the needs of families.

ORIENTATION
An orientation afternoon for new parents and parents of children moving into a new classroom in September is held in late August for toddlers and preschoolers. We highly encourage all families to attend this orientation to meet the teachers, get their questions answered, and help transition their child to the new class. Nursery orientation is on an individual basis. You will be provided with a questionnaire to fill out about your child and your family. It is not our intention to pry into your personal life, but to gain valuable information that will help us provide the best care possible for your child. Orientation for families joining us or moving classrooms at times other than September is encouraged on an individual basis.

GRADUATION
In June of each year, we hold a year-end celebration and recognition event for the children leaving the Center and going on to kindergarten. Family and friends are invited to celebrate this milestone in their child’s life. Although the celebration is in June, children are welcome to stay at the center until they enter kindergarten in the fall.

Updated: 7/1/09