If the thought of your child pointing out a person who is different than them is simply mortifying, you’re not alone. It’s common for kids to want to understand the newness of the world around them! However, there are great lessons in empathy that show up at these opportunities.

You might not fully be able to prevent your child from shouting about a woman using a wheelchair, but you will be able to teach tolerance with these tips from Growing Kids Learning Centers. Find out how to teach young kids about differences, and look into preschool and child care with our schools in South Bend (at Ireland Road, State Road 23, and North Bendix Drive), Chesterton, Goshen, Warsaw, Plymouth, Elkhart, Bristol, or Valparaiso today!

Give Examples

If you’re trying to avoid having your child call attention to someone who’s different from them, be proactive! Find books and movies that show great examples of representation. If the majority of your child’s exposure to fictional and nonfictional characters are very similar to them or your family, find more diverse examples.

There are some amazing, kid-friendly books that do the work of giving examples of differences for you. Purchase “It’s Okay to Be Different” by Todd Parr, “Elmer” by David McKee, “Princess Hair” by Sharee Miller, and “The Boy in the Dress” by David Walliams for your library collection.

Have Open Discussions

When you were growing up, you might have had moments where adults told you not to notice or think about other people’s differences. You might have even been told not to talk about them, or been scolded for your inquiries. At best, this breeds a lot of curiosity without direction; at worst, it creates feelings of shame.

No child should be ashamed for asking questions, especially when they have no context for what they’re asking about. Have conversations about appropriate times (and speaking volumes!) to ask questions, how other people might feel if they become the center of attention without their permission, and how you will always answer your child’s questions — it just might not be right when they want an answer.

Relate it Back to Them

The great thing about this lesson is that everyone is different! We all have our own unique tendencies, looks, and personalities. Even when your child might feel like someone else is different, the truth is that the stranger walking on the street will find them (your child) just as different!

It’s always important to focus on how we have things in common with one another, but it’s even more important to remember how our greatest commonality is that we are all different. And these differences can and should be celebrated.

Enroll in Preschool

From the books we read at Growing Kids Learning Centers to the peer-to-peer interactions we help supervise, facilitate, and use as teaching moments, your child will confidently learn how to embrace others’ differences — as well as their own. Social-emotional growth and empathy are two of the greatest and most important skills for a child to learn. Preschool is the perfect place to work on these skills, especially when you enroll with Growing Kids Learning Centers. Tour one of our schools today!

The post Teaching Kids About Differences appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

Special Breakfast

Cooking your child’s favorite breakfast can be a great way to start the day. If pancakes are a special treat, a large stack with butter and maple syrup can make the sleepiest kid perk up. If they love eggs and bacon, making a big breakfast that will keep them energized until lunch is a great idea. Start that special day off right with a special breakfast.

Picture

You will want to commemorate this day of school beginnings, and your child will love looking back over their “first day” photos. A photo makes the day seem more special, and is a great ritual to start for their school career.

Plan

For the first morning to go smoothly, you need to plan ahead. Making sure you have breakfast ideas ready, lunches made, and clothing, shoes, and backpacks laid out. This will make the morning time much easier, and eliminate stress and meltdowns right before school starts.

Sleep

Getting plenty of sleep will ensure that your little one has the energy to tackle a new environment. Starting  the week before the first day, make sure your child is going to bed at a reasonable time and waking up around the time that they will need to be getting up for preschool. Sleep is so important for your child’s growth, learning, and mood, and is essential for a great preschool experience.

Using these tips will make for an easier first day of preschool, and start your child’s educational career off right! If you are looking for a great preschool in South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen, or Chesterton, Growing Kids Learning Centers is here for you! We have the best programs to nurture your child and get them ready for elementary school!

The post Your Child’s First Day of Preschool appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

As a child continues to grow cognitively, creativity is immensely strong within children ages 3-6. This is a prime time to develop the structure for creative thoughts and thinking processes that can be utilized throughout their lives, both in and outside of school. Inspiring creative development can help with critical thinking, an essential and empowering skill for children to acquire. It also helps with problem solving, a stimulating and creative process that is crucial to early childhood development. Children are naturally curious, and Growing Kids likes to feed their creative side.

At Growing Kids, we teach our preschoolers and kindergartens the fundamentals of math, writing and reading to help provide a strong foundation for their future educational endeavors. We also work to stimulate all areas of development, which includes creative interactions. This is showcased in our “Main Street” center at the heart of all of our educational centers. The Main Street allows for children to engage with each other to create social relationships, as well as foster creative thoughts. This offers children the opportunity to play, pretend, create, socialize and problem-solve. This sticks to our core values of allowing students to learn on through hands-on experiences, something that the “Main Street” can provide for your child.
Growing Kids Learning Centers believes in inspiring creativity for preschoolers, and have modeled our programs to foster a creative atmosphere for our students. Contact us today to learn more!

The post Inspiring Creativity for Your Child appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

Where the Wild Things Are

This classic book is a great start to enhancing your child’s reading skills and love for literature. The story touches on creative thinking and learning to understand and accept people for their differences. This is not only great for reading skills, but also emotional development. Your kid will love the story you cherished as a child!

The Color of Us

The Color of Us is an important book to teach your child about accepting people for who they are, regardless of what they look like, and embracing who you are despite the color of your skin.. This is an introduction into an important life lesson that your child will continually reshape and utilize throughout their lives.

The Giving Tree

A classic you may recall reading as a child, The Giving Tree is a great introduction into philosophical interpretations of stories. The tree constantly gives as the boy asks for more, but the tree remains happy as giving provides the tree immense joy.

Books are the gateway to critical thought and strengthening reading skills. Though the books listed are simply just the beginning of potential stories to have your child read, introducing them to literature can enhance lessons learned in school and open up a channel for creativity. Growing Kids Learning Center serves as Northern Indiana’s child care experts, helping children build successful futures. Our dedication to your child’s education is a fundamental aspect of our programs.

Check out our programs today to learn more about us

The post Books for Your Preschooler appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

Social Skills

If you’re not sure what the big deal behind developing social skills is, it’s time to switch that mentality. Children spend the first couple of years of their life with immediate family and family friends, so it’s easy to get comfortable, but there are plenty of other social skills that children need to develop in order to live a comfortable life in society. For instance, feeling confident enough to comfortably talk to new people, learning to share, understanding a schedule or waiting your turn. There are a lot of social norms that are taught at this young of an age, and having them mastered before going into kindergarten is something that can make the following years much easier on you and your child as a student.

Topical Lessons

Children at this age aren’t expected to be incredibly developed, but starting to build the foundation of children this age is something that will prove to be helpful and beneficial as they move on into other grade levels. We will begin to start practicing how to hold a book and turn pages, learn colors and numbers, and start to work on the alphabet. These types of lessons will be reviewed once your child is in kindergarten, but starting to have a grasp on these topics can make all of the difference when it comes to how easily they retain the information and understand what they’re doing.

If you are still curious about what our preschool center will provide your child with, feel free to schedule a tour of our establishment. We would be more than happy to walk you through the area and give you a better idea of what children of this age group should be covering.

The post What Your Preschooler Should Be Learning appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

When it comes to preschool, most of us can hardly remember what age we were when we were going. If you’re looking for help from your parents, they’re probably saying that they never went and turned out alright. And while it’s not unheard of for someone to have never gone to preschool, the education system has changed and the rate at which children develop has too, which is exactly why the age range for when children start going to preschool has evolved.

Age Two

The average age of children that are going to preschool across the nation is two. That may seem extremely young, but when you think about it, this is about the age where children start going to daycare. Rather than simply leaving them in the hands of a babysitter, you could be leaving your child in the care of a professional where they can learn skills that help them develop as an individual. From learning to talk to tasks like potty training, daycare centers are able to provide the time and care that little ones need in this stage.

Age Three

This is the age where people really start to consider preschool as an option for their child. At this point they are a little older and more developed and are able to stand alone socially. For the most part, children are at the end stage of their potty training, have gained an understanding of colors, animals and numbers, and can begin to actually retain some of the information that they’ve learned. This is also the age where we see parents most comfortable to leave their child with someone else.

Age Four

In the past, age four was the age that was most commonly known for preschool enrollment. For the most part, there are children that are four in preschool, but at this point in time they’re also a little older than the average age of preschoolers. In some cases, four years olds are already enrolled in kindergarten, so we suggest enrolling in preschool prior to age four.

If you have questions as to whether or not your child is a viable candidate for preschool, don’t hesitate to call Growing Kids Learning Center, we’re more than happy to help!

The post What Age Do Kids Start Going To Preschool? appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

The Most Recommended Ways To Get Your Kiddo Excited About Preschool

1. Enroll your child in extracurricular activities. One way to get your kiddo excited is to enroll them in an after school program. We have programs at The Growing Kids Learning Center here in Goshen, but we also recommend signing your child up for a sport! Kids love playing soccer, T-ball or gymnastics. If they’re not into sports, you can look into science adventure clubs in our community. There are plenty of activities your kiddo would love to do. This way, they will look forward to their sports or club after the school day is over!
2. Show why preschool is relevant to them now. They may be a little young, but it’s never too soon to start prepping your kiddo for the “real world.” Encourage your child that they need to learn many different things that they’ll use when they’re grown-up!
3. Always compliment and encourage your child. Your child won’t be excited for preschool if you’re not excited for them. Make sure you’re encouraging them day in and day out about preschool and what they’ll learn that day!

The post Ways to Get Your Kiddo Excited About Preschool appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

The Most Recommended Ways To Get Your Kiddo Excited About Preschool

1. Create learning opportunities outside of school! Although school is a great source to learn, it’s important that your child is being challenged outside of the classroom as well. Go ahead and teach your child how to bake their favorite type of cookie. Doing so is the perfect chance to incorporate some easy math. Plus, it helps to increase your child’s chances of desiring to learn more in the future.
2. Set fun goals. Whether your kiddo doesn’t like to study their ABC’s, it’s important for them to learn that studying is important. So, you could set a goal of studying for 10 minutes a night until they have the alphabet completely memorized, or make it a little easier and teach your kiddo how to count to 20 and study that instead.

Learn more and contact us!

Regardless of your child’s age or what grade he or she is in, it’s important to get them excited about school, whether that’s preschool or 2nd grade. To learn more, stay tuned for our next blog and don’t forget to enroll your kiddo into our amazing program here in Elkhart!

The post Get Your Child Excited About School appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

1. Know the teaching staff.- There are so many schools that you could enroll your child into, but if the teaching staff is no good, you’re child won’t be successful.
2. The school’s director.- The staff is only as great as the school’s director. If the director isn’t very good, chances are the teachers won’t be either.
3. Communication skills.- Does the school you’re looking at have good system for communication? Keep in mind that the staff members at your child’s school should also be approachable. Not just for your benefit, but your child’s benefit as well.  
4. Does the school have a phase-in policy?- Separation guidelines are important. You need to know when or if you can come linger outside of a classroom to watch your child learn.
5. Ongoing development for your child.- Where do you see your child in 5 years? What do you want to have them accomplish. If you are looking for a school that keeps this into consideration, Growing Kids Learning Center is for you.

Go ahead and visit us online today and schedule a time to meet with us here in South Bend! We would love to show you around and tell you what we’re all about!

The post Get Your Child Excited About Preschool! appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

Communicate with your kiddo.

Talking to your child is essential. If you’re not communicated much to your child, they’ll be lost on their first day of preschool. Prepare your child by telling him or her what to expect. It’s also a great way of making sure ask him or her how his or her first day of preschool was, what they thought and so on. It’s important to tell your child that you wish that you could be there with him or her while he or she experiences all these new things in life. So, instead of being there, ask him or her for a report on what his or her favorite part of their day was, what made him or her laugh and what surprised him or her. It’s okay to be silly with your kiddo! Make him or her feel better if he or she is anxious.

Don’t go anywhere just yet! Stay tuned for ways that you, as a parent, can get involved with our preschool, Growing Kids Learning Center. If you have any questions or concerns about the first day of preschool, please don’t hesitate to give us a call! We’re happy to address any concerns you may have.

The post Make Preschool Memorable appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.