Key Principles of Developing an Afterschool Curriculum

Afterschool programs in Canada offer a balance of academic support and recreation. With the right curriculum, the kids feel encouraged and may also explore new areas of interest. If you are searching for the right afterschool curriculum, make sure the program addresses the need of your child. Consider choosing a program that offers structured free time along with homework time and snack time.

Besides, it is better to look at the key principles they followed in developing the afterschool curriculum.

1.      Variety of activities: There should be ample learning opportunities for the children. The best program should focus on the key principle of including a mix of activities needed for academic, social, and emotional development. The curriculum should be fun and engaging and at the same time should teach the kids the value of hands-on learning.

2.      Flexibility in structure: Rather than making the curriculum highly structured like a traditional classroom, there should be the principle of flexibility. Apart from the homework time, the kids may also get the free time where they can choose to follow their hearts.

3.      Student input: A key principle is to allow some free space to the children so they get to provide their input about a particular activity. Partly it should be their responsibility to choose the activity or fun learning game.

4.      Budget: Afterschool programs often allotted a budget and there should be considered that the activities are designed to fall within the financial limits.

5.      Constraints: The afterschool curriculum should be performed within the given time limit. The educators must find trained staff who consider the time and environmental constraints and offer the best service.

Which are the right curriculum the address the child’s needs?

An afterschool program that focuses on the key principles of flexibility, variety, and student inputs is best to address the needs of your dear ones. Besides, effective programs are designed by considering the aspects like child dynamics, environment, and materials. There should be transition time between the planned structures. Additionally, the program should not feel monotonous, there must be provisions to add variety. For instance, the school can add different programs or clubs to increase the enthusiasm of children. Nature club or art club once a month is a great idea to address the child’s needs.

A wide range of perspectives is being implemented when developing afterschool curriculums. With the right mix of structures and student interests, the curriculum can be improved. If interested in afterschool programs, visit Childventures. Operating at 8 locations in Canada, the modern early learning academy is widely recognized to create a comfortable learning environment.

5 Simple TV Guidelines for Kids

Television has the potential of affecting the kid's mind both negatively and positively. Since kids these days spend a lot of time in front of the TV, parents worry about their increasing screen time at a very young age. By setting a TV limit, kids will be encouraged to entertain themselves and get comfortable playing independently. 

Therefore, you should set down some rules for your kids to grow happier, healthier, and wiser.

TV rules for kids to follow

• Give them a time limit

Their screen time should be set appropriately and shouldn't be set a number of hours per day. It means allowing viewing TV only within a certain timeframe. Parents should set sensible boundaries on how much screen time would be appropriate for them so they would not neglect their other activities. Exercising these limits from a young age would help them to grow as healthy media consumers.

• Instruct them what to watch

You should not allow your kids to watch whatever programs come on the TV. There might be channels or programs that broadcast inappropriate or scary things. Some kids might find them terribly unsettling and alarming. It is always safe to choose a DVD or record a TV show in advance to avoid them from stumbling on some programs that are not meant for them. 

• Turn off the TV during meals

It is wise to turn off the television while having meals. If they make it a practice to watch television while eating, they might get heavily dependent on it and not properly eat when they can't access it. Studies also say that kids get TV addicted, especially due to watching something while eating. You can have your mealtime to communicate and interact with each other.

• Create time slots for viewing TV

Various studies have proved that kids who watch television for more than one hour can be more prone to get overweight and develop obesity. From the age of kindergarten to 8^th grade, it's advised to set a time slot for TV viewing when their favorite shows are aired, so you could avoid such a situation.

• Set a family TV time

When you sit your kid to watch a program, you would be able to judge its appropriateness and explain to them the puzzling parts. This co-viewing would give you a chance to establish what messages and media your kids are getting exposed to.

Reach out to Childventures to offer your kids early childhood education programs that would help with proper childcare and child development. They provide the best teaching methods to enhance the kid's mind and body development.

4 Basic Lessons Kids Need before Starting Early Learning Academy

If you think potty training is the only skill your child needs to master before starting an early learning academy, then you might be wrong. 

Here are few other essential things that your child should know before entering the world of learning outside the comfort of home.

1. Bathroom basics: You cannot be a hundred percent sure that a wetting accident will or will not happen. Apart from instilling the confidence in them to seek permission for a bathroom break, it is equally important that train them for quick pull-downs of pants during emergencies.
2. Friendship basics: Make sure that your kids have already completed the basic course of making friends. Encourage them to enhance their communication skills and bravery skills to go and initiate a conversation with a same-age kid. This will be helpful to survive the first few days at an early learning academy.
3. Bus basics: Kids might get anxious about sitting without you in a large and scary bus. Try for a test-run before school starts to make your kid feel relax and comfortable. Test-run will help her know that there is nothing scary about a bus ride.
4. Feeding basics: Before taking your kid to an early learning academy, make sure they are trained enough to open a lunch box or a sandwich bag on their own. Parents don’t find a big deal of it, but the inability to open a plastic container can be frustrating and saddening for a kid who is already feeling homesick by starting a pre-school. 

How to prepare your child for an early learning academy?

There are many ways to prepare your child for the strong start of the rest of their lives. For instance:

• Assisted independence: You may feel that your kid is too young to undress himself at night. But, encouraging independence in daily activities will prepare them for the future. For example, self-care skills, zipping their backpacks, or picking a complete outfit for a day will encourage them to be independent and confident.
• Power of organization: Tell them the importance of staying organized. Encourage them to help you in cleaning up or organizing the toys and stationery items. It encourages obedience
• Make them social-ready: The tender age is crucial for emotional development. Make sure that your kid is learning enough about socialization before entering an early learning academy.

Conclusion

By cultivating some discipline, communication, and confidence, a child can become ready to start the learning journey. To get your child ready for school, Childventures can be of great help. They are the specialists of early learning programs. Visit their website for more details.

Original Source: 4 Basic Lessons Kids Need before Starting Early Learning Academy

8 Important Signs of a Great Daycare

Are you searching for the best daycare for your child? If yes, then you must know all about daycare to make a quick decision. You may find multiple daycares, like the family daycare, formal child care center, in-home care, and much more. In order to find the right one for your child, the first thing that you must do is understand what services you require. Consider your child's learning and safety and keep it on top priority. You may do proper research through online and offline moods to get a better understanding. 

You must know that daycare for your child is the best way to make your child friendly and get quick learning. Hence it would be best if you took proper time in order to find the right one. You may even compare and analyze different daycares to choose the best one among all. The daycare must have a great environment that is safe and secure. Choose a licensed one for your child who could offer your commitment to your child's fun and effective learning. 

Tips for choosing the right daycare for your child

While you are searching for a great daycare for your child, there are some impotent things that you must consider. Some of the important signs that every daycare must have are mentioned below:-

1. Positive reviews from previous and current parents could offer you reliability about the daycare.
2. A daycare must have a caring, positive, and stimulating environment with different happy kids. It could offer your child a vibrant, fun, and clean space. 
3. The daycare should also have multiple programs for children learning at an early stage. And all those programs must be fun and interesting. 
4. A good daycare should have basic certifications and training for child care.
5. In a good daycare, the most important thing is safety in all matters like food safety, child safety, dedicated space, safe learning, and much more. 
6. The policies and rules must be well-organized and consistent in a daycare. 
7. Consider the license as it provides that the daycare has fulfilled all the legal requirements.
8. There must be more numbers of caregivers in a given group for better care of a child.

These are some of the signs that every daycare must have. Hence you must choose the best one by considering all these signs.

Childventures is a perfect childcare center that offers your child a strong base and enhances learning skills. 

Dental Health for Young Children

Do you realize that you make your teeth and gums work tirelessly to satiate your desire for gummies, candies, chocolates, pastries, and what not? But what do you give them in return? Do you take care of your oral health or ignore it for something to be taken care of by the dentist? 

We at Childventures want the kids to understand the importance of dental hygiene since the building years of their life because after all, you can smile only if you have teeth and to have the sparking pearls you need to take care of them just the way you take care of your mannerisms and body language.

How to begin with dental hygiene?

Now that can be a task for first-time parents! When to introduce brush, what kind of brush to use, how much toothpaste to be applied, how many times to brush etc.? While these questions can be best answered by your dentist, our team at Childventures will make each of these tasks fun for your child so that the next time when you call your a little one to brush, he/she eagerly jumps out of the bed and is ready with the toothbrush in hand.  

Some tips to introduce dental hygiene in children are:

• You cannot ignore the importance of dental hygiene in kids for it might result in tooth decay and cavities if left unattended at the right time. Even when you are breastfeeding your child, make sure that you clean the mouth with a soft cotton cloth every time you feed.

• Once the teeth start popping up, get a soft-bristled toothbrush and apply pea-sized fluoride toothpaste every time you make your little one brush his/her teeth.

• Make brushing fun by nicely introducing the concept. You can weave a story or you can start with a good example to show how important rushing is.

• You can give some reward to your child every time he/she brushes nicely.

• Your kids will imitate what you do. So if you want the little one at home to inculcate good dental practice, you have to set a good benchmark.

• Visiting the dentist is as important for kids as it is for adults. Make sure that you plan dental visits well in advance and make these trips fun and exciting.

Our team at Childventures will help you in framing an interesting strategy for introducing the concept of dental hygiene in your child’s regime.

7 Benefits of Reading to Kids

Reading books to your children at an early age brings a list of benefits with it which can also lead your child to walk towards a brighter future. To let you get a fair view through these highlighted points, we at Child Ventures have listed down the 7 benefits of reading to kids.

1. Brain Development

The brain of children at this age is like a sponge. They tend to absorb everything that they come across. Book reading is one among those that improve the caliber of their learning.

2. Knowledge Is Power

In this competitive world, we all know that only those that have succeeded possessed ample knowledge. And one way to access knowledge is from books. So we should make this a habit for our children at an early age.

3. Boost Language & Vocabulary

Books have many benefits and one of them is that they help to increase speech and help the child improve their vocabulary skills.

4. Improves Concentration

While listening to the book that is read, one needs to stay concentrated and focused to listen to it properly. Therefore, reading books to kids can boost concentration.

5. Strengthen Bonding

While reading out a book for your child they may come across many doubts and questions which they will ask you due to which a discussion develops. The discussion always enhances the bonding between you and your child.

6. Magnifies Imagination & Creativity

As we read out books to kids they begin to visualize things as they are listening. Hence, here are the possibilities for your child to upgrade their imagination and be more creative.

7. Develops Empathy

Kids also learn many emotional things from listening to books like what are the consequences of hurting someone or how the opposite person may feel because of the words spoken by you. They may start to develop emotional intelligence.

Dealing with a child is never ever an easy task. Many times while teaching and making your child learn, adults too change their routine and start following the ones that they had learned in their childhood. To learn more, contact Childventures Early Learning Academy.

The Importance of Play for Your Child’s Health

At Childventures, we put emphasis on indoor and outdoor activities which are necessary for the child’s mental and physical growth. Mixing up the lessons and reading between the lines are two different things and we at Childventures, strive to channel our efforts by making children learn while they play. Fun-filled and playful activities are not only fun but also enhance the attention span of the kids. Thus, we ensure that playing is an important part of our curriculum so that kids gain the most while they are here.

What is the importance of playing for your child’s health?

Playing is learning and thus its importance for your child’s health can be highlighted as:

1. Stimulates brain development: The environment which is full of toys, activities and games helps in stimulating the cognitive processing in the child’s brain and this lays the foundation for the experiences in their life ahead.
2. Improves intelligence: Be it linguistics, social or cognitive skills, playing enhances the intelligence of a child.
3. Sparks creativity: Thinking out of the box and formulating ways of winning in a game is possible only if you engage the child in resourceful activities. This helps in enhancing creativity and logical reasoning too.
4. Improves communication: Children, who play, communicate effectively and thus their vocabulary and speaking skills improve considerably.
5. Makes children emotionally and physically strong: Playing helps kids deal with situations and handle them with poise and confidence. The sooner you teach this, the better it is.

Get your child enrolled at Childventures for an incredible experience!

The Do’s and Don’ts of Snacking for Children

Kids eat between their meals to make sure they are getting everything they require to grow and maintain energetic lifestyles. Snacking accounts for nearly 25 percent of a kid's nutritional intake on a daily basis so you need to provide good nutrition and not meaningless munching. Here are some do’s and don’ts of snacking.

Do give more whole foods

You can think of snacking as mini-meals and less as processed snacks. You can provide your kid with small whole food portions during snack time with a bit of protein, fibre and healthy fats.

Don’t graze

Create a snack and meal routine. Munching in between meals can deter appetite and eagerness to try new foods during mealtimes. It might be tempting for you to provide them with more snacks frequently, however, it is recommended that you do the opposite.

Do consider treats and snacks differently

It would be cruel to totally take away the treats and sweets from kids. However, they need to be an addition and should not be used to replace nourishing snacks. If you have to take the children out for ice cream, go after the child has had peanut butter and apple.

Don’t go too far with packaged snacks

Always tasty and convenient; however, they tend to be high in salt, sodium and refined grains. When you give your child too many of these snacks, it might cause a gap in his/her daily nutrition intake. 

Don’t get used to stroller snacking

Stop using food for soothing or as a diversion. It is not good for the kids to learn to relate to eating from the stroller. Food must be eaten when the child can pay attention and you can be mindful of what he/she is eating. There might be times where eating on the move is essential, however, you need to ensure that it doesn’t become a routine.

Childventures offer a multicultural menu for kids in a sit-down family meal setting. Their food is made by a qualified chef who is skilled in food handling to make sure that all safety and health regulations are followed.

Importance of Family Time For Your Kids

Your child is a reflection of your behaviour. All that you teach during the initial years will ultimately get reflected in your child’s personality. If you want your child to be affectionate, you have to show the same feelings and actions while your child is growing. There is no replacement for a father’s love or a mother’s cuddle. Bringing in fancy toys doesn’t mean you have completed your duty as a parent. Time is the most valuable investment that you need to make; busy schedules and work commitments are no excuse for ignoring your child. 

You have to make time because family time is important for the following reasons:

●       Builds self-confidence and self-esteem: When you play together with your child you come to know about his/her strengths and weaknesses. You can then guide them accordingly. This fosters better communication which infuses confidence in the child that there is someone to lend an ear to when issues arise.

●       Enhances communication: Children love to tell stories and listen to your experiences. When you spend time with your children there are many things that pop up in conversation which build a strong bond of love and understanding.

●       Improves mental health and social skills: Parents who spend family time with kids can see a noticeable difference in the child’s mental health and his/her social etiquette.

●       Makes a child feel pampered: Children love to get pampered and spending time with them is a means of showing how much you love them.

●       Builds family ties: The bond between family members strengthens if they spend time together.

Talk to our team at Childventures to learn how to engage in quality family time with your child.

Everything You Need To Know About The Preschool Education Program

Sending your child to preschool in Richmond Hill is the first step towards making your child independent, social and disciplined. No matter how much you teach them at home, there is no substitute for peer learning. Preschool programs in Ancaster are designed by professionals who know the requirements of children before formal schooling begins.

Getting your child enrolled in preschool in Richmond Hill has the following advantages:

1.     Social skills: Saying sharing is caring will not serve the purpose until the child meets people and starts sharing. This is possible only when the child develops social skills at a preschool in Richmond Hill. Making friends is more than just a need and the sooner the child learns to make friends the better it will be for their overall growth.

2.    Early preparation: Once your child starts going to preschool in Richmond Hill, the adjustment to a formal school will not be a challenge. The child will have a positive approach towards school and shall look forward to going there without any apprehensions.

3.      Independence: Sending the child to a preschool in Richmond Hill at an early age will make them independent and the child shall build confidence in whatever they do.

4.      Routine: Setting a routine is more than just a necessity. It is a habit which you should teach your child and so it remains with them for the rest of their life. Developing a set schedule gives a sense of security and teaches discipline to your child.

5.        Enhanced exposure: When your child steps out of their home, the exposure they get is tremendous and helps in shaping their personality.

How to choose the right preschool?

Consult with your friends, visit the school premises, talk to the faculty, understand the curriculum and get details about the fees, times and transportation arrangements before deciding upon any preschool.

Get your child enrolled at Childventures for a marvellous experience!