Essentials For Development
Health Guidelines is an extension of the Health & Safety pillar of our Life Essentials philosophy.

Focus: Reading and writing skills begin to blossom for 5-year-olds. Our curriculum immerses your child in rich, high-quality printed content, introducing them to age-appropriate fiction and non-fiction. At age 5, children are starting to recognize common sight words, identify upper and lowercase letters and connect sounds to specific letters. Their vocabulary is rapidly expanding and writing moves from combining letters to making words to combining words to create simple sentences. Kindergarten Activities * Practicing writing acrostic poems after reading * Using our Literacy Essentials program to identify the 37 sounds of the English language. * Learning the concepts of print by composing class stories on chart paper. Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home. * Read “Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic” then practice writing acrostic poems. * Help your child create simple stories with a beginning, middle and end.

Focus: Using a variety of resources and approaches to enhance mathematical thinking. Our teachers use innovative methods integrated throughout the day to engage your 5-year-old in math. It might entail using manipulatives to solve problems in a small- or large-group activity, or introducing a math lesson to a playful learning session. Our teachers are always looking for fun ways to turn everyday tasks into an effective opportunity to strengthen math skills. Kindergarten Activities * Exploring calculators to identify what happens when they press certain buttons. * Pretending that the Dramatic Play learning center is a restaurant, where they practice adding and subtracting by paying their bill and giving change. * Figuring out how many more blocks are needed to complete a structure in the Blocks and Transportation center. Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home. * Give your child a calculator to play with so they can see what happens when they press the various buttons. Pretend to be at a restaurant with your child so they can practice adding and subtracting by paying their bill and giving change. Use blocks to build a structure, then count how many blocks were used.

Focus: Acting on your 5-year-old’s natural curiosity to explore, observe and question. We use hands-on activities to foster an appreciation of nature and science, teaching your child about plants, animals and the Earth. Kindergarten Activities * Going on an autumn leaf hunt, discussing the differences in leaves (shape, sizes, colors) and talking about why they change colors. * Collecting rocks during a nature walk and then sorting and identifying them when back at the Academy. * Working in pairs to look at X-rays on the light table. * Using magnifying glasses and microscopes to examine salt crystals. Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home. * Go on an autumn leaf hunt and discuss the differences in leaves (shape, sizes, colors) and talk about why they change colors. * Collect rocks during a walk and then sort and identify them when you get home. * Use a magnifying glass to examine salt crystals.

Focus: Exploring your child’s role as an individual in the classroom, the community and the world. Your child will learn about citizenship, rules, working together and government. We provide opportunities to explore the local community, geography, American history and different cultures. Kindergarten Activities * Learning about elections and how voting works, then having the class vote on a favorite color. * Working together to put facts on the class map, like where our families originated or where certain languages are spoken. Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home. * Talk about elections and discuss how voting works. Examine a map or globe and talk about where different famous people come from and what languages are spoken in different countries.

Focus: Providing appropriate materials and ample opportunities to develop strength and coordination. Our learning centers have an assortment of materials and tools to help your 5-year-old continue to develop their fine motor skills. Our playgrounds and fitness activities allow your child to move around and play, strengthening large muscles and building coordination and dexterity. Kindergarten Activities * Using clay to make a rock, and pressing different shapes into it to make fossils. *Using various props, like scarves, ribbons and hula hoops, to move to a changing music tempo, then noting how movements change by tempo. *Brainstorming different exercises they could do with their families and practicing the movements involved. *Using rubber bands on geoboards to make shapes. Learning continues beyond the classroom. Here are some easy projects you can do to extend learning into your home. * Have your child use clay to make a rock, then press different shapes into it to make a fossil. *Use various props, like scarves, ribbons and hula hoops, to move to a changing music tempo, then not how movements change by tempo. *Come up with a list of exercises your family can do together. *Use rubber bands on geoboards to make different shapes.

Focus: Introducing your child to a variety of positive character traits by finding teachable everyday moments. There are numerous opportunities to learn from real-world examples of honesty, generosity and patience. Our teachers guide your child in identifying those moments to help them transform into caring and responsible citizens. Kindergarten Activities * Learning about generosity by participating in an event like a food drive and talking about why it’s important and how it makes them feel. * Exploring humor by reading newspaper comics strips and asking your child what made them laugh and why.

Focus: Keeping your preschooler healthy and safe. Health Essentials is a set of CDC-based standard operating procedures that can help mitigate the spread of potential infection throughout our Academy. Health Essentials is a key part of our overall COVID-19 response, expanding upon existing disinfection and health protocols that offer parents and staff peace of mind and demonstrates our commitment to creating a healthy and safe environment for learning and working. Health guidelines are focused on four principles designed to cover various preventative, protective and corrective measures that address COVID-19: 1. Wellness Education The solution starts with an understanding. * Children learn how following proper hygienic practices can keep them healthy * Academy staff receives training and must abide by enhanced health and safety practices outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2. Enhanced Hygiene Soap and water is the best solution. * Soap and water offer the simplest solution to combat infection * Staff increase handwashing frequency * All children must wash their hands upon entering their room at the start of each day and all recommended times thereafter in addition to following standard Academy handwashing procedures 3. Healthy Environment A clean facility keeps families safe. Academies adhere to advanced cleaning procedures: * Nightly cleaning * Daily laundering of soft items and bedding * Limiting items brought into the Academy 4. Symptom Monitoring Keeping a watchful eye * Temperature monitoring at the Academy entrance. * Track symptoms * Isolate symptomatic children from others immediately upon observation * Contact parents for pickup from the Academy * Daily health check is completed upon arrival