WHAT WE DO
At Betty's Daycare...
Teach
Our staff at Betty's feel strongly about looking after the environment and keeping all animals safe. Environmental education based on life experiences should begin during the very earliest years of life. Such experiences play a critical role in shaping lifelong attitudes, values, and patterns of behaviour towards natural environments. We believe that children feel secure when they are able to make sense of their surroundings, therefore our indoor and outdoor areas have been specially designed to provide the best environment in which children can develop and thrive.
Explore
Our outdoor area has been re-designed to encourage children's social, emotional and physical development by helping them understand nature, distinct areas for roleplay, problem solving, sensory discovery and real life creativity. Our indoor setting is carefully planned to allow children to feel relaxed in a comfortable setting with rugs and cushions for story time and a space to teach numbers, colours, learning phonics and languages.
Discover
Bilingual children (whose second language is English) will be encouraged to enhance their language skills. Betty's Daycare has a strong belief that independence and creativity are key to happy children. A few of our activities include dance, movement, yoga, cookery, art, science experiments and additionally we plan individual parties for special occasions throughout the year (including birthdays). Within these areas, children are able to embark upon self discovery, participate in planned activities around the EYFS curriculum and create their own pursuits, all of which fits into the six areas of learning and development set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.
This warm and special group begins with creative playtime where children can enjoy natural, simple play materials. The rhythm, repetition and relevance of every week carries with its own discipline as it is important for children to adopt a routine from a young age.
In line with the EYFS, some of the activities we carry out daily include making crafts, songs, fairy tales, dancing, baking, yoga, exploring nature on walks to the woods, learning about our environments, phonics, numbers and colours, climbing and building forts, science lessons and many more.
We create an environment which is warm, loving and comfortable that forms a bridge between home and Betty's Daycare. Young children learn through imitation, therefore we allow all of our children of all ages to mix as we believe it is important for the younger children to play and learn through the older children. This also allows the older children to prove they are good role models. The celebration of festivals and holidays throughout the year guides the child from one season to another, whilst allowing the child to wonder and have gratitude for the earth, others and themselves.
The rationale for environmental education during the early childhood years is based on two major premises. Firstly, children must develop a sense of respect and caring for the environment during the first few years of childhood. Secondly, positive interactions with the environment are an important part of a child's development. Children who are close to nature relate to it as a source of wonder, joy and awe. We think its crucial to teach children how to recycle, and which items go into which bin and teach them how littering can affect the world we live in.
In your child's early years, we focus on social-emotional learning in order to help them adopt a conscience mindset. In the words of childcare experts "The vast majority of brain development happens between the ages of zero to three." This is the perfect time to teach them these social-emotional skills they will need. Later in life, these skills will enable them to analyse environmental issues, communicate those ideas and ultimately find solutions.
We believe children are the future. Therefore, we try to teach the children how to protect the environment in a fun way. We teach children to be kind to every living thing and make decisions that benefit the world as whole.
Eating a variety of foods keeps our meals interesting and flavourful while keeping healthy. We always offer a large variety of vegetables. Vegetables give your child energy, vitamins, anti-oxidants, fibre and water. They help protect your children and keep them healthy.
We like to offer fresh fruits of all colours. Fruits are essential vitamins and minerals that are vital for your child's development and healthy growth. They help your child get an adequate amount of potassium, aiding in keeping their blood pressure normal. Fruits are also an excellent source for vitamin C, which helps boost your child's immune system and fight infections.
We like to incorporate protein rich ingredients such as beans, peas, nuts, seeds, lentils, tofu, chickpeas and quinoa into our meals. Protein plays an essential role in many bodily functions, including recovery and recovery and repair of tissues in the muscles, skin, organs, blood, hair and nails. We also use ingredients such as whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa and foods made from such. These ingredients are important as they have a gentler effect on blood sugar compared to white rice and bread. Whole grains are full of fibre, iron, nutrients, minerals and antioxidants. They aid digestion and metabolism, and the nutrients in these foods keep our heart healthy. For all these reasons whole grains are great for kids!