Kathy is licensed to care for children from newborn to 13 years old. She is proud to offer your family high quality care with an extensive amount of one on one that your child just won’t receive in a Center. At Just Like Home, your child is able to build a personal relationship with Kathy and our staff members. We do not have a lot of staff turnover here, so your child knows who will be caring for them day after day. This helps children feel more secure in their environment.
Our primary goal is to support each other in a safe and loving home that helps build self esteem, encourages home living skills, and actively promotes each child’s sense of curiosity and discovery.
Our philosophy is simple: We believe every child deserves to have a childhood filled with excitement, discovery, play, creating and exploring! At Just Like Home, we’re committed to just that.
Indoor Playtime
We have a bright and clean playroom full of activities to keep children engaged. We provide different play areas such as Blocks, Housekeeping, Light Table, Art Area, Reading Area. We choose toys that provide open-ended play.
During our indoor play time children may choose to do puzzles, play games, create art, use play dough, dress up, and so much more! Children are able to work individually or play in groups, and choose which areas interest the most throughout our day.
Outdoor Play
We’re very lucky to have a gigantic natural playscape outside. Kids are provided with a big sandbox, water log flume, concrete area for basketball, driving cars on our painted road, hula hoops, playhouse, stage, and plenty of water play! Just Like Home is proud to be a Certified Wildlife Habitat and we have daily visitors from birds, quail, squirrels, and sometimes even deer!
Meals and Naps
Just Like Home is part of the USDA Food program and we follow their guidelines. We never serve juice, only milk and water. We provide as many organic produce items as possible and eat lots of fruit as well. We do enjoy serving cupcakes for Birthdays but try to avoid sugar beyond that. Parents are also welcome to send lunch with their child if they choose to do so.
After lunch is our quiet time. We don’t require that children sleep, but we do require that everyone lays down for some quiet time. We help kids settle in for a rest by playing soothing music in the background.
Preschool Program
We also have a preschool program that operates Tue-Wed-Thur from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. During preschool time, we focus on social skills, seasonal themes, holidays, art and creative expression. Unlike a traditional curriculum full of worksheets and cookie cutter projects, we follow the child’s lead. What does that mean?
Here’s a great example:
We might introduce one of our “My Big World” handouts from Scholastic that’s about Polar Bears. That sparks the interest of the children. We then build on that theme and by the time we are finished we’ve:
- Looked up Polar Bear Facts
- Created our own Bear Dens to take home
- Made a Bear Den at daycare to play inside of
- Learned about animals that hibernate
- Counted
- Discovered what Polar Bears eat
- Watched Polar Bears fish on You Tube
- Created Polar Bear pictures
- Used arctic animals in our rice table for hours on end
- Made Polar Bear crafts
- Painted with Ice
Not your traditional sit at the table and do worksheets curriculum! It is child lead and it works great for the curious little minds we care for. Preschool is offered free to our Just Like Home families.