We are enrolling! Join us in nurturing young minds, fostering creativity, and creating a brighter future. We're excited to introduce your child to a world of possibilities! Contact us today for details.
After school programs in Circa / FishHawk, FL shouldn’t just be about childminding. After school care is an exciting opportunity to develop skills and abilities in children in a positive environment. In this article, we’ll look at the top six most important areas that should be addressed by an after-school program.
A good after-school program should create a fun, personalized environment to help children develop new passions as well as focus on encouraging social interactions. The program should also include STEAM-based activities in the schedule and work on building the confidence of each child.
1. Fun Should Always Come First
After-school care is just that. It’s after school, making it the perfect time for children to relax and have some fun. While children never stop learning, and structured play is an important way to build on their education, it’s important that they have fun while doing so.
2. Help Them Find New Passions and Hobbies
Teachers in an after-school program have an important role to play in helping children discover their passions and find new hobbies. By exploring different areas across a range of topics, children are exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking. Different areas can include sports, art, drama, science, technology, cooking and more.
3. A Focus on Social Interactions
One of the biggest disconnects that happen in the modern world is that of social interaction. Social development is vital for young children and, as such, should be an important focus for an after-school program. Children should be encouraged to interact in a stress-free, collaborative environment that focuses on fun. Memories are made as children interact with each other in structured and unstructured play times.
4. STEAM-Based Activities
One of the key aspects of a successful after-school program is STEAM education. STEAM education encourages and develops critical thinking. This educational approach to learning uses science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics to guide new discoveries for children.
5. A Personalized Approach
It is vital that an after-school care environment doesn’t have a cookie-cutter approach that expects children to all think and behave the same. By taking a more personalized approach and allowing children to express their unique and different ways of doing things, children are encouraged to take an active role in their own learning.
Teachers have an important role to play in facilitating (rather than dictating to) children, allowing each child to go at their own pace. They should also be willing to give children space and opportunity to discover new things for themselves.
6. Grow in Confidence
By focusing on developing different aspects of a child, teachers in an after-school program are able to bring out the best in children and help them to grow in confidence. Teachers in an after-school care environment should be equipped to encourage the development of passions and talent in each child. This, along with the understanding that every child is unique and has something to contribute, is effective in building the self-worth of every child that attends after-school care.
Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy of Circa / FishHawk offers after-school care with a full range of activities designed to bring out the best in your child. They believe in a fun, personalized approach to developing the whole child, focusing on social interactions, building confidence and encouraging children to discover and enjoy new passions and hobbies.
Included in the offering are different options such as field trips, holiday breaks and summer camps built on a foundation of fun and self-discovery. Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy also offers infant and toddler childcare programs, preschool and pre-k childcare programs and kindergarten programs.