One of the biggest misconceptions about child care is that it is just another form of child supervision, like babysitting. And in some cases, this may actually be true. Not all child care centers are accredited. And not all child care centers hold themselves up to the current standards of quality child care practices. The best way to determine the quality of a child care center is to learn how much emphasis is put on two things: safety and education. Educational childcare centers have programs and staff that are dedicated not only to day care supervision but also to the intellectual and social growth of the children in their care. Let’s take a look at some of the aspect of quality educational child care.

Educational Child care vs. Daycare

“Daycare” and “Childcare” are terms that are often used interchangeably. In some instances, that is okay. But childcare, especially educational child care, offers more in the way of programs than traditional daycare.

Daycare can best be described as a daily babysitting service. There is nothing wrong with traditional daycare. Children are supervised, fed and given some fun activities to do while their parents work. It is essentially out of home babysitting. But you may be looking for a little more for your child and the money that you will be spending.

Educational childcare is a step above daycare. Educational Childcare offers programs and activities that contribute to your child’s growth and learning.

Types of Educational Childcare

Educational childcare is usually reserved for children from infants to preschool age. But there are also some great programs that cater to school age children as well. Summer camp programs are often a great way to keep older kids engaged and learning during the summer break.

But the most popular and most well-known type of educational childcare is preschool education. There are many benefits of preschool child care for both parents and students, including preparation for kindergarten, social engagement and cognitive development.

Preschool is not just daycare. It is a place where your child transitions from the at home informal learning of early childhood, to the more formal classroom based learning of kindergarten and grade school.

There are also great educational toddler programs that focus not only on play but also on learning and cognitive development and motor skills. Before enrolling your child in a child care program, don’t be afraid to ask the center staff exactly what their philosophy and curriculum is. If they are a quality child care center, they will gladly offer you their information and educational policies.

Educational Child Care Programs with Young Scholars Academy 

Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs is dedicated to providing children with the quality educational childcare programs they deserve. Come check out all our awesome child care programs and contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!

If your little one is coming up on kindergarten age, it might be time to consider enrolling him or her in a quality pre kindergarten program. The benefits of pre k education has been documented time and again in study after study. Let’s take a look at what pre k education programs are and how they can benefit your child.

What are Pre Kindergarten Education programs? 

Pre K education, also called preschool, or pre kindergarten, is a great transitional milestone for both children and parents. As a parent, it is perhaps the first time that you have willingly surrendered your child over to a near total stranger for any significant period of time. Naturally, that in itself can produce a good deal of anxiety. To reduce this added stress, it is important that parents get to know their childcare providers.

For children, the preschool experience is actually slightly less traumatic. The world of a child is a world of wonder and new experiences. The pre K environment is just a new chapter in their day to day adventures. That is not to say that all children adjust perfectly. The most common issue children entering pre k education face is separation anxiety. You can help your little one through this with these fantastic and easy tips

Pre k education is the transition between structured and unstructured learning. It is the pathway to kindergarten and grade school and, later on, college and adulthood. As toddlers and infants, the primary learning environment for children is the home and family. It is here that the little scholars take their first steps, speak their first words, make their first mistakes and learn from all of it. It is a precious time for parents, often thoroughly documented in photo and video!

Benefits of Preschool and Early Childhood Education

Children fortunate enough to be enrolled in a pre kindergarten program or other early childhood education programs have an easier time adapting to kindergarten. Long term studies show that preschool students actually end up earning more money, are less likely to need remedial or special education programs, are less likely to have behavior issues and have higher earnings later in life than children who did not attend a preschool or early childhood education program.

Children in early childhood education programs benefit significantly from the excellent socialization environment that is provided in these programs. Children learn to play, work with and learn in social groups, which teaches them concepts like turn taking, sharing and develops their sense of empathy and compassion for others.

These benefits prepare the little scholar of an early childhood education programs for learning in kindergarten and beyond!

Pre K Education at Young Scholars Academy

Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs puts your child first with quality pre k education programs. Our Junior Kindergarten program is specially designed to help children make the transition from preschool to the kindergarten classroom. Give your child a head start with Young Scholars Academy’s pre k programs! Contact us today to get started. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

As a parent, you are always on the lookout for ways to make learning fun and exciting for your children. This can be a tough undertaking, especially when we have the residual memories of the rote and boring learning we did in the classroom. But there are ways to make the learning process both fun and effective. Learning games for kids are a great place to start. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of learning games for kids.

Learning Games for Kids: Cognitive and Intellectual

Learning games for kids, including preschool age kids, which flex their cognitive and intellectual abilities are usually of the board game type or are the interactive computer game type. Games like puzzles, shape and image mapping games work out their spatial and memorization skills. Computerized math games can add a layer of fun and excitement to an otherwise bland subject. Most of these games are single player and teach the child to not only get the correct answer, but to see it through to a reward or goal. There are a number of great online games of this type that you can use at home to hone your child’s reading, math and spatial and memorization abilities. Check out some of these great learning games for kids that can keep them occupied on a rainy day.

Learning Games for Kids: Socialization

Children learn a number of social skills in a supervised free play environment. Allowing them to use their creativity and imagination with other children teaches them to respect others and coordinate activities.

Structured games are also a great way to improve their social skills. Games such as the name game, in which one child is given a ball in a group of children and then asked to say the name of the other person before rolling the ball to them, teach children the importance of identifying others by name, a critical social skill. Games like Simon says and red light green light teach children impulse control and how to follow directions and rules during play.

Learning Games for Kids at Young Scholars Academy 

Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs has a goal of making learning fun and engaging! Our day care, preschool and school age childcare programs are learning and fun focused. Our curriculum seeks to inspire and engage not just teach. And the caring and nurturing staff at Young Scholars Academy seek to provide the quality educational child care your child deserves. Come check out our programs and contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!

The weather is warming up and summer is just around the corner. Soon your little scholar will be out of school and replacing their thinking caps with outdoor explorer caps! Before you let loose your little adventurer into the uncharted regions of the backyard, it’s a good idea to teach them some safety essentials and ensure that they are properly provisioned for their voyages and trail blazing romps through the neighborhood. Before they embark on adventure make sure:

They are protected from the Sun

Before the advent of liquid sunscreen, explorers would wear extra layers of clothing and large brimmed hats to protect themselves from the sun. So it’s important that your little explorer is protected too!  The dangers of overexposure to the sun have been well documented. Sun safety is one of the first elements of summer safety and its precautions are applicable to almost every environment.

Start of teaching your child about the danger of staying in the sun too long. While it is not necessary to scare them with the details of skin cancer and sun stroke, keeping them aware of the potential danger of both heat and sun is vital.

In addition to sunscreen, have your little one wear a hat,especially if the set off into unknown territory in the middle of the day. It’s important to make sun safety awareness fun for them. Before the summer months, get your child excited about buying a new hat and let them pick one out. This will make it more likely that they will wear it during the long summer days.

They have enough water for their trip

Dehydration can sneak up on anyone, especially children. When you are busy romping through the backyard chasing down adventure, sometimes you forget to drink enough. Make sure that your child is drinking enough water during the hot summer months. Most experts recommend that children from 5 to 8 years of age consume at least 5 cups of water a day to maintain hydration. And if they are active, they will need more.

It is also a good idea to watch out for the signs of dehydration. You can find some more info on dehydration and what to do about it here.

Are safe when exploring the open waters

Summer time is pool time! Or maybe where you live tis beach time! Either way, its important that you child understand the basics of water safety.

Make sure they understand the danger of diving into shallow water, running on wet surfaces and roughhousing in and around the pool.

Always make sure that there is adult supervision in any situation where there are children in the water.

Revisiting sun safety, make sure that you reapply sunscreen to your child. Even if the bottle says it is water proof, it is a good idea to add an extra layer every two hours or so.

Summer safety at Young Scholars Academy

No matter the time of year, Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs is dedicated to keeping all our children safe. As a childcare center devoted to advancing the rights and welfare of children and their parents, Young Scholars Academy provides children and families the quality childcare they deserve. Come check out our programs and contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!