Not all day care environments are equal. There’s a huge difference between the philosophies and values espoused by the operators of each center. The ones that matter are the ones that make a difference in your child’s early educational grounding. They can either make day care fun, where the child is eager to go out and learn each day. Or the environment may be one that the child dreads or is fearful of. Child care in Gaithersburg MD is delivered under the strict standards of the Montgomery Child Care Association’s (MCCA). Kids attending the center look forward to meeting fellow-students and teachers every day.
Complimentary learning experiences
A good child care program doesn’t seek to replace the school day. Rather, its objectives are to complement the school day by offering kids a safe, fun and nurturing environment, where they can extend and expand on their school learning program. The better-operated centers offer kids a wide range of fun activities – both indoors as well as outdoors – that children may choose from. They include regulated time for play, healthy snacks and meals, and even time allotted for homework.
That’s the environment that day care centers in Gaithersburg MD offer its children. When children spend quality time in well-operated, professionally managed and rigorously regulated environments, they receive all the nurturing and encouragement for a better and brighter learning future. With fun-filled activities, arts and crafts, group projects and supervised play time to occupy their time, kids in these settings enhance and expand what they already learn during the school day.
But not all children readily adapt to their new child care environment – and that’s normal. However, there are steps that parents and guardians can take to help their kids deal with that early challenges and apprehensions they may have with day care. And, if handled right, children will soon overcome their fears and learn to look forward to being in their new-found learning environments.
Supporting your child
As your children adapt to child care in Gaithersburg MD, they’ll see, hear, and experience many things that they might not have while at home. New cultures. Different opinions. New playmates. Conflicting reactions from various people – school mates and teachers – about their behavior and actions. There will likely be days when your kid seems depressed, confused and dejected about going back to day care.
Should that happen with your child, here’s what experts advise:
- Resist the urge (and impulse!) to discipline the child and order/command them to go back to the center. Instead, talking with the child and exploring their perceptions around child care helps calm their emotional fears
- If you notice signs that your child is stressed about going back to school initially, it may help for a parent, guardian or a familiar face (family friend, aunt, grandparent) to accompany the child for the first few days. That may help calm their fears
If the child continues to show resistance to embracing their day care routine, reach out and speak with a teacher or administrator. Perhaps there are underlying causes – sometimes simple to fix – that may be causing the apprehension.
It’s the staff that make it happen
The staff in day care centers in Gaithersburg MD are highly energetic, passionate and caring about each child’s welfare. The curriculum is designed to ensure each child receives individual attention so their full potential is tapped. It is that approach to early childhood learning that makes these centers fun places for children to play, learn and spend quality time with teachers and students.
