While we know that parents aren’t always looking for ways to teach their children, we believe that every moment can be a learning opportunity and that fun activities can be educational too! If you are trying to plan different things to do with your child throughout the summer, we can help.

At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we love combining fun and education to help our students learn. We wanted to give you some ideas to help you plan both fun and educational activities for your kiddos this summer. Read on to learn more and start planning all the summer fun!

Start a Garden

While this activity takes some dedication, it is fun to do with your children and can teach them a variety of different lessons. Whether you decide to plant flowers, vegetables, or any other type of plant, a garden can teach your children a lot about nature, process, and how things grow. They can watch as their seeds turn into seedlings, they can see the process of a strawberry growing. You can learn some more about plants and nature and help your child understand how it all works.

If you want to make this activity more focused on numbers and letters, you can have your child count how many plants there are, how many leaves or vegetables are growing, and help them make labels for all of their plants, allowing them to use numbers and letters for their garden.

Make Ice Cream

What’s better in summer than some tasty ice cream on a hot day? While eating ice cream is not extremely educational, making it can be! Making ice cream with your kiddos can be a fun science experiment that gives you a tasty reward at the end. This recipe from delish teaches you how to make ice cream in a bag, making it fun, easy, and educational for your kiddo to enjoy a treat. This activity can teach them how different ingredients can be used to create something tasty!

Bake Something

Baking is another great way to help your children learn in a fun way. Baking cookies, brownies, or bread may not seem like an activity that can help your kiddos learn something, but it can actually teach them a lot! When you bake with your kids, you can help them learn to follow directions, teach them how to measure, and help them understand how different ingredients work together to create a tasty treat. Baking is a great activity to do with your kiddos that is fun and educational!

Explore Historical Sites

Every town and city has some history and you can take your children on an adventure to learn about that history! Take some time to explore your town and walk around historical sites, or take a tour if possible. This can be a fun way to learn more about your home and get a cool history lesson as well!

We have locations throughout Indiana, so we figured we would give you a list of resources based on where we are located to help you find historical sites.

• South Bend: South Bend offers a ton of beautiful and unique historical sites, including mansions, museums, and more! Here is a list of some historical places and other places to visit in South Bend!
• Elkhart: Elkhart is another town rich with history and a ton of great places to explore. You can find a list of some of the best ones here!
• Valparaiso: Downtown Valparaiso contains buildings that have been standing for over a century. Take a stroll downtown and be sure to learn the history of some of these beautiful buildings.
• Goshen: There are many different historical sites in Goshen that could be fun to visit with your kiddos. You can find a list here!
• Charleston: Another city full of historical sites and places to explore, Charleston can be a great place to explore with your kiddos.
• Plymouth: Plymouth has a number of notable buildings lining the street that has historical significance. You can find a full list of those buildings here!
• Warsaw: Warsaw has some beautiful and historical places that your kids will love to see. You can find a list here!

While your child may not be as into the actual history of some of the places around your city, it can help open their eyes to the fact that these places have been around for many years and help them begin to understand history. Plus, it is fun to look at some old architecture and explore the place you live.

These are only a few of the many fun and educational summer activities that you can enjoy with your children. Start planning the summer fun and be sure to contact Growing Kids Learning Centers to learn more about our schools and enroll your child today!

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It can help get kids ready for school.

Daycare is the perfect place to spark a love of learning. With plenty of activities and learning opportunities, even our youngest daycare attendees have a chance to start exploring the world around them and seeking out opportunities where learning is fun.

There are more socialization opportunities.

Kids who attend daycare have a chance to socialize with children both older and younger than them. This can help them learn more about sharing, working with others, and how to make friends. Those are skills they’ll use their whole lives!

It can be good for a child’s mental health.

Some studies suggest that attending daycare can be good for a child’s mental health. That’s because a daycare provides a stable, safe environment with routine and structure. That can help kids who might not find that environment at home develop much-needed stability for later in life.

They have fewer colds later in life.

Being exposed to germs can be a good thing! It helps your child build up immunity to illnesses later on. Children who attend daycare and pass around those germs at a young age are less likely to battle them later on.

Kids learn structure and routine.

Daycare can be a place where kids learn about routine and structure to their daily lives, something that will be important both in their school lives and their career later on.

Want your child to experience the benefits of daycare for themselves? Sign up with Growing Kids today!

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A topic that seems to remain in the air, more often than not, is what the ideal age for a child to be enrolled in daycare is. While age does play a part in eligibility, most of the time it comes down to whether or not the parents are working and what methods of care and assistance are available. While this is the primary reason that we see children being dropped off at daycare, it isn’t the only reason that parents believe their child should be there; social experience and advancements in learning are also a part of the reason that parents believe in enrolling their children at daycares like Growing Kids Learning Center.

What is the average age?

On average, children are enrolled in daycare around age two. This age is when children begin to pick up and retain social interactions and reactions. These types of skills are practiced when children are enrolled in learning centers through play groups and small lessons. These types of setups allow for us to help you child develop in these areas.

What types of areas do daycare’s focus on?

For the most part, your child is going to be working on emotional and social development, but we do also do our best to start teaching basics to help transition into preschool later on. If your child has a difficult time with social and emotional development as is, it may be best to hold off on enrolling your child until they have a better understanding.

If you feel that your child is too young for a learning center, they may be a better fit for our infant care program. This program is great for children between the ages of 6 months and 2. We can work with you for special cases with children that may be in the transition from this infant care to the standard daycare program. Whether it require a few weeks in infant care before the move, or a few months, we will work with you to create a strategy solely for your child. Call our office today to learn more about the Growing Kids Learning Center or to get a quick quote on our services.

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Activities including art fairs, picnics, drama, team games, kite flying, messy art days, swimming, field trips, bowling, soccer, “Main Street” play, exercise, ooey-gooey day, pizza making, reading, puzzles, baking cookies and hiking are many (but not all) of the activities that your child will get to experience when you enroll them in Growing Kids Spring Camp in South Bend. We will also provide your kiddo with a healthy and filling breakfast and lunch with snacks in between meals.

These activities are great for kids to make new friends and bond with friends they already have. They will be able to discover new things everyday and get out of their shell in a comforting and safe environment. No matter if this is your child’s first, second or third time registering, we highly recommend that you do so sooner than later.

We welcome any school-aged children both currently enrolled in our Growing Kids school program and new-comers. Children who are not enrolled in classes may sign-up for Growing Kids Spring Camp in South Bend starting February 8, 2016. Note: all after school students are required to sign up. To register your kid(s), please call 574-220-6400.

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We are excited to share useful ways of learning and tools to give your child the ability to grow to their fullest potential while at Growing Kids Learning Centers. With that in mind, know that we make it a priority to provide a clean and safe environment that is always open to parents’ suggestions. Our focus of keeping your child on track when starting daycare or preschool is our number one priority.

Do you want to learn more about us here at Growing Kids Learning Center? We invite you to visit us online today and even check out some of the Growing Kids Advantages, Programs, and learn where our other locations are in the South Bend area. Have questions? Feel free to contact us online now!

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For younger children, this game is fun, entertaining and is a very easy concept to learn. It doesn’t take much prep work, all you need is a ball! This game can be played with a pair of children or a child and an adult.

• Have your child sit across from you on the ground with their legs apart.

• Roll the ball between the legs back and forth to each other.

• Let your child known that the purpose of the game is to stop the ball before it hits their tummy.

Doing this activity can promote a learning opportunity for your child, and it will only help them grow their hand eye coordination early on. This can help them in the future when it comes time for sports, writing, reading and many other daily life skills.

If you are still looking for a daycare or preschool for your growing child, visit one of our locations in Elkhart, Goshen or South Bend! Contact us online now to learn more ways we will help grow your child’s hand eye coordination.

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When it comes to finding the perfect dacare for your child, there are a lot of things to consider. You need to consider how far away the daycare center is, how much it will cost you, what your child will learn during their hours here and what different programs we offer. Luckily for you, we have a surplus of information that can answer all of these questions, including that there is a location near you in either South Bend, Elkhart or Goshen.

Are you ready to let your children play, grow and learn while you’re off at work during the week? If so, go ahead and learn all about our programs here at Growing Kids Learning Center. Contact us online with any questions about enrollment and take a peek at the 10 Factors To Consider When Choosing A Childcare Center for your child. Feel free to check out the parent resources that can keep both you and your child one step ahead of the game.

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1. If your child is old enough, make sure you get them a flu vaccine. Even though the flu season may be over, it’s always good to get them the flu vaccine when the time rolls around again. It can help about 62% of the population from suffering through the flu.

2. Make sure you teach your children appropriate cough etiquette and social distance, especially when they’re sick. Make sure they cover their mouth when they sneeze and cough, and to wash their hands afterwards.

3. Children will always share their toys, but try and keep their toys clean! Viruses can live on surfaces for up to 8 hours, so if you do what you can to remove these viruses from their toys, the less likelihood they’ll get sick.

4. Keep your child healthy by practicing a healthy lifestyle at home! Show your child that exercise is fun and that eating great food can taste great!

We hope that the above tips can help you to keep your child healthier when they start daycare at Growing Kids Learning Center in Elkhart. Learn more when you visit us online today!

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1. Power Struggles- It is normal for your child to act out in order to feel like they need to get their way. It could be because your child feels as though they have a lack of power compared to you. It could be that the daycare or caregiver that takes care of your child throughout the week will give your child more power than you do, making it difficult to get things to go your way when you are home with your child.

2. Predictability Problems- It is very important for your child to be consistent in their predictability. This includes their daily routines and daily chores that they do. It not only makes them feel safe and secure but it can also make them become more well-behaved for their teachers at school, daycare leaders and even caregivers. These important people in their life usually always have a schedule that they follow, which children love to take part in.

Here at Growing Kids Learning Centers, we want to make your life easier! We hope that the above list can help you connect on a deeper level with your child if you’re having troubles with them after you leave daycare!

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Growing Kids Learning Center is the go-to preschool and daycare center for children of all ages in and around the South Bend area. When you take it upon yourself to give your child learning opportunities like what we have to offer here, not only will you be impressed, but your child will be happier than ever before! In our opinion, daycare and preschool is a must for every child. Being around other children will not only teach your child to play with other children and become social, but they will also learn how to share and learn manners in the process.

Does daycare or our preschool program in South Bend sound like an opportunity that you don’t want to pass up? We invite you to visit us online today to learn more in-depth information about our website and what we have to offer your children. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns that you may have! We have more than one location available. Along with South Bend, we have daycare and preschool centers in Elkhart and Goshen. Enroll your child today, and go back to work like you have always wanted to do.

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