When you leave your child at day-care for the first time, it’s natural for there to be a little anxiety – and we are talking about parents here!

All the small anxieties are normal, and every parent goes through the same thing. Am I doing the right thing leaving my baby in the care of strangers? Is he too young to be away from me? Have I chosen the right centre for my child?

The last point is the most important, and once you have chosen the right centre with caring and supportive staff, you can feel reassured that you have done the right thing by your child.

In fact, children who are in regular day-care are actually better adjusted, smarter and more confident than those who aren’t.

Studies have shown that children thrive from regular scheduling and activities that day-care centres offer. They may be more advanced academically than other children from being in a structured early education environment from a younger age. They benefit from regular time with peers and they learn social skills in a nurturing environment. They also benefit from regular interaction from other adults, meaning when the time comes for them to go to school, they won’t be scared of their teacher as they have already developed these communication skills.

But the most important part of their day-care experience is that the children are all having FUN!

There’s nothing better than picking up your child at the end of the day and seeing the artwork they have created, or hearing the stories of what they have been up to, or seeing photos of how they have spent their day. They are learning through play and enjoying every moment of their day – which is exactly what all parents want for their children, no matter what age they are!

The team at Kids On Beaufort will always go out of their way to make sure children at our centre are having fun. If they are not, we will change things up. If they enjoy certain activities and are learning and growing through participation, we will keep doing those activities. And we love to get feedback from parents too on what their child enjoys doing!

Pop in and see us to find out more about our centre and all we have to offer for your child!

Books are a form of At Kids on Beaufort, we love books! We have shelves full of them, all filled with bright colours, exciting characters, fun stories, lyrical rhymes and an imaginary wonderland that all children enjoy. We not only encourage children to read or look at books, or enjoy a story being read to them; we insist on it! 

It’s no secret that to exposing children to books is important for their development, and they’re never too young to start! Here’s a few big reasons why young children benefit from being read to.

Language development

Children learn so much from listening. They will pick up new words and new sounds, and they will link these words visually to the pictures they are seeing on the page. It all helps them to make sense of words and language, and in turn helps them speak and communicate.

Get them ready for school

While we love seeing kids being kids running around making noise and having fun; they need to learn to concentrate too. Focusing on a book and listening to a story means they learn to sit still for longer periods of time, which can help later on when they go to school.

Reading to young children also sets them up to succeed because the more they are read to, the more knowledge they absorb. This knowledge gives them a head start and helps to prepare them for school later down the line. And of course reading with your children gives them the skills needed for when they start to read themselves.

Encourage creativity

The innocence of a child’s imagination is something that should always be celebrated, and books help to encourage this!

Reading develops a child’s imagination and creativity as they engage in the stories. They enjoy the characters and can see their lives and what they are doing; and sometimes take a guess at what’s going to happen next. It’s so exciting to hear a young child re-telling a story they’ve had read to them, especially when they use their own creativity to enhance the story!

Books are better than screens

Books are a form of entertainment – and is a much better option than a screen! It’s no secret that screen time is an issue in many children’s (and parents’) lives and we constantly question how much screen time is too much. With books it’s different – your child is being entertained by the story, they are learning and developing their minds, and you know you’re doing the right thing.

You can never overdose on books so get reading!

Happy Book Week to all our families!

It takes a village to raise a child; and when your child is at Kids on Beaufort, we like to think of ourselves as an important part of your village.

And what makes the village work? Communication!

We love talking to our parents, we encourage it and we invite all our mums and dads to be part of the daycare experience for their child. And while we all admit we love just having a chat and talking about your wonderful children; communication is actually vital in the running of our Centre.

We want to make sure your child stays happy and confident during their time here, so here’s why we want to keep good communication with you!

If you’re happy – we’re happy!

You are trusting us with your precious children every day and we are so grateful for this! But we want you to be happy to leave your child with us. So talk to us. Tell us about their bad dreams or restless nights, sniffles or coughs, important events in their lives, their latest likes and dislikes…it all helps us get to you know your child, so that we can make their experience even better.

And while nobody likes criticism – tell us if they have had a bad day with us (not that they ever will!). We want to know how they feel about their time at Kids on Beaufort, so keep communicating with us on your child’s needs.

If you’re happy – they’re happy!

Your child spends up to 10 hours a day with us, so they will think of us as an extension of their family. Which is only positive if they see us all getting along! If your child sees you enjoying a conversation with their carer, they will feel more comfortable and at ease with us.

If we’re happy – everyone wins!

There’s always going to be times when we need to discuss things with you regarding your child. We appreciate that parents are busy and pick-up and drop-off times can be hectic. But if we indicate that we need to talk to you, please give us a few minutes so that we can work out any problems that might be arising with your child.

Keep up to date with Storypark

At Kids on Beaufort, we have an up-to-date online portal called Storypark that parents can log into. Storypark enables secure regular communication between the educators and families, engaging families in the child’s development while in child care. Through photos, video, audio and text, families receive instant feedback on their child’s development and learning journey. 

Want to know more? Get in touch with us today!

Today we’d like to talk about expressing yourself…and in particular, giving children the freedom to do just that.

As parents and caregivers, we see children being boxed in, being told to “stay within the lines” and stick with the structured program; which leads to them not having a chance to fully develop their personalities. 

At Kids on Beaufort, we have adopted proven theories of early childhood development that suggest children who are given freedom in learning, will become their own teachers. So in order to educate and grow the minds of children at Kids on Beaufort, basically – we are going to let them go WILD!

Okay, maybe not completely wild, we all have to have some boundaries!

But in seriousness, we encourage the children at Kids on Beaufort to lose the seriousness and enjoy the FUN of learning! They want glue sand and leaves onto paper to make artwork? Great! They want to play chef and help chop the vegetables for lunch? Awesome!!

Experiential learning has been proven successful in early childhood development, particularly when the child is given a certain amount of freedom in choosing his or her own pathways to learning.

Which is why at Kids on Beaufort, we are all about CREATIVITY and EXPRESSION in learning.

Because all children are different, unique and special; and they all learn in their own way. So why not let them!

Never does a day go by without us making something – so be prepared for a lot of colourful, glitter-covered, sticky, misshapen, AMAZING and awesome artwork to come home at the end of the day! Trust us, you’ll love them all!

We look forward to sharing the learning journey with your child. If you have any questions about our programs, our centre, our staff or the FUN we have to offer your child, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today!