A Day in the Life of a Child at Kiddywinkles Daycare in Westgate

We know that dropping your child off at daycare can be a stressful time, and not just for the child! If you would like to learn more about what your child does each day at Kiddywinkles, read on!

Activities

After dropping your child off at daycare, you probably watch them run off to explore, play, and be with their friends. Much of their day is made up with engaging activities that are designed to stimulate their brains and increase development.

Through these activities they learn important skills, such as problem solving, communication and conflict resolution with peers, and emotional processing skills. They also learn to tap into their creative minds, and are often found working on all manner of wonderful new creations.

Some of the activities available at our Westgate location include:

• Literature - Reading books, telling each other stories, acting out word games, or dancing to words are all available activities to engage in literacy.

• Drama - Dress-up, acting out skits, and using props are a core part of your child’s day, particularly if they tend to be dramatic!

• Creative or Manipulative - Using tools, shaping clay, balancing blocks, painting or general art skills can help to create hand-eye coordination and are essential skills to practise. There are lots of different ways to engage in these activities at Westgate.

• Physical - Your little bundles of energy can run, play ball, balance, or climb on a variety of safe equipment to let off some steam.

• Exploratory or Constructive play - Using the natural world to create toys, learning about how things fit together, and playing with found materials are all great ways to engage your child in science and nature, while also having a great time!

• Cognitive - Playing brain games can be a great way to get some hard skills like maths early, helping them to develop methods of thinking that will be very useful later on in life.

Learning Opportunities

Our range of activities are all designed to help your child to create good learning patterns and experience learning opportunities in a range of new ways. Having a well-rounded learning experience helps them to develop their brains fully, while also ensuring they are having a boatload of fun!

All of our play activities have been designed with development in mind, and we also keep track of developmental milestones so we know where they are on track, and where they may be ahead of or behind their peers. This helps us to keep them on the developmental track developed by the Ministry of Education.

Each of the activities in our facility are designed to feed into and create a curriculum of learning, which your child experiences every day! Our curriculum is based around the five strands of learning and development for children under five years of age.

At these young ages, your child’s brain is undergoing massive amounts of growth and change, but these five strands have been shown to help create foundations for life-long learning. These include:

Wellbeing

Supporting your child’s health and wellbeing by being supportive, friendly, and nurturing.

Belonging

Creating a sense of belonging through play, or through activities like growing a seedling in the garden, and then eating it when it is ready.

Contribution

Creating an equitable learning environment, where each child feels appreciated, valued, and like their contributions have been noticed and appreciated.

Communication

Learning and appreciating customs and languages from our own country, as well as from other cultures around the world to help create an inclusive environment.

Exploration

Active exploration of the environment helps to create a love of learning, and a curious nature.

Meals

Meal times are available for any child who stays for longer than four hours, and our meals are prepared by an onsite cook. We use homegrown vegetables from our garden where possible, which are cultivated and harvested by the children, along with a range of other nourishing, healthy ingredients.

We even have a speciality kitchen for our under two year olds. This helps to prevent cross contamination from other food in the kitchen, and prevents any potential for allergic reactions.

Rest Time

After an exciting day exploring and having fun with activities, you’d probably be pretty tired! For any little ones who get tuckered out, we have lots of places to sit, chill-out, or take a little nap if they need to.

If you’d like to come in to talk about how your child is doing at daycare, or what they are up to each day, feel free to come in to chat, or get in touch with us today!