OUR PROGRAM
Curriculum
The curriculum at Rock Spring consists of three components: A formal curriculum called High Reach Learning, thematic units, and learning through play. All components begin in the toddler rooms, around 15 months, with the formal curriculum becoming prominent in the preschool classrooms, ages three and above. Each curriculum theme is integrated into various disciplines: art and music, science and math, language and literature, dramatic play, games and movement, etc. Children are encouraged to learn and interact through “hands-on” experiences within all components of the curriculum. Emphasis is placed on the social skills of sharing, communication, self-concept, and meeting personal needs. Children have many opportunities for indoor and outdoor play. Additionally, all toddlers through pre-k students participate in a music and movement enrichment classes each week with an art specialist. A pre-kindergarten class is available for children who just miss the cutoff for kindergarten (September, October, and November birthdates). This class is designed to strengthen and reinforce the basic concepts learned in the four year old classrooms and provide academic stimulation and enrichment for children who have already had the four year old curriculum.
Food for Infants
Most infant food is provided by parents. Bottle nipples must be protected; breast milk must be pre-bottled. Space can be provided for breast feeding. All food should be labeled, dated, and refrigerated at 45 degrees. A chart is kept on each child’s feeding schedule to include amount consumed, sequence of introducing solid foods, and recommendations for introducing new foods. Parents take bottles home at the end of each day for washing. The School has formula available and when the infants are old enough, breakfast and a snack are provided.
Food for Older Children
Breakfast, consisting of three food groups, and an afternoon snack, consisting of at least two food groups, will be provided for preschoolers. An additional late snack is provided for toddlers. Parents must provide ready-to-eat lunch in labeled containers. Food can be refrigerated at the School, and microwaves are available to heat food if appropriate containers are provided. For an additional charge, a hot lunch may be purchased instead. Milk is provided at no extra charge, though bottles are no longer offered to children once they enter the toddler rooms.
Clothing and Bedding
A complete change of clothes, including shoes for emergencies, must be provided for each child. The change of clothes should account for changing weather. In addition, parents provide sheets and blankets for cots , an adequate supply of disposable diapers and/or training pants, and wipes for children not toilet-trained. Fitted sheets are provided for the infants. Children who are being toilet-trained need several changes of clothing per day.
Napping and Sleeping
Maryland licensing regulations require that infants be placed on their backs to sleep and that blankets, pillows, bumper pads and other bedding items are not used. A written note from the child’s pediatrician is required for any exceptions to this policy. . Toddler through 5 year old classes all take scheduled, mandatory naps during the day on cots. Parents need to bring in a sheet and blanket for the cot. Everyone must rest on a cot during nap time. Those students who are still awake after an hour may look at books or play quiet games on their cots. It is not our policy to keep children awake or to awaken them early from naps.
Field Trips
Field trips are a mandatory part of the Center curriculum, designed to enrich your child’s experience, especially in the summer months. Age-appropriate trips are planned each year for children age two to five. For transportation, parent volunteers are needed to help drive the children and to provide adequate supervision. Parents who are not going on a particular field trip will need to leave car seats and their child will be matched with another family. If, for any reason, a child does not attend a particular trip, parents must make alternate arrangements for childcare during the duration of the field trip at their own expense. In the event that not enough parents volunteer for a field trip, the trip would be cancelled. We ask that you have someone from your family (mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandparent) chaperone at least half of the field trips. These trips end up not only being a great experience for the children, but also a cherished memory for the chaperones.
Outdoor Play
It is essential that children get time outside each and every day possible. Children need time to be exposed to the fresh air and to have the opportunity to run, jump, climb and play. We closely follow the recommendations of the County Health Department, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other national child care health organizations to ensure our practices are consistent with their recommendations.
While wind speed and air quality may impact our practices, we generally go out for at least an hour every day when the temperatures are between 32 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. We reduce our outings to 15 - 20 minutes at a time if the weather is below freezing or higher than 95 degrees. We pay close attention to the air quality and also limit outdoor time during Code Red and Code Orange days. The only times we generally do not go outside at all is when it is raining or if the weather is colder than 10 degrees or hotter than 100. Please make sure you dress your child appropriately and apply sunscreen every morning, especially in the summer. The teachers will reapply sunscreen as needed during the day, but it is important that parents put sunscreen on their children each morning in the summer.
Discipline
We believe that setting limits gives children the security of knowing that adults will take responsibility for stopping unacceptable behavior. This is done by making rules understandable and acceptable to all children.
Staff members are trained to remain alert to group situations, redirect uncooperative children to other activities, redirect an entire activity in a more wholesome direction, allow children to work out their own solutions, and encourage them to use words instead of resorting to unacceptable actions.
When children do not respond to these efforts, they are removed from a situation and asked to move to another area of the room until they regain control of their actions. Staff, then, communicate with children to know if they “feel better inside.” Children are encouraged to understand that they are responsible for their actions and to seek appropriate ways to have needs met.
If these efforts are unsuccessful, children may be taken to the director’s office and if necessary, parents are called to pick up children. Unsuccessful efforts to redirect persistent unacceptable behavior will result in enrollment termination.
Transitions
Children transition from one classroom to the next throughout the year. Transition decisions are made by the directors and are based on a number of factors such as the age, maturity and developmental level of the children and the availability of spaces in the various classrooms at the School. The School contains more than one room for each age range of children and children move to whichever classroom has space when a child is ready to transition. While we do consider parental preference as a factor for when a child moves to the next classroom, it is one of many factors we must consider. Planning transition patterns is an extremely complex process and we cannot take into account preferences to stay with other children from a previous classroom. The children from the School interact with each other across classrooms and benefit from having a large circle of friends.
We understand that transitions can be an emotional event, but it is usually more difficult for the parents than the children. We work with parents and children in the weeks prior to a transition to help make the change as smooth as possible. If the School decides that a child needs to transition to a new classroom, parents need to cooperate with this decision so that all children at the School are getting the most sensible transitions we can provide.
Center - Parent Communication
It is crucial to the success of the interaction between parents and School that a positive, productive and trusting relationship is established and maintained. To that end, the School engages in multiple methods to keep parents engaged and informed - physical methods such as white boards, newsletters, notices and fliers, as well as electronic methods such as email, an RSCC listserv, and our website. In addition, teachers in each classroom communicate using notes in your child’s cubby as well as white boards or other notices on their doors. Some rooms also use email or blogs to send out weekly or daily updates of what is happening in the classrooms.
If there is ever a problem, parents should feel comfortable discussing issues with teachers and/or directors. However, we ask that parents be mindful that the School is a childcare and preschool community made up of many families and children. We try to approach each issue with a community-minded and cooperative spirit so that we do the best we can for each child and our community as a whole.