Parents in Clayton, understandably, want the very best for their children. When it comes to early childhood education, the option is always for a quality childcare centre, Clayton. Yet, what are the basic indicators that qualify a childcare centre, Clayton to be one of the best?

The search for quality childcare centres becomes possible by considering the following qualities, to include:

Ratio

Very young children need more one-to-one care. This means that parents should find out the adult/child ratio with the childcare centre they visit. The recommended child/adult ratio includes:

• 1 caregiver for 4 children under 9 months old
• 1 caregiver for 6 children ages 9 months-18 months
• 1 caregiver for 8 children ages 18 months-3 years
• 1 caregiver for 1-6 children ages 2 -3 years
• 2 caregivers for 7-20 children ages 2 – 3 years
• 3 caregivers for 21-35 children ages 2-3 years
• 4 caregivers for 36-50 children ages 2-3 years
• 5 caregivers for 51-65 children ages 2-3 years
• 6 caregivers for 66-80 children ages 2-3 years
• 7 caregivers for 81-93 children ages 2-3 years
• 1 caregiver for 1-15 children of all ages for childcare operating from 9:00 PM to 6:30 AM

Child Safety and Health

Both licensed childcare homes and facilities are required to comply with the safety and health standards of the state. Parents need to check the compliance of childcare centres in Clayton before leaving the care of their children with them.

Accreditation

A quality childcare centre will not only comply with the minimum state accreditation regulations but will go beyond that. A childcare centre can only be seen as one of the best if they have complied with programs that allow them to achieve accreditation.

Group sizes

Parents should determine the preference of their children before enrolling them in the chosen childcare centre. Children do not have equal preferences; some may thrive in a large group environment while others may prefer the comfort and quiet of a smaller group.

A childcare environment that closely matches the child’s needs and personality should be the one to go for. Generally, childcare centres are not subjected to group size requirements or limitations. As long as the required child/adult ratio is met, a childcare centre is allowed to do this. It is left to the discretion of parents to closely match the personality of their children to the group size practiced by a childcare centre.

Caregiver turnover and education

The level of continuing professional development or education of the caregivers of a childcare provider is the most important indicator of its quality. The low staff turnover is also a good sign of a quality childcare facility. Low caregiver turnover means consistent care for children which are important for their socio-emotional development.

Welcoming to parents

A quality childcare centre welcomes and even encourages parents to make suggestions, observe the class, volunteer in the classroom, and discuss policies. It is important that parents and childcare centres must operate on the same page.

Searching for quality child care facilities for their beloved children can be a challenging task for parents. However, doing the research well richly rewards the extra effort taken by parents. After all, getting the perfect childcare centre benefits both parents and children.

It becomes quite tricky for working-class parents to attend to all the needs of their kids while at the same time thinking about work. It is particularly hard if both parents have a job to attend to, and the child also needs their attention. It is for this reason that early learning centres, such as the Daycare facilities, are created. Daycare is structured to monitor kids between the ages 2-13 years and attend to their needs by the Daycare workers while parents or guardians attend to their jobs during the day.

 Children are a blessing from God and sometimes need close supervision by an adult so that they can accurately know what to do or not to. But parents can’t stay with their kids throughout because they have to work and get the money that will take care of their family needs. Therefore, having a daycare centre around will lessen the parent’s burden of having to take care of their kid while at the same time attending to their jobs.

Benefits of centre-based daycare

Better trained caregivers: taking your child to a centre-based daycare is advantageous because there are highly trained caregivers that understand children’s growth and development even better than yourself. They help your child to undergo a positive physical and mental growth.

Availability of Technology: most daycare facilities provide kids with technological tools that assist them in learning and also keeping them busy with the entertainment software explicitly designed for the kids.

Fosters socialisation: Your child will get a chance to meet with other kids in a daycare centre and be able to create bonds amongst themselves. It gives a child great pleasure to see their peers beside them and playing with them.

Several activities: at a daycare centre, children benefit from the facilities provided by the centre such as dances, soccer, among others.

Kids learn to care for themselves as well as others: one of the life skills that a child gets from a daycare centre is taking care of themselves as well as their loved ones. They start to practice such responsibilities at a young age.

Inspires a child’s curiosity: Daycare centres expose children to programs and activities that can help boost their interest. They are in a constant urge to find more information concerning a given phenomenon.

Composes a child for learning and schooling: attending a daycare can help your child to get prepared for the schooling process. The child becomes sharp and ready to learn new things.

Are there daycare centres in Darwin?

Yes. There are several daycare centres spread out in Darwin city. For a parent wishing to take their child to a daycare, they will do it easily with minimum efforts by looking on the internet or consulting relevant personnel. Some are highly rated while others are at the bottom rank. As a caring parent, you should consider taking your child to a day care centre that will inflict motivation and positive life experiences to their little minds to help them become better figures in society. Therefore, high-quality daycare is of paramount interest to your child’s life.

Some of the factors that might determine your choice of daycare include cost, location, extra-programmes, trained staff, and availability of facilities. You cannot take your child to a centre that you can’t afford to pay for. It is also not suitable to take your child to a place where there is little to learn and to sharpen the child’s curiosity. Lastly, find out if they have a well-trained staff that will understand your child’s unique needs and treatments.

Parents often wonder if their children’s academic skills make them ready for kindergarten. However, a child is only seen ready for kindergarten if the child has not only academic skills but emotional and social skills as well.

The skills your child needs to have for him/her to be seen as ready for kindergarten include:

Gross Motor Skills

• Catch and bounce a ball
• Hop on one foot
• Run
• Feet together when jumping
• Climb stairs

Self-care Skills

• Knows his/her age, last and first name
• Wash up on their own
• Use the bathroom
• Can dress on their own with some assistance with shoelaces, buttons, and zippers

Fine Motor Skills

• Knows how to put together a simple puzzle
• Write some actual letters that are in their name
• Some control with using a crayon or pencil
• Copy basic shapes
• Some control in using scissors

Math Skills

• Point or name the colours in a standard box of 8 crayons
• Name and recognise basic shapes such as rectangle, square, triangle, and circle
• Able to count without skipping numbers 1-10
• Able to arrange objects from smallest to biggest or vice-versa
• Understand less than and more than
• Match a number to a picture

Emotional and social skills

• Able to withstand being separated from a parent
• Show at least an attention span for 5 minutes to instructions from an adult
• Able to communicate with other children

Language Skills

• Describe and compare relationships between objects such as over/under, last/first, little/big
• Can express the right words for his/her wants and needs
• Speak using complete sentences that can be understood most of the time by other people
• Understand two-step directions

Reading Skills

• Identify or be able to recite the letters of the alphabet
• Likes to hear stories
• Express an idea by drawing a picture
• Know the right way of flipping the pages of a book
• Recognise the first page of the book
• Recognise their name
• Try to write their name
• Have an idea about the connection of sounds to letters
• Recognise familiar signs and logos such as a go or stop sign

Helping your child attend Kindergarten

Children develop their skills at varying rates. Your kid may show some weak skills in some areas while having strong skills in other areas. A kindergarten readiness test is often used by some states or localities for parents to get a sense of their children’s readiness for kindergarten.

It is recommended for parents to talk with the preschool teacher of their children to find their readiness. Going this route enables both teachers and parents to come up with a plan to resolve any trouble spots.

Growth and learning are exciting experiences with kindergarten. This makes it imperative for parents to invest in pre-school learning to make their children ready for kindergarten.

 The list of kindergarten requirements seems a big hurdle for both parents and children. However, parents supporting their children by teaching them some of the required skills are the best way to get them admitted to kindergarten.

The pre-school teacher of the child can significantly help in developing the skills required of a child before getting admitted to kindergarten. We are here to help. Check out the new child care centre in Manly.

Art is one way we can express what we are thinking and generally what we are feeling about something. It comes along with various aspects, including the taste and preference of the artist. Of course, you need to be more creative when it comes to art and be appealing to your audience.

In the past, art was not seen as something that people could use for their livelihood but eventually, it escalated and became a popular thing even in society. Currently, in our 21st century, it is being used as a livelihood for most people.

When it comes to the supplies and tools being used by the artists, we can say they have advanced to a great extent. That’s one thing that is making the field expand and grow faster.

There are common supplies that are used by both professionals and newbies irrespective of the method they are using to do their art. Let’s look at some of these common artist supplies that one needs to consider when starting their artwork.

Common Artist Supplies

1. Pencils

Of course, this is one of the commonest supplies that every artist is using to make their art look more attractive and appealing to their audiences. However, it is good to note that these are not just common pencils. Not all pencils can do this noble task. In art, graphite pencils are preferable. You need to have a variety like three of them. You will need a 2B for your typical sketching, a 4H for your light shadows, and 6B for those dark shadows. With these three types of graphite pencils, you are ready to get started.

2. Eraser

Erasing is one way an artist comes up with the most appealing arts. That means you need to keep on erasing whatever you don’t like. That’s why you need an eraser. In this case, we recommend a white kneaded eraser. One thing you don’t want to see in your art are those dark marks and crumbs that are left behind after wiping a mistake. That’s why you need a kneaded eraser that is designed for that job.

3. Drawing space

At this point, you are almost set to start your art. Drawing paper is another great artist’s supplies that you need to make your dream come true on that paper. You don’t have to be having thousands of dollars to get started or to buy an expensive drawing pad. You just need a simple drawing paper that is of great quality.

4. Paint and painting pads

Now that you are already done with your sketching, you may need to do the colouring to make your drawing look more real. That’s what makes the difference between great artists and the upcoming ones. Some artists also use wet paints, and if you are one of them, you will need to have a stretching pad to keep the paper straight until the paint has dried. Choose your appropriate paint if you are not going to use a palette or any water paint.

5. Brushes

When dealing with various colours and you want to paint your picture, you will need to have some soft brushes to do your painting. Generally, brushes come in different sizes and shapes to cater to your needs. You will need a brush for all the general painting, a flat brush, and a small lining brush to do the final touches.

You can find all these at MES art supplies.