Program Overview

Here you will find a short description of the daily experience you and your child can expect in a specific room.  These are written by the Unit Leaders in each room or program.  We attempt to keep things relatively consistent from room to room, but at the same time, we do not want to be so ridged that we cannot accommodate new ideas, specific needs within a room, and the unique contributions of individual staff.

Preschool One:

Program Goals:

Preschool 1 is a multi-age setting, with children ranging in age between 2-5 years old. Our play experiences no longer revolve around a theme-based curriculum. Instead, we believe that children learn more readily when the play experiences are based on their particular needs, interests, or development levels. We often design our program with specific skills or tasks in mind, helping the children to have the opportunity to learn at their own pace.

Acknowledging the developmental needs of the children, some of the general goals and objectives we have are:

  • Encouraging independence in the children to make choices for themselves, when choices are available, in a safe environment.
  • Enhancing children’s development in the three main areas-cognitive growth, social/emotional growth, physical growth.
  • Providing developmentally stimulating activities.
  • Allowing children to explore a wide array of natural and interesting materials so that they may explore them first hand and gain a better understanding of the world around them.

Virtues:

At Discovery, staff have been trained in many different aspects of program planning: The area of training is around virtues. Language has a great influence to empower or discourage.  Self-esteem is built when shaming, blaming language is replaced by describing each other’s virtues. It is applied either when acknowledging or correcting someone. Staff can provide more information on this if you are interested. Below is a list of the 52 virtues.

assertiveness, caring, cleanliness, commitment, compassion, confidence, consideration, cooperation, courage, courtesy, creativity, detachment, determination, diligence, enthusiasm, excellence, flexibility, forgiveness, friendliness, generosity, gentleness, helpfulness, honesty, honour, humility, idealism, integrity, joyfulness, justice, kindness, love, loyalty, moderation, modesty, orderliness, patience, peacefulness, perseverance, purposefulness, reliability, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, service, tact, thankfulness, tolerance, trust, trustworthiness, truthfulness, understanding, unity

Emergent Curriculum:

Another area of training involves what we have come to know as “emergent curriculum”, in our profession.  This deals with planning our activities based on the needs and interest of the children. Plans are prepared weekly by staff to develop stimulating ideas or activities to enhance and extend the children’s learning experiences and the environments they explore.

Communication and Parental Involvement:

At Discovery Children’s Centre, we encourage family involvement. We consider ourselves to be an extension of your child’s family and hope you feel the same.

Besides daily verbal communication with our parents (guardians, grandparents, aunts, uncles), we also have a white board outside our room. We would ask that you check it daily. It will have information regarding your child’s day and other upcoming events.

Twice a year, we will be doing developmental assessments of your child. You will receive a synopsis of our observations. Although we no longer schedule a parent/teacher night where we will have the opportunity to meet and discuss your child’s progress, our door is always open to you to come and discuss any questions or concerns  . Please feel free to call, drop in and chat any time you wish. Our program’s success depends upon involvement from all our families.

Journals:

Each child will have a journal which will circulate between the Centre home each day. The Teachers and children will work together to decide what will be put in the book, it may be to say that a new skill has been accomplished or a new material has been explored. There may be items glued on a page, photos or drawings to explain something important. At home parents and children may glue in a special treasure found on a walk or share some interesting information with others.

Each day we will be reading the journals back to the children.  Since the journals are daily, we will need to rely on you to take it home, work together with your child bringing it to daycare and place it in our journal basket each day. Please be assured that we expect only on simple entry each time. At home, your child can re-visit a centre experience and “read” the journal to you and other family members. This is a great beginning to literacy skills. If you have any questions about the journals please ask. We look forward to working on these with you.

Nature a key emphasis:

One of our goals is to teach the children to take care of our world and we do this by helping them to appreciate and love nature. At Discovery, children also help to recycle and compost.  In teaching them this, we are hoping that they will grow up to be responsible citizens.

Nature has become a big part of our program and we spend a great deal of time outside. We are learning to enjoy the natural beauty that is around us everywhere. We go out rain or shine, sleet or snow. We work (play) and explore in our outdoor environment as much as we can. While outdoors, we catch bugs, jump in the puddles, dance in the rain, sometimes even enjoy the mud pit and also let snowflakes fall on our tongues. In our outdoor playgrounds we have many gardening beds that allow us to learn gardening skills in the summer months and harvesting in the fall.

Some final reminders:

  • Please have your child in appropriate “work clothes” as we have an optional smock policy at our centre. We believe that children learn best by doing and our activities sometimes include water, paint, sand, cornstarch, just to name a few.
  • In addition, with regards to clothes, please ensure your child has at least three changes of clothes in their locker at all times. Accidents sometimes occur and we do not provide extra clothes from the centre. Also, we spend a great deal of time outside. To make your child’s experience the most enjoyable, we would ask that they are dressed appropriately for the conditions.
  • We have a sign in/out sheet that we require you to use. While inside it will always be on the ledge as you walk into Preschool 1.
  • Our Centre Parent Policy Manuel will give you a description of our behaviour management policy. We feel that when children are having a difficult time that they are telling us that they may need some extra support or even some time to themselves.  This could mean many things including extra hugs, support in using words to solve a problem or reading a book or doing a puzzle on their own. This generally helps them to recompose themselves.  We will address violence of any kind and will assess and respond to these incidents on an individual basis. We consistently encourage children to be respectful of one another, themselves, parents, and teachers. We also feel that personal responsibility is extremely important and know that young children can take ownership of their behaviours with assistance of caring adults.

Preschool One Daily Schedule:

Discovery’s environment is set up to consider the unique needs of each child.  We make changes to our daily program so that all children can access area, materials, and activities in order to promote growth in all areas of his or her development.  That being said, here is a general idea of what a typical day in our program will look like.

6:30 am – 7:30 am                            Children arriving prior to 7:30 are dropped off in the “Flex” program until our rom opens.
7:30 am – 8:30 am                             “Free Play” in the classroom, outside, or on the deck
8:30 am – 9:00 am                             Snack Time
9:00 am – 9:30 am                             “Free Play”/ Deck Play/ Play Experiences/ Bathroom Routine
9:30 am -10:00 am                            Large Muscle Room
10:30 am – 11:30 am                        Outdoor Play/ Deck Play
11:30 am – 12:30 pm                        Lunch Time and Bathroom Routine
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm                          Nap Time
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm                            Non-napping children will free play in the classroom, outside, or on the deck and bathroom routine.
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm                            Snack Time
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm                            Outdoor Play/ Deck Play
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm                            Outdoor Play/ Deck Play/”Free Play” in the classroom
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm                           Children who are still in attendance will end their day in the “Flex” room.

 

Preschool Two:

Program Goals:

Preschool 2 is a multi-age setting, with children ranging in ages 2-5.  Understanding that the development needs of children are so varied, we have divided the group into two groups for our specific circle and activity times.  The Ladybugs are the younger children (2-3 years) and the Dragonflies are the older children (3-5 years).

Our play experiences no longer revolve around a theme-based curriculum. Instead, we believe that children learn more readily when the play experiences are based on their particular needs, interests, or development levels. We often design our program with specific skills or tasks in mind, helping the children to have the opportunity to learn at their own pace.

Acknowledging the developmental needs of the children, some of the general goals and objectives we have are:

  • Encouraging independence in the children to make choices for themselves, when choices are available, in a safe environment.
  • Enhancing children’s development in the three main areas-cognitive growth, social/emotional growth, physical growth.
  • Providing developmentally stimulating activities.
  • Allowing children to explore new materials so that through hands on experiences they will gain a better understanding of the world around them.

Journals:

Each child will have a journal which will circulate between the Centre and home each day.  In the journal you will find something written about what your child has done throughout the day.  There may be items glued on a page, photos or drawings to explain something important. At home parents and children may glue in a special treasure found on a walk or share some interesting information with others.

Each day we will be reading the journals back to the children.  Since the journals are daily, we will need to rely on you to take it home, work together with your child and  bring it back to the Centre placing it in our journal basket each day. Please be assured that we expect only one simple entry each time. At home, your child can re-visit a centre experience and “read” the journal to you and other family members. This is a great beginning to literacy skills.

If you have any questions about the journals please ask. We look forward to working on these with you.

Communication and Parental Involvement:

At Discovery Children’s Centre, we encourage family involvement. We consider ourselves to be an extension of your child’s family and hope you feel the same.

Besides daily verbal communication with our parents (guardians, grandparents, aunts, uncles), we also have a white board outside our room. We would ask that you check it daily. It will have information regarding your child’s day and other upcoming events.

Twice a year, we will be doing developmental assessments of your child. You will receive a synopsis of our observations. Although we no longer schedule a parent/teacher night where we will have the opportunity to meet and discuss your child’s progress, our door is always open to you to come and discuss any questions or concerns  . Please feel free to call, drop in and chat any time you wish. Our program’s success depends upon involvement from all our families.

Virtues:

At Discovery, staff have been trained in many different aspects of program planning: One area of training is around virtues. Language has a great influence to empower or discourage.  Self-esteem is built when shaming, blaming language is replaced by describing each other’s virtues. It is applied either when acknowledging or correcting someone. Staff can provide more information on this if you are interested. Below is a list of the 52 virtues.

assertiveness, caring, cleanliness, commitment, compassion, confidence, consideration, cooperation, courage, courtesy, creativity, detachment, determination, diligence, enthusiasm, excellence, flexibility, forgiveness, friendliness, generosity, gentleness, helpfulness, honesty, honour, humility, idealism, integrity, joyfulness, justice, kindness, love, loyalty, moderation, modesty, orderliness, patience, peacefulness, perseverance, purposefulness, reliability, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, service, tact, thankfulness, tolerance, trust, trustworthiness, truthfulness, understanding, unity

Emergent Curriculum:

Another area of training involves what we have come to know as “emergent curriculum”, in our profession.  This deals with planning our activities based on the needs and interest of the children. Plans are prepared weekly by staff to develop stimulating ideas or activities to enhance and extend the children’s learning experiences and the environments they explore.

Our room also has a “loose parts” box.  The boxes can be made up of anything such as a baking box, texture box, etc.  The idea behind the boxes is to let the children decide how the items inside will be used.  The boxes can also travel to anywhere in the room.

Some final reminders:

  •  Please have your child in appropriate “work clothes” as we have an optional smock policy at our centre. We believe that children learn best by doing and our activities sometimes include water, paint, sand, cornstarch, just to name a few.
  • In addition, with regards to clothes, please ensure your child has a few changes of clothes in their locker at all times. Accidents sometimes occur and we do not provide extra clothes from the centre. Also, we spend a great deal of time outside. To make your child’s experience the most enjoyable, we would ask that they are dressed appropriately for the conditions.
  • We have a sign in/out sheet that we require you to use. It is located on the ledge as you walk into Preschool 2.
  • Our Centre Parent Policy Manuel will give you a description of our behaviour management policy. We feel that when children are having a difficult time that they are telling us that they may need some extra support or even some time to themselves.  This could mean many things including extra hugs, support in using words to solve a problem or reading a book or doing a puzzle on their own. This generally helps them to recompose themselves.  We will address violence of any kind and will assess and respond to these incidents on an individual basis. We consistently encourage children to be respectful of one another, themselves, parents, and teachers. We also feel that personal responsibility is extremely important and know that young children can take ownership of their behaviours with assistance of caring adults.

Daily Schedule:

Discovery’s environment is set up to consider the unique needs of each child.  We make changes to our daily program so that all children can access area, materials, and activities in order to promote growth in all areas of his or her development.  That being said, here is a general idea of what a typical day in our program will look like.

6:30 am – 7:30 am                            Children arriving prior to 7:00 are dropped off in the “Flex” program until our rom opens.
7:00 am – 9:00 am                             “Free Play”, child inspired activities, as well as all areas are open for children
9:00 am – 10:00 am                           Clean up, journal time, and snack time followed by “Free Play”
10:00 am – 10:30 am                        Circle time for both older and younger children.  They will separate into smaller groups and rotate between PS2 room and the large muscle room
10:30 am – 11:10 am                        Outdoor Play
11:15 am – 12:00 pm                        Lunch Time, bathroom routine preparation for naptime
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm                          Nap/rest time.  Those children who do not sleep will go to Preschool 1 for free play
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm                            “Free Play” in Preschool 2
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm                            Sing along/story time followed by snack time
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm                            Outdoor Play or activities available in the classroom
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm                            Large Muscle room
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm                           Children who are still in attendance will end their day in the “Flex” room.

School-age One (Kindergarten)

Program Goals:

Welcome to “School-age 1”, our Kindergarten program.  The teachers look forward to getting to know you and your child throughout the year. This information is designed to answer some of the questions you may have and to give you some information about how we work with children.

Now that your child is going to Kindergarten he or she will be developing more skills and independence throughout the course of the year.  You will note:

  • Children will be more responsible for their belongings which go back and forth to school (back packs, indoor/outdoor shoes and clothing)
  • Staff will assist with your child’s growing independence.  This will be a gradual process as your child develops more skills throughout the year.
  • At the beginning of the year your child will walk to school or the bus with a partner.  Staff will lead the group to the teacher at the door of the school or bus.  Also, staff will meet your child at the school door or the bus when returning.
  • Later in the year there will be gradual steps towards your child walking to school independently.  A staff will be at the cross walk supervising his or her walk to school or to the bus.  This prepares your child for their eventual move to School Age 2 where the children go to school in a large group with staff.
  • Instead of journals your child will participate in a summer project which will document ideas, knowledge and the experiences of all the children.  A project book will be available daily for you to look at and add your comments and ideas.
  • Your child will have a busier day during the summer and school year.  You may notice your child is “Hangry”:  a state of anger caused by lack of food;  hunger causing a negative change in emotional state.  Please pack extra healthy snacks in your child’s lunch to help them get through the day. 

The Reggio Emilia Approach:

In School Age One, we are interested in learning about and incorporating the Reggio Emilia principles into our program. This approach to child care was developed in the city of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy where municipal funding has been providing a combination of school and child care for children under the age of six since World War II. Since it is difficult to take a philosophy from another culture and duplicate it, the principles are interpreted to fit within our Canadian culture. If you are interested in learning more about Reggio Emilia, we have books that we are willing to lend out.

The following principles talk about how children, teachers and parents are viewed in the Reggio Emilia approach. These principles guide the work we do with children.

  1. The Child as the Protagonist:

Children are strong, rich and capable. All children have preparedness, potential, curiosity, and interest in constructing their learning, negotiating with everything their environment brings to them. Children, teachers and parents are considered the three central protagonists in the educational process. (Gandini, 1993)

  1. The Child as the Collaborator:

Education has to focus on each child in relation to other children, the family, the teachers and the community rather than on each child in isolation (Gandini, 1993). There is an emphasis on work in small groups, allowing for discussion.

  1. The Child as the Communicator:

The Reggio Emilia approach fosters children’s intellectual development through a systematic focus on symbolic representation, including words, movement, drawing, painting, building, sculpture, shadow play, collages, dramatic play and music which leads to children to surprising levels of communication, symbolic skills and creativity.

  1. The Environment as a Third Teacher:

The design and use of space encourages encounters, communication and relationships (Gandini, 1993). There is an underlying order and beauty in the design and organization of all the space and the equipment and materials within it (Lewing, 1995). Every corner of every space has an identity and a purpose. It is rich in potential to engage and to communicate. It is valued and cared for by children and adults.

  1. The Teacher as a Researcher:

Teachers work together and maintain strong, collegial relationships. They engage in continuous discussion and interpretation of their work and the work of the children.

  1. Documentation as Communication:

Careful consideration and attention are given to the presentation of the thinking of both the children and the adults who work with them. Teacher’s commentary on the purposes of the study and the children’s learning process, transcriptions of the children’s verbal language (i.e. words and dialog), photographs of their activity and representations of their thinking in many media are composed in carefully designed panels or books to resent the process of learning.

  1. Parents as Partners

Parent participation is considered essential and takes many forms. Parents play an active part in their children’s learning experience and help ensure the welfare of all the children. The ideas and skills that families bring, and even more important, the exchange of ideas between parents and teachers favour the development of a new way of educating.

Things to Remember (please send the following items with your child everyday):

  • Extra clothes
  • Indoor and outdoor shoes (suitable for running and climbing)
  • Proper outdoor clothing
  • Back pack
  • Pack a big lunch (bigger than you did for them as preschoolers) with extra healthy snacks

Virtues:

In School Age One, we use the Virtues Project to create a culture of character in our class. The use of virtues language empowers children to make moral choices and resolve problems with their own inner strength. The children are taught to lift each other up instead of put each other down.  Below is a list of the 52 virtues.

assertiveness, caring, cleanliness, commitment, compassion, confidence, consideration, cooperation, courage, courtesy, creativity, detachment, determination, diligence, enthusiasm, excellence, flexibility, forgiveness, friendliness, generosity, gentleness, helpfulness, honesty, honour, humility, idealism, integrity, joyfulness, justice, kindness, love, loyalty, moderation, modesty, orderliness, patience, peacefulness, perseverance, purposefulness, reliability, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, service, tact, thankfulness, tolerance, trust, trustworthiness, truthfulness, understanding, unity

Daily Schedule:

Discovery’s environment is set up to consider the unique needs of each child.  We make changes to our daily program so that all children can access area, materials, and activities in order to promote growth in all areas of his or her development.  That being said, here is a general idea of what a typical day “school day” (when public school is in session) and on a non-school day (school holiday or in-service day).

SCHOOL DAY SCHEDULE:

6:30 am – 8:30 am                            “Free Play” (snack available)
8:30 am – 8:40 am                             Walk to school*
11:40 am – 11:50 am                        Meet children at Stevenson and walking back from school
11:50 am – 12:30 pm                        Lunch time
12:35 pm – 12:45 pm                        Walk to Stevenson School*
3:40 pm – 3:50 pm                            Meet children at Stevenson and walking back from school
3:50 pm – 4:15 pm                            Snack time
4:15 pm – 5:30 pm                            “Free Play”
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm                           Children who are still in attendance will end their day in the “Flex” room.

*Kindergarten children who attend other schools will be walked to and helped on to the bus.  They will be met at the bus after school.

–  During “Free Play” times, the group may be playing outside, in the Large Muscle room, on the deck, or in the School Age One room.

SUMMER & HOLIDAY SCHEDULE:

6:30 am – 9:00 am                            “Free Play” (snack available)
9:00 am – 9:30 am                            Morning meeting
9:30 am – 12:00 pm                          Outside play/ Activity
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm                          Lunch time
1:00 pm – 2:15 pm                            Rest time/Reading books*
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm                            Activity/Free play
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm                            Snack time
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm                            “Free Play”  outside
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm                           Children who are still in attendance will end their day in the “Flex” room.

*We will be having a 30 minute rest every day.  If your child falls asleep they will be permitted to sleep 45 minutes as per Discovery’s policy.

School-age care (6 – 12 years of age):

Welcome to School-age Two (SA2).  Our ‘play based’ program has 60 children in grades 1-6 from a variety of schools in our neighbourhood.  We look forward to getting to know you and your child.  We know that all children are unique and special and we feel blessed to have the opportunity to spend our days with them.  The following information is to help answer some questions that you may have.

School day Schedule (September to June):

7:00 a.m. Free Play in room 11 & 12 or Adventure Playground *weather depending
7:15-8:25 a.m. Snack (free flow)-inside or out *weather dependant
7:30 a.m. Golden Gate children leave for school bus (independently)
7:50 a.m. Assiniboine children leave for bus
  George Waters children leave for bus (independently)
8:00 a.m. Large Muscle/Gym
  Romeo Dallaire children leave for bus
8:15 a.m. WMEMS/MSD  children leave to catch bus
8:30 a.m. Tidy up & Stevenson children walk to school
11:40 a.m. Stevenson children return for lunch
12:15 p.m. Children excused for free play in rooms or DCC playgrounds*weather depending
  Daily helpers tidy up after lunch
12:05 p.m. Children signed up for extracurricular activities at school excused toreturn to school (independently)
12:35 p.m. Children walk back to Stevenson
3:40 p.m. Stevenson/Assiniboine/George Waters children arrive from school
3:40-4:15 p.m. Snack (free flow)-inside or out *weather dependant
4:00 p.m. WMEMS/MSD/Romeo Dallaire children return
4:30 p.m. Golden Gate children return (snack provided)
3:40-5:45 p.m. Outside playgrounds/Gym free play
  After school activities/cooperative games
5:45-6:00 p.m. Flex

 

*times may vary slightly due to scheduling changes

Sign In/Out:

Please sign your child in and out daily. The parent clipboard is in Room 11.

Virtues:

At Discovery, staff have been trained in many different aspects of program planning: one area of training is around virtues. Language has a great influence to empower or discourage. Self-esteem is built when shaming, blaming language is replaced by describing each other’s virtues. It is applied either when acknowledging or correcting someone. Staff can provide more information on this if you are interested. Here is a list of the 52 virtues: assertiveness, caring, cleanliness, commitment, compassion, confidence, consideration, cooperation, courage, courtesy, creativity, detachment, determination, diligence, enthusiasm, excellence, flexibility, forgiveness, friendliness, generosity, gentleness, helpfulness, honesty, honour, humility, idealism, integrity, joyfulness, justice, kindness, love, loyalty, moderation, modesty, orderliness, patience, peacefulness, perseverance, purposefulness, reliability, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, service, tact, thankfulness, tolerance, trust, trustworthiness, truthfulness, understanding, unity.

Groups:

From September to June we split our children into two groups.  During the summer time we split into four separate groups.

Inclusion:

Discovery is committed to the inclusion of all children (regardless of their needs) into our program.  Where additional staffing is required to help include these children into the program, it will always be utilized according to the goals of inclusion, namely:

  • Provide as little assistance as is needed to maximize independence and develop self-confidence
  • One-on-one time with a child will not be provided except under very rare conditions
  • Small group learning while in the classroom will be the most frequently used model of teaching those skills that are not easily learned through other methods
  • Every attempt will be made to normalize the child’s stay at Discovery.  This will include the sharing of any extra tasks, as required, by all staff in the Unit

Indirect Supervision:

We nurture independence and so children may:

  • go to their locker and to the washroom unsupervised
  • do activities in a parallel room from staff (they will be checked in on every 10 minutes)
  • perform small errands in the centre that staff have asked them to help with

Extracurricular school activities:

Your child and a number of children in our SA2 program may request to participate in the extracurricular activities at their school.  Here is how we will manage that:

Lunch hour activities:   Children are released to leave from Discovery Children’s Centre at 12:05 (noon) to walk themselves to school for the activity (e.g. Intramurals). Due to the schedule demands, a staff will not be sent with your child.  No patrols are present at this time to assist the children to cross the street.

After School activities:   Your child will cross the street to return to the centre without staff supervision. The patrols will not be on duty.  If you are picking your child up from the school and not returning to the centre, please be sure that our staff is informed.

All children will require a signed consent form indicating your permission for your child to participate in the activity and to walk to/from school unsupervised.

Microwaves:

Children may heat up their own lunches, in glass containers, from September to June.

Helper Chart:

Four children are assigned to be a ‘daily helper’ at lunch time.  Their responsibilities are to clean tables, sweep the floors and help to tidy up.  We encourage children to take ownership of our environment and to keep our space clean.

After school activities/cooperative games:

  • A variety of activities and cooperative/field games are implemented daily with the children.
  • S.W.A.T. Team Leadership Program:

The S.W.A.T. Leadership Programs (Students Who Assist Teachers) teach children ages 9 to 12 leadership skills that build confidence. We believe that if children are taught leadership skills at an early age they have the potential of growing into productive, confident Canadians that are able to deal with negative situations positively. S.W.A.T. team children are encouraged to assist in a number of ways at the Centre. We also offer mini workshops.  Some topics may include, personal safety (“Kids in the Know” programing), staying home alone (Grades 5-6) and babysitting training..

The Characteristics of a leader: Respect, Responsibility, Taking Initiative, Integrity, Honesty and Trust

“What Makes You Different as a Child will Make You great as an Adult. Celebrate your difference”

Clubs:

In addition to our regular daily activities, during the months of September to June, SA2 runs a variety of monthly after school clubs (approx. 3:45-4:45 p.m.). i.e. baking, sewing, stop motion, drumming. Children are asked to select their first, second and third choice from the options available.  Since the clubs will have limited spaces we may run each club twice during the week to allow for two groups to participate.  We strive to give each child the opportunity to participate in at least one club. Once a child has joined a club please allow them to stay and participate on those days so that they can work on their project/activity as some are ongoing.

Electronics and/or Toys from home:

Our focus is on helping children grow strong interpersonal skills and friendships, bring an active balance to their more sedentary school day and reconnecting children with nature.  For these and other reasons we restrict the use of electronics in our program.  This includes screen time involving watching movies.

Children that have cell phones and bring them to daycare are required to leave them in their lockers.  Our staff are not able to assume responsibility for lost or stolen items.

“Camp Day” Fundraising

For several years now we have enjoyed celebrating the end of the school year by planning a “Camp Day”.  The cost of this day is significant and so each year we engage in a fundraising activity to help pay for the cost of this activity.  Camp Day is typically on the last day of school (officially an in-service day), that all of the SA2 children participates in.  In past years we have gone to Camp Manitou and Camp Assiniboia.  We encourage you to help us fundraise by participating in our hot lunch fundraisers and bake sale, etc.  Camp Day allows children to spend an amazing day outside participating in activities such as: zip-lining, archery, fire building/bannock baking and a variety of other activities.

Outdoor play:

We spend a large portion of the day outside, starting our day in the Adventure playground and going straight outside after school.  Please provide your child with weather appropriate clothing and footwear. (i.e. rubber boots in spring, winter gear in winter).  We will often eat snack outside (down to -10 Celsius).  During the summer months each group spends two weeks outside from drop off to pick up time and in all types of weather, rain or shine.

Field Trips:

Your child will have the opportunity to participate in a number of field trips throughout the year.  We often walk to neighbourhood parks and even Assiniboine Park, so be prepared with the kind of clothing and footwear that will make this a positive experience for your child.  Children may also be required to bring a back pack with disposable lunch and a water bottle so watch the white board daily for any such requests/instructions.  Proper walking shoes are always encouraged.

Parent Volunteers:

We welcome parent volunteers so if you are able and interested to help out, contact us so we can arrange the best possible fit for your involvement in our program.

Parent communication board/white board:

SA2 has a white board in the hallway by room 11 (our main room), please check it daily for any updates or information.

Nature at Discovery Children’s Centre:

Our goal is to teach the children to be responsible caregivers of our world and we do this by helping them to appreciate and love nature. At Discovery the children help us to recycle and compost which indeed diverts about one half of our trash from going to the garbage dump.  In teaching them this we are hoping that they will grow up to be responsible citizens willing to live in a sustainable and responsibly way as citizens of planet Earth.

In the last 10 years nature has become a big part of our program and we spend a great deal of time outside. We are learning to enjoy the natural beauty that is all around us even here in an urban environment. We go out rain or shine, sleet or snow. We work (play) and explore in our outdoor environment as much as we can. While outdoors, we catch bugs, jump in the puddles, dance in the rain, sometimes even enjoy the mud pit and also let snowflakes fall on our tongues. In our outdoor playgrounds we have many gardening beds that allow us to learn gardening skills in the summer months and harvesting in the fall.

Helpful hints:

  • Carry photo I.D. with you at all times.  We have a large number of staff and they may not all know you, please also remind people on your child’s pick up list to carry I.D.
  • Please label your child’s belongings.  We often have children with similar items.  At a ;minimum do check out the lost and found basket in the hallway for any items you are missing.  It is located by the water fountains outside of Room 11.
  • Please call Discovery when your child will be absent, so we are not spending valuable time searching for them.  We’d rather be spending time with the children J
  • Please leave a change of clothes in your child’s locker, even school-age children need to change sometimes and its embarrassing to have nothing to change into.
  • Please ensure that staff from SA2 are aware when your child is being picked up at the end of the day.  There is a two-step pick up procedure you must follow, let the staff with the clip board know you are picking your child up, and also sign them out on the sign out sheet.
  • We are always here to help and support not only your child but you as well.  Let us know how we can be of assistance and we will do our best to help if possible.