ABOUT US
What We Do
Here at Busy Bee's Daycare we believe in developing personal excellence and, as such, recognize that each child is an individual with unique likes, dislikes, talents, abilities, and concerns. Children with exceptional needs and vulnerable families need not only to be included and supported, but feel included and supported. Being accepted as an individual means that activities are planned which meet the developmental needs and interests of a variety of children.
As individuals, children should feel supported in developing personal abilities, skills and talents. These skills and talents should be actively encouraged by the care-givers on a daily basis. These personal abilities should also be celebrated by the group. This is done through involving children in the planning of activities and encouraging individual children to act as leaders for planned activities. Activities will be adapted to include students with exceptional needs.
In supporting individual children, activities must be flexible to meet the needs of children who require additional support. Care-givers are expected to be alert and attentive to children and the potential need for assistance. Children of all abilities should be able to participate in all activities, even if that means some accommodations must be made.
OUR SERVICES
Intellectual Development
Resources and materials must be age and developmentally appropriate for the children in the program. To accommodate varying abilities and skill levels, a variety of materials must be available. Staff will ensure that programming addresses the individual and unique needs of each child in such a way that every child will be able to take part.
The program works in a partnership with the school to share child and family information as a way to best understand child needs. To assist in recognizing appropriate materials and developmental milestones, staff will have access to programming resources. Staff may add relevant resources to the programming reference binder as these become available or come to their attention. The program administrator will also serve as a resource for making suitable program accommodations for children.
Support for vulnerable families will be coordinated with the daycare so that families may be connected with wrap-around services. The program will support families by connecting them with community resources for food acquisition, housing, family safety and parent education. We provide information to parents from local resources such as FCSS which provides access to speech therapy, occupational therapy, connections to the local food bank and information for contact in regards to any type of abuse help that is needed. We have a list of all our local centers that can help and their phone number on visible display for every one to see.
Busy Bee's Daycare supports the emotional needs of children in our program by providing a safe environment where children are encouraged to express themselves freely without judgment. Our responsive environment provides a familiar routine for children which is especially important for children with diverse needs. Each child will have the opportunity to participate in self-directed activities that develop independence and initiative as well as foster the ability to make decisions and problem solve. Challenges are created for children in our daily practice so they can master skills. Educators will role model healthy relationships by being respectful and responsive to children and their families. Children will learn to accept and express their feelings with the help of educators. They will develop an awareness and respect for the feelings of others and will have opportunities to give and receive affection. They will also learn to express anger appropriately and cope with frustration or disappointment. Supporting and encouraging knowledge about emotional intelligence is an important part of our program and develops a solid foundation for later learning. Building relationships, confidence, and acceptance, developing empathy and compassion, fostering diversity and inclusivity, understanding adversity, and sharing/turn taking are all important components of the emotional development. Lesson plans, dramatic play, activities that require taking turns, culturally diverse materials, books about diverse families and many other group and individual activities. Children are supported in their quest to be might learners and educators encourage learning social-emotional skills through play.