 Childcare
- Roos
Overview
At first glance, the Roo Room
may appear to be like any other infant room. However,
the Roo Room is special.
The children in this class,
10 to 16 months, receive custodial care such as
feeding, sleeping and diapering. They also receive
curriculum care. They explore many different activities,
such as Lego’s or painting, through as many
senses as they can. They are allowed and encouraged
to see, touch, taste, smell and hear almost everything
they come into contact with during the day. The
children in the Roo Room also receive individualized
care. Teachers compile a lesson plan and add individual
activities to it to depending on your child’s
stage of development. They dream up new activities
for each age group within the room then individualize
those activities for each child.
The Roo Room involves children
in many activities. They go on in-house field
trips and walks in the center and the area around
the building with the red buggy. They experience
the great outdoors on our toddler/infant playground.
They sing songs, dance and blow bubbles. The children
love the variation in their day.
Above all, the Roo staff has
a soft spot in their hearts for each child. These
children are loved, nurtured and interacted with
throughout the day. The feeling of the room is
to love and nurture each child as he/she grows
into an exciting and busy toddler.
Team Teaching Approach
The teachers are responsible
for the functioning and direction of the room.
All the teachers work together closely as a team
to plan developmentally appropriate activities,
to discuss individual and group needs, and to
make decisions about the program.
Caregiving Approach
We view the Roo Room as a “family”
unit. We encourage the children to come to know
all the teachers and feel comfortable with everyone.
As your child’s entrance into the Roo Room
is a major adjustment, we work to be as consistent
as possible with caregiving to help the child
develop a secure emotional base. Children are
supervised at all times and are watched closely
as they sleep.
Meeting Individual Needs
We are very sensitive to the
fact that each child has unique needs –
not only physically (eating, sleeping, etc), but
also emotionally. As a family gets ready to enter
our program, a visiting time is set up for the
family and child. During this time the parent,
child and teachers get to know each other and
how the day is scheduled. We want to know the
little things that parents are best at “reading”
in their child (i.e. does the child have a favorite
way of being held, does he/she have an aversion
to a particular sight or sound, etc). These pieces
of information, along with ongoing communication
with parents, help us to know and serve each child
in an individual caring way.
Parent/Teacher Relationships
At FCDC, we believe that good
parent-teacher relationships are the strength
of our program. We recognize that each parent
is their child’s expert and encourage parents
to share with us concerns and desires for their
child’s care. Through daily communication
and conferences, the teachers are able to share
observations about the child’s development
and interactions. This helps parents and teachers
come together in partnership for the well being
of each child.
Communication and Language
We support language growth and
cognitive understanding by talking to children
during routines and playtimes. Explaining events
that are going to happen to the child helps the
child learn about themselves and the world. As
we begin to give the children opportunities to
participate in their care, they learn they also
have some control.
We also encourage the infant
to communicate with us. As older infants begin
to use sounds and gestures, we label these to
reinforce the child’s attempt to communicate.
The teachers show the child that they understand
the meaning of his/her sounds. We also work on
helping your child learn some sign language to
communicate their needs.
This is the basic pattern
of the day in the Roo Room. The schedule is adjusted
based on individual needs of each child. We may
add and subtract activities depending on the day.
6:30am – 8:00am Arrival/Open
Play
The Roos arrive during this
time. As the children and parents arrive, each
child is greeted by one of the staff. The parent
will fill out a daily information sheet. This
information aids the staff in the care of the
child. A variety of toys and activities are offered
at this time.
8:00am – 9:00am Breakfast
and Diapering
The children will eat breakfast
prepared by our on-site cook. Younger children
may have baby food and iron-fortified cereal.
9:00am – 10:00am: Work
on Small Motor Skills/Naps/Bottles
The teachers set up the environment
to provide developmental opportunities. The children
continue to explore the environment at their own
level of ability. Stacking objects and placing
objects in containers is an example of small motor
skills. Some infants will nap or have bottles.
10:00 – 10:15am Snack
Children who are ready to eat
snack will be offered a snack at this time.
10:15am – 11:15am Open
Play and Diapering
Children will be offered a variety
of activities such as books, balls, shakers containers,
stuffed animals or electronic toys. Children will
be diapered at this time as well.
11:15am
– 11:45 Lunch
Children who are eating solids
will eat lunch prepared by our on-site cook. For
younger children we have a variety of vegetable
and fruit baby food and iron-fortified cereals.
11:45am – 1:00pm Bottles/Naps/Manipulatives
This is time, some infants transition
from lunch to nap, while others transition from
lunch to playtime. During this transition, children
may be offered a bottle. Other children will be
involved in playing with manipulatives such as
large Legos, pegs/peg boards and puzzles.
1:00pm – 3:00pm Naptime/Open
Play
This is a transition time from
active play to a quiet restful time for some of
the children. Children are rocked and cuddled
as they prepare for their naps. While some children
nap, other children will have some one-on-one
time with staff or participate in small group
activities.
3:00pm – 3:30pm: Afternoon
Snack
Children that eat finger foods
may have a snack at this time.
3:30pm – 4:30pm Bottles/Sensory
Play
Some infants will have bottles,
while other infants will have some one on one
time with staff. This is also another time to
get outside and play in the sand, water, or snow.
Sensory exploration involves exploring the environment
and objects using the five senses. We explore
activities such as shaving cream, leaves, shaker
bottles, finger painting, and cotton balls.
4:30pm – 5:00pm Large
Motor Skills
During this time, children work
on developing large motor skills. They may explore
by crawling through a tunnel, playing on a climber,
rolling and tossing balls.
5:00pm – 6:00pm: Departure/Open
Play
Parents begin to arrive for
their children. The daily reports that have been
filled out by the teachers help families have
a good feeling about their child’s day at
the center. The children are provided with toys
and activities that allow for interesting challenges
for them, such as pop-up toys, push cars, stacking
toys, keys, phones, etc.
Children are diapered every
2 hours or as needed.
Children are offered bottles
as needed. This will be based on input from the
parents and each child’s individual schedule.
Activities open all day include:
Books, balls, shakers, containers, stuffed animals,
electronic toys, pop-up toys, push cars, tunnels/climber,
staking toys, keys, phones, etc.
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