When choosing a childcare facility for their child, parents must consider not only the health and safety of their child (see our previous post), but also how he or she will be spending their days. Children need a variety of activities to engage their attention. Childcare programs should also provide a healthy balance between physical and mental activities to stimulate children’s growing bodies and minds.
Childcare facilities offer many advantages over typical home-based private day care providers. Some parents think home daycare settings are more home-like which, in many cases, can actually be a disadvantage. While there are some home daycare providers that offer well-planned, well-rounded programs that are similar to those offered by licensed childcare facilities; in many home daycare situations, providers try to divide their attention between child care and home chores, sometimes overusing television to keep children occupied.
In contrast, childcare facilities are typically run and staffed by early childhood education professionals. Age-appropriate activity schedules are planned to promote physical, cognitive and creative development. As children move into preschool programs at licensed childcare facilities, educational concepts are introduced to help prepare them for kindergarten. Quite a lot is expected of kindergarteners these days. When they arrive at kindergarten, children are now expected to recognize letters and letter sounds, recognize numbers and be able to count, recognize colors and shapes and have basic reading readiness skills. To achieve these goals, the curriculums at Horizon Education Centers are aligned with appropriate Ohio Department of Education approved standards.
Kindergarteners are also expected to have certain social skills and the ability to pay attention and follow directions. At quality childcare facilities like Horizon Education Centers, children learn and practice these important life skills every day. For more information about our childcare programs in Lorain and Cuyahoga Counties, visit our website.
