WHAT WE DO

DISCIPLINE

We use the “distraction” method to encourage positive behaviour

What is distraction? Removing a child from the conflicting situation, diverting their attention, reassuring, and comforting them and teaching right from wrong using positive methods. We feel it is important for parents and ourselves to work together to encourage positive behaviour, so the child does not face conflicting ideas and values.

OUTINGS

We will take the children on local “discovery trips” 

We will take the children on local “discovery trips” – perhaps to reinforce a theme or activity we are doing or to follow a child’s individual request or idea. This extends the child’s learning process, familiarises them with the local environment and gives them first-hand experiences.

ROUTINES

Continuity helps develop good routines

We feel it is important for children to have a routine; this helps children understand the concept of time. They become familiar with the events of each day. A good routine provides a sense of security, comfort, and stability. There is always the structured and basic need, mealtimes, sleep times, snack times, free play time and structured activities. Even so children do exercise freedom of choice about the activities they do, this in turn encourages independence.

UNDER TWO’S

We feel that it is important that babies are involved in what is going on and not just sat in a chair in the corner, at a distance and separated from the other children. 

We talk to the babies as we go about the day-to-day activities, this helps the little ones learn how words sound and are not frightened to try making sounds. Babies learn quickly and given the right kind of care and attention, they will thrive and develop quickly. They build relationships with the other children and the other children learn to be considerate, caring, loving, and become aware of the baby’s needs. This is a valuable experience for both.

PHYSICAL PLAY

We have a large, enclosed garden with a secure gate; we take the children to the local park, visit our community garden, get soft play out on wet, soggy days and we love a good adventure round the surrounding fields.

There are many values from these activities such as, enjoyment, release of surplus energy, stimulates and appetite, good for digestion, circulation, sleep, mental alertness, and skin health. It promotes muscle tone, co-ordination, manipulative skills, balance, and control. These activities build self-confidence, develop social skills, and encourage imaginative play. We supply and use a variety of equipment; given this all the different skills will be met.

WATER AND SAND PLAY

These activities are provided both indoors and outdoors. 

The different values from these activities are enjoyment, sensory experiences, therapeutic values, and manipulative skills and builds imaginative development. Children will discover mathematical and scientific principles concerning volume capacity, floating, and sinking.

One the the children's most enjoyable activities is Mark making.

IMAGINATION PLAY

We provide a wide variety of equipment for the children’s imagination to be used and developed, things that can be used to make up a shop, home corner play, hospital, and cafe. 

The equipment and materials for this play are endless, as children can make anything into whatever they want it to be with a good imagination. The value from this activity includes developing social skills, learning about people and relationships, they discover other cultures through play and dress up, this encourages role play, finding out what it’s like to do our be something different known as possibility play, what if, which promotes children’s creativity. This allows children many opportunities, which include sensory experiences, language development. It also allows children a safe environment to realise frustrations, anger fear and other emotions. Children also learn about themselves, discovering their likes and dislikes and loads, loads more! The kids also love to get creative with Mark making.

COOKING ACTIVITIES

We bake with the children from time to time and we make a variety of things, for teatime, snack time, tea parties and to take home. 

As well as baking we cook and prepare meals every day. The values that can be gained from this activity are many including feel, smell, and taste. It provides an emotional release – beating, whisking, kneading, mathematical experiences – shape, size, weight, capacity and counting. They discover changes in textures, shapes, the effects of hot and cold. It is an opportunity to promote their communication and language skill as we make out our shopping list for what we are making, talk about labels, read recipe books and plan how and what order we will do things. Social skills are developed as children take turns and help each other and try out foods from different cultures. Children learn about the nutritional values of food, hygiene, home safety and how to use the kitchen equipment with respect and safely, and a good or bad diet. It also encourages concentration, thinking skills, observations, taste the result.

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES

There is always a good supply of paints, different papers with various textures and colours, glue and collage materials, wool, fabrics, paste for making pictures, shells, beads, string, lolly sticks, feathers, ribbon, old cards and empty boxes. 

Just about anything can be used with imagination, so we keep most things “just in case”. Evey parent needs a sparkly tissue box from their child!!   Once again, the values from children getting creative are endless as it encourages the use of and stretches the imagination. Some of the values are self-expressions, freedom to discover that if they think it, they can make it. Once again, self-confidence as they see that they can make it and parents express their joy and pleasure at what has been created, in most cases for them. They gain an understanding and perception of shapes and how they can change as they are added to something else or cut. As the children paint and mix colours, they begin to see how a colour can change when mixed with another, the start of scientific learning. This activity also promotes decision making as they choose which materials to use and how they want their artwork to progress. It also introduces children to new equipment such as crayons. Pens, brushes, scissors, spreaders and glue. Creativity is something that can be seen in everything that we do and if we talk about things as we go through the day children will encourage their imagination and develop their creativity skills.

TOYS

There is always a great assortment of toys, jigsaws, games, loose parts and stories

These promote spatial understanding – next to, beside, below, on top, underneath, above. Children all have different ways of expressing these positions. Use of imagination and pleasure at seeing their creation grow and finally seeing it finished.

Books especially open a whole new world to children, full of possibilities and adventures.

We also have a tidy up time and a quiet time allowing children a chance to settle down ready for parents collecting them, during this time we usually look at books, read a story and talk about our day, sharing feelings. This is good for children’s emotional development and stops children thinking that no one will listen to them if they express their opinions. If children feel that they can be themselves freely, then it will promote self-confidence and children will grow up with a good feeling of self-worth, accepting themselves and others for who they are without prejudices which can only be a good thing for these future adults.



We keep plastics to a minimum and use natural resources.

SETTLING IN PROCEDURE

Parents need childcare for many different reasons, and we know that there are times when you will feel guilty for leaving them, believe me I was like that too.

Therefore, we need to make sure that your child is happy coming to Caz’s Kiddies In The Country and very quickly we can tell how much settling in time they will need. It can be as much as a month, starting with just an hour or two building up to the length of time they will come.  A child that has settled in well is going to be confident about leaving their parent and coming into our setting, this in turn means that the parents do not go away feeling upset and worried about their little person, after all it’s their most valuable possession.