KC’s Academy knows that toddlerhood is an incredibly important time in your child’s development (and an incredibly fun and challenging one!). It’s a time when language, social, cognitive, and physical skills are growing exponentially. Toddlers are constantly learning and they use all of their senses to explore the world around them. Our teachers help encourage their curiosity by providing a safe, loving and active learning environment.
We teach children by what they do best: play! By combining planned activities and open-ended experiences, toddlers are allowed to move at their own pace and learn through discovery. What better way is there to understand what slimy and sticky feels like then to play with homemade goo? Toddlers love to get messy and so do we!
How will your toddler spend his or her day at KC’s?
- Playing at the sand and water table
- Conducting science experiments
- Running toy cars through shaving cream
- Painting with just about anything other than a paintbrush
Our toddlers dance, sing, stack, fill, pour, read, rest, and laugh. Your child will enjoy participation in both small and large group activities, as well as follow their own interests in a fun, safe way. Your child will get one-on-one attention thanks to our low teacher to toddler ratio and we’ll take special care to get to know and grow to love your child. As a result, our toddler teachers become very close with our KC’s parents.
More highlights of our toddler program:
- Health, safety, and positive parent relationship are priorities
- Healthy, organic food is catered daily from Gourmet Gorilla, with special meal plans available upon request
- Children are guided and supported in their social environment
- Quarterly parent-teacher conferences are conducted to discuss your child’s development
- Play, self-discovery and self-expression are valued and encouraged
- Age-appropriate educational materials, experiences and toys (of course!)
- Daily communication with parents
Ultimately, we want KC’s Academy to serve as a home away from home: a playful, nurturing and safe environment for you and your child.
To find our more about our toddler program, hear about rates, take a tour, and learn more about the daily schedule, contact us today!
Toddlers and Nature
Encouraging a relationship to nature is part of what makes KC’s Academy unique, and that philosophy is ardently practiced in the toddler room. All of our play equipment is developmentally appropriate so you can feel safe knowing that your child is able to experiment with movement without endangering himself. In the warmer months most of our planned curriculum is adapted for the outside and many days you will find us out exploring the neighborhood around the school. Little red wagons carry our toddlers to and from Gill Park and to the lake front. Turning over a log while on a nature walk can yield wonders that have elicited yelps of surprise from many toddlers. And, although grownups may no longer find the changes of the seasons a wonder, falling leaves and snow never fail to amaze our young ones. In fact, we believe that a direct relationship to nature is not only advantageous, but essential to a child’s well-being. The sensory experiences nature has to offer cannot be found inside a classroom. How do you know if tree bark is rough or soft? Or even what noise a squirrel makes when it runs along a tree branch? You have to experience it firsthand. That ís what we try to present the children in our care with everyday. In addition, shapes and colors can be seen in their truest form once you venture beyond the school’s doors.
Much of what children learn stems from their natural curiosity in the world around them. We believe that as caregivers we have a duty to foster a lasting love and respect for the natural environment in every child. At KC’s Academy we strive to do this every day.
Daily Flow
While we do have a daily schedule in the toddler program, we also do our best to accommodate individual needs. We try to remain consistent without becoming too stringent. Our goal is to build the groundwork for healthy routines and schedules later on in life. Every day, we incorporate all facets of your child’s development. Social, cognitive, language and motor skills are all a part of daily life at KC’s Academy. Your child will sing, dance, paint, talk and cuddle every day. But, we also understand the benefits of free-play and its purpose in a toddler’s life. If our days were too scheduled, we wouldn’t have time to explore, be spontaneous or nurture curiosity.