Last year, our founder was featured in an article in the Washington Post, detailing the need for an open air gun range to be removed from the Lincoln height Community.
To view the article, click here!
The Secret to School Readiness: READING!!!
Reading is essential for school success. It’s also a wonderful source of enjoyment. Reading to children every day is one of the best ways to interest children in books, and it can be among the most treasured times you have together.
Here at Tara’s Tiny Tots Childcare we have a large collection of books for the children, and we go to the library regularly to find more books. We encourage the children to look at books whenever they want, and we read together at least once a day. Sometimes we choose a story to read to the children. At other times, we let them pick their favorites.
Reading aloud encourages children to love books, introduces new ideas, and helps children learn how to handle problems. As children listen to us read and look at the pictures and text, their own reading skills begin to develop.
We look at the pictures together, and we ask them questions like these: “Can you find where the caterpillar is now?” or “What is that silly dog doing?”
We point out the pictures to infants and tell them what objects are called.
We ask the older children, “What do you think will happen next?” or “Why do you think she’s smiling?” Questions like that help them understand the story and learn about story structure.
We let all the children help us tell the story by repeating words or phrases they remember from previous readings. Sometimes rhymes and refrains also help them predict the text as we read together.
We encourage children to look at books, listen to recorded stories, retell stories, and scribble and write throughout the day. Sometimes children dictate stories to us.
We want to encourage you to foster a healthy culture of reading in your home as well!
Read and tell stories to your child every day. Reading aloud together and telling stories lets your child know how much you value these activities, and their enjoyment of books encourages them to learn to read. Here are some more things you can do with your child.
Encourage your child to talk about the stories you read.
Offer prompts such as “I wonder what will happen next?” or “I wonder why...”
Try to relate the story to something in your child’s life: “That dog looks just like Grandpa’s.”
Let your child experiment with paper and pencils, pens, or markers.
Take your child to the library for story time and to check out books.
Be sure to share information with your childcare provider as well. We can tell you the titles of the books your child enjoys at the daycare, and you can tell us your child’s favorite story or nursery rhyme so we can read or recite it, too. If you record your child’s favorite story or nursery rhyme, we can play it during the day, especially if you speak a language at home that we don’t speak.
TOGETHER, we WILL get your Tiny Tots School ready; one book at a time!
Using Blocks to Help Your Tot Develop!
Blocks are among children’s favorite toys. Most centers will provide several different kinds of blocks. The babies touch, squeeze, and throw soft spongy blocks. Older children build with wooden blocks on the table or floor. They use larger blocks to make tall towers and settings for their pretend play.
When children build with blocks, they learn about sizes, shapes, colors, and why it’s important to build on a sturdy base if they want their structures to stand. Sometimes they build alone, creating designs with the blocks. Sometimes they work together to build something they have seen, such as a fire station or a school. Then they use it to pretend. This is one way children represent the world around them and learn more about it.
It is important to talk to children about their constructions as they play with blocks. You and your provider should describe what you see and ask questions to encourage them to think about what they are doing. Here are some questions to encourage them to express their ideas in words. You could say,
“You like to build with the blocks and then knock them down.”
“I see that you made a road for your car. What will happen when the car runs out of gas? Do you need a gas station?”
“You made an interesting pattern with the blocks. It goes: red square, blue triangle; red square, blue triangle; red square…I wonder what comes next.”
As your child plays with blocks at home, your comments and questions can extend his or her ideas.
Here are some other suggestions for block play at home:
Consider the age of your child as you choose from the many different kinds of blocks that are available:
Select soft and safe blocks for your baby. Foam, cloth, and plastic blocks are best for this age.
Toddlers and twos can use a great variety of blocks. Colored wooden table blocks and alphabet, foam, cardboard, and plastic blocks are all appropriate.
Preschool and school-age children like to create all kinds of structures with wooden blocks in proportional sizes. They also like to make designs with colorful pattern blocks.
Store small blocks in containers like plastic tubs or shoe boxes, and label them with a picture and words. Then your child will be able to find what he or she needs and put the blocks away after playing with them.
Here at Tiny Tots Childcare LLC, we love blocks! They have been a great tool to help our Tiny Tots develop in vital skills necessary to become “school ready”! Be sure to start using them in your home as well!
Sleep, Sleep & More Sleep!
Mastering Diaper & Toilet Time!
Diapering and toileting are daily events in a family child care home. Here at Tara’s Tiny Tots we change babies’ diapers, help children learn to use the toilet when they are ready, and help children develop good health habits such as washing their hands after toileting.
Although diapering may not be your favorite task, it can be a special time for you and your child. It offers a chance to focus all of your attention on your child. You can talk together, sing, or play a game of “Where Are Your Toes?”. When you approach diapering as an opportunity to spend time with your baby, rather than as an unpleasant task to hurry through, you teach your child an important lesson: that bodily functions are a normal, healthy part of everyday life.
Over time, your child will become physically, cognitively, and emotionally ready to begin using the toilet. You and your childcare provider can work together to make this a good experience for your child, and the both of you can celebrate this milestone together.
Here’s how you can work together with your childcare provider:
Share information about diapering and toileting with your provider. Tell them how you approach diapering at home. How often do you change your baby’s diaper? How do you know that the diaper needs to be changed? What kind of diapers do you use? Are there any special instructions for diaper changes? Let them know what words your child will use to tell them that he or she needs to use the toilet.
Talk with your provider about how to work together to help your child learn to use the toilet. You all should look together for signs that your child is ready. You all should also talk regularly about your child’s progress. Then they can decide together about ways to support your child and resolve any differences we may have.
Remember that toileting accidents are normal. Learning to use the toilet takes time. Even children who can use the toilet successfully sometimes have toileting accidents. Your childcare provider can both respond to these in a matter-of-fact way.
Please make sure your childcare provider has diapers and changes of clothing. Don’t be surprised if they send home soiled clothing in a tightly closed plastic bag. Germs can be spread easily during diaper changing, and experts tell us not to rinse soiled clothing in family child care homes. This procedure helps to keep your child healthy.
By keeping a sense of humor, you and your childcare provider can make diapering and toileting times enjoyable and a time for learning.
Make Mealtimes Great Again!
One of the best things about for us at Tara’s Tiny Tots is that we enjoy breakfast, lunch, and snacks together in much the same way as your family does. Our meal- and snack times are special. We are moving toward a more family meal time approach were the children help set the table, we sit and eat together, and the children help clean up afterward. You might be surprised, in the coming months, to see a 2-year-old carefully pouring milk into a cup from a small pitcher. You might also see our preschool children passing bowls of food and serving themselves, or helping to clean up spilled milk. While we eat, we chat about what we’ve done during the day and whether we like a food that the children are trying for the first time. The goal ultimately, is that the children often help prepare the healthy meals and snacks we eat, and in the process they are proud of this accomplishment.
Mealtimes and related activities, such as setting the table, washing hands, talking with others at the table, and brushing teeth, are all learning opportunities.
Snacks and meals give your child a chance to feel cared for and to develop self-care, communication, and social skills. Mealtimes also give children chances to begin practicing good manners and healthy habits.
Here are some ways for us to work together:
Start by asking your self the following questions:
What does your child eat and drink?
What are your child’s favorite foods?
What foods does your child dislike?
Do you have special family foods?
What do you talk about?
If we know this, we can talk about family meals and serve some of the same food here at the daycare! This will help your child feel connected with you during the day.
Join us for a snack or meal whenever you can.
Your child will love having you with us. So will we. In addition, you will have a chance to see how we do things, to ask questions, and to make suggestions. Of course, if you are nursing your child, please come at any time. We have a comfortable place where you can feed your baby without interruption.
Communicate about changes in your child’s diet or eating habits.
For example, please let us know when your pediatrician recommends adding new foods for your baby. After you introduce a food at home, we will introduce it here at the daycare. We can also work together when your baby is weaned from the bottle. Let us know if your toddler’s appetite is changing, or if your preschool or school-age child is refusing to eat a food he or she used to like.
Be sure to give us any information we need to keep your child healthy. For example, let us know if your child has food allergies or a tendency to gag or choke. Please keep me informed of any changes.
Together, we can make mealtimes enjoyable and valuable learning experiences for your child.
The Importance of Hellos and Good-Byes
adapted from Creative Curriculum Additional Resources
Every day, you and your child say good-bye to one another in the morning and hello again in the afternoon. These hellos and good-byes are children’s first steps on a lifelong journey of learning how to separate from and reunite with important people in their lives. Learning to say hello and good-bye to people we love is a process, not something to be achieved in the first week or month or even year of child care. Indeed, after many years of experience, we adults sometimes find it difficult to separate and reunite.
We make time for hellos and good-byes each day because they will always be an important part of your child’s life. Being able to separate is necessary if children are going to develop as independent, competent people. Being able to reunite is necessary to building and maintaining caring, long-term relationships.
Here are some ways for us to work together:
Try to spend some time each morning and afternoon here with your child. Your presence will help make the transition between home and child care easier for your child.
Never leave without saying good-bye. It’s tempting to want to leave quietly if your child is busy and not noticing you. By saying good-bye, you strengthen your child’s trust in you. Your child can count on the fact you will not disappear without warning. When you are about to leave in the morning, I can help you and your child say good-bye.
Create good-bye rituals. This may be as simple as walking to the door with your child, giving your child a giant hug before you leave, or waving good-bye near the living room window. Having a ritual offers you both the comfort of knowing what to do.
Bring familiar items from home. I welcome family photos and other reminders of home that you want to share. Seeing these special objects will help your child feel connected to you throughout the day.
Make a special arrangement with your school-age child. Children often want to connect with their families when they arrive after school. If you want a phone call or an e-mail message, we can make an arrangement.
By working together, we can help your child feel comfortable, secure, and confident about being in family child care.
Why We Believe In Play!
Since going through the CDA program, I believe that children learn best through play. I believe this because it allows children to learn physical concepts associated with the five senses; touching, smelling, seeing, hearing and tasting. I’ve observed the children I care for in center develop social skills such as sharing, taking turns, negotiating, compromising and being leaders. With a lot of the activities they choose to play, they are able to use both fine and large muscles.
I use to believe that play was wasted time. Structured guidance and teaching is essential, however, I’ve learned since working with children, play is learning for them. It is actually time that children gain new knowledge from previous experiences. I believe deeply that all play is educational. Play is really the most important way that children learn about the world around them and provides the foundation for learning in their world.
My role as a Provider is to make sure that I have a positive attitude toward play, by encouraging it and providing a balance of indoor and outdoor play throughout the day. It is not to dominate or dictate the play, but to engage in play with them. I should always make sure to have enough toys, materials, and equipment in center. The choice of materials is important because it provides the motivation for children’s exploration and discovery. It is my responsibility to provide sufficient time for play (ie, blocks of time), help them have positive interactions with others, and provide feedback when they come to me with ideas. By observing children when they are using the materials in the center, it allows me to gather information about the child’s interests, abilities and strengths and opportunities for further learning and development that I can share with family. I continually encourage families to share their views about childbearing, guidance and self-regulation. My families are encouraged to become observers of their children as well. I believe that by building trusting relationships with children and family will allow for children to grow and develop within a happy healthy environment. My role also includes helping families identify resources in their homes, families, and community that will support the growth and development of their children.
Overall, I believe that my role with children and their families is to be able to provide them with a safe, healthy learning environment in order for promote the success of child and family. By always promoting a positive and productive relationship with families, will allow for children in my care to learn, grow, develop and take pride in their individuality. In doing this, it is my responsibility to continue to be an advocate for the needs of children and families, keep abreast of new laws and regulations that may affect child care, children and families and lastly continuing to gain knowledge about child development and early childhood best practices.
Tiny Tot's Day Through Pictures!
Tiny Tots' Park Field Trip!
