Child Care Principles
Philosophy
The philosophy of the Lunenburg County YMCA Child Care Centre is to provide support to parents and to promote the development of the whole child by providing a carefully planned, age appropriate, stimulating and child-centred play environment.
A variety of opportunities will be provided to ensure effective communication between parents and our teachers:
- Daily communication and feedback
- Daily journals
- Monthly newsletters
- Written reports
Objectives
- Social acceptance by developing an understanding of each other’s needs and feelings.
- Emotional health by developing a positive self-image and respect for individual differences.
- Intellectual ability by developing each person’s enthusiasm for testing his or her own abilities.
- Physical health by developing a positive attitude toward physical activity and hygiene.
We build strong kids, strong families and strong communities through programs that teach the values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. We believe that children are never too young to learn that character counts!
Curriculum
The Lunenburg County YMCA Child Care Centre implements a play-based curriculum. YMCA Playing to Learn is a guide to the quality care of young children.
YMCA Educators will:
- Support you in your role as parents
- Provide a safe environment for your child
- Prepare spaces that are more conducive to learning
- Carefully watch to determine what your child (at a particular moment in time) is capable of learning
- Actively participate in your child’s play experience
- Observe and document the milestones in your child’s life to ensure age appropriate development.
Standards
The YMCA provides quality childcare by employing qualified educators who fulfill our high expectations for program delivery. All YMCA Preschool and School Age programs are licensed by the province and adhere to, or exceed in many cases, requirements.
Our centre is fully licensed for 30 children (aged 18 months to 5 years) and 53 children in our After School Programs. We also have NS Government BAPS program at West Northfield Elementary and Petite Elementary schools for children who attend those schools.
Our dedicated staff have personal qualities of friendliness, warmth, and the ability to relate openly to children. The staff are certified by an Early Childhood Education training facility and have appropriate First Aid training. We also strive to have our substitute teachers and program volunteers appropriately trained.
All staff, substitutes and volunteers are screened through the Child Abuse registry and police checks.