GREEN
SPROUTS
DAILY RHYTHM 8:00 a.m - 4:30 p.m.
8:00 to 8:30 - Children arrive and engage in free play/washroom visits/babies are fed/music/lunch prep/nature table/scissor practice
free play/colouring/sensory play/washroom visits/morning naps if required/neighbourhood walk/music/dance
10:15 to 10:45 - Lunch is served. Menu posted daily on top of the cubbies.
washing hands and face/washroom visits/free play
kindergarten programming/heuristic play sessions/circle time/dialogic reading/mark making/
washroom visits
outdoor time
12:00 to 2:00 - Naps followed by washroom visits (staggered wake times to allow for one-on-one care). Infants have their own rooms for sleeping.
2:00 to 2:30 - Second meal is served.
washroom visits (hands are washed at least 5 times daily)
2:30 to 4:30 Outdoor time until pick-up. Children may choose snacks from the outdoor snack bag.
**Our day involves several breathing-in and breathing-out activities to meet the needs of the group on any particular day. The children are hungry by 10:15 and lunch is served early. Infants may be fed before/after the older children to allow for one-on-one care during meal times. This ensures infants are fully fed and not falling asleep in highchairs or going to bed after having eaten very little. It also allows enough time to monitor anaphylactic children before nap time. Our days are flexible, yet predictable, with enough room for spontaneity!
Occasional media may be shown after lunch which would be carefully selected and age appropriate. Often related to seasonal celebrations, learning objectives, NFB shorts or Pingu.
Green Sprouts is equipped with an 8 passenger Toyota van (with Diono Radian carseats) and a 6 seater Runabout stroller for outings. Playards have been upgraded with 3 inch Dream on Me mattresses. Funtainer water bottles have been upgraded with stainless steel straws.
Philosophy of Design
Torelli and Durrett believe that group care should provide children with beautiful environments that support child-directed, child-initiated, and teacher-facilitated play. Childcare providers also deserve highly functional, easy-to-use and aesthetically attractive work environments.
Research has shown that the physical environment in which children play and learn has a significant effect on their behavior and development.
In poor-quality environments, children tend to engage in more unfocused play, aimless wandering, and aggressive behavior. Teachers spend more time managing children and functioning as a custodial caregiver - constantly redirecting children from unsafe or aggressive behavior.
In well-designed classrooms, children engage in more extended, focused play and have more positive interactions with their peers. This allows teachers to concentrate on their relationship with each child and to function in a caring, facilitative role.
When teachers work in such a setting, their job is less stressful because the classroom is working for them, not against them. Individual and group needs can be met, child-directed exploration is supported.